By John DeWitt Danny Steis is the Children and Youth Pastor at Yates Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. Like so many other youth ministers, Steis was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID Zooms were awkward. Many youth, children and families didn’t fully return, and something was just ‘lost’ when we resumed.” However, the youth ministry … Continue reading
By Jennifer Colosimo Throughout January’s Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend, youth groups from CBF churches in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee converged at First Baptist Church Huntsville for the 2024 Winter Youth Summit (WYS)—the sixth since its inception, and possibly the best yet. Through meaningful worship, impactful speakers and informative, deep-study breakout sessions, this year’s Let … Continue reading
By Matt Norman A year ago, I noticed two young college-aged people come and sit down at a special service that we were having at Mosaic. Mosaic is a ministry we started in partnership with the First Baptist Church of Sabadell. It is a gathering for people who are interested in exploring their questions about God, Jesus and … Continue reading
By Yuniya Khan On Sunday morning, Reverend Doretha Lindsay Ward gets into her car to drive from her home in Delaware to St. Peter’s Church of God, in Philadelphia, the church she pastors. For the past two years, she has been making this commute—one hour each way on a good day—at least three days a … Continue reading
By Mary Van Rheenen Several refugees come to the Baptist church we attend in Arnhem, the Netherlands. We are not a large church, but we simultaneously translate the worship services into Persian, Ukrainian and English. Most of the baptisms in the past three years have been people from Iran or Afghanistan. One of them (let’s … Continue reading
By Suzie Dao was one of 15 children in her family. She tells early memories of being tied to the front porch with her toddler siblings while her parents went to work in the fields. They didn’t have daycare; that was just the way things were done. Her father was a local school principal and … Continue reading
By Carson Foushee Each country celebrates Christmas a little differently. Japan has inherited many traditions from the West, but there are also some that are uniquely Japanese. Like in America, shopping malls are full of beautiful Christmas trees as shoppers seek gifts for loved ones with familiar English seasonal songs playing in stores. Christmas lights, … Continue reading
By Christine Every morning for the last six weeks, I’ve found myself lying in bed listening to the songbirds gently welcome the morning outside my window. The room is dark and still, except for the soft echoing from the tree planted along the patio wall. And as I lay there and listen, it feels like … Continue reading
By Greg Smith “Work yourself out of a job. That’s one of your most important goals.” Cross-cultural mission presents challenges on several levels. Oftentimes it requires learning a new language, adjusting to new cultural norms, working with key partners across religious and social boundaries, adopting new patterns of living and many others. One of those … Continue reading
By CBF field personnel Brooke Our trip did not start as planned. In fact, it was pretty rotten. The roads were rough, the sun was high in the sky and the back of the pickup was crowded as we traveled for hours to get to the villages. We were not beginning in a good mood, and it was … Continue reading