By Lynn Hutchinson, CBF Field Personnel One of the things I love about our Portuguese-speaking church is how interactive and affectionate members are between generations and nationalities, families and individuals. It has taken me longer than expected to figure out who goes with whom because there are warm embraces all around and children are frequently held … Continue reading
By Marc Wyatt, CBF field personnel Early one morning, We received a request from one of our refugee agency partners. She asked if we could help one of her clients, an Afghan gentleman who had moved to Cary, N.C. Often, refugee clients who migrate from their original resettlement location start over from zero and with … Continue reading
By Maha Boulos, CBF field personnel During our time in Egypt, we were able to visit six villages in the suburbs of Assyout. This is my second visit to the area and I’m always impressed by the response of people and their reactions to the message of the Lord. We started this trip on Monday … Continue reading
By Matt Norman, CBF field personnel The core of the ministry in which we are engaged in Barcelona and in the European region in partnership with the International Baptist Theological Study Center (IBTS) is relational. We seek to create and assist in the development of “safe” spaces. These are spaces where the fullness of the … Continue reading
By Kirk, CBF field personnel In fifth grade I suffered the crushing blow of being passed over for the star role in our class play about Noah Webster of dictionary fame. That honor went to the new kid, Darren. I was the narrator. I would have never imagined then that, decades later, in the … Continue reading
By Delores Stimpson, Global Service Corps The Triangle West Welcome Network welcomes refugees and immigrants and provides temporary housing. It is common to receive families from very warm climates, at a time when our winter seasons are cold. We partner with refugee agencies to find local resources for seasonal clothing. When we cannot, I turn … Continue reading
By Laura Stephens Reed “We need our church to grow.” This is a common sentiment in many congregations. My first response to this statement is always, “How do you define growth?” There is, after all, more than one way. Often church members and leaders think in terms of numerical growth because attendance and giving are … Continue reading
By Rick Burnette, CBF Field Personnel Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana, a bilingual congregation, is planted in LaBelle, Florida, 25 miles north of the farmworker town of Immokalee and 35 miles east of Ft. Myers. The church was established in 1981 by Pastor John Gallegos, a fifth-generation Baptist preacher. Born to farmworker parents in Traverse … Continue reading
By Steve Clark I still remember a lot of that pledge I learned when I was a boy and was part of the Royal Ambassadors in our church. Recently, Annette and I were invited to meet a real, live ambassador to the United Nations, U Kyaw Moe Tun, from Myanmar. He came to Louisville to … Continue reading
By Grayson Hester The gospel is about bringing people together in unity, not uniformity. Were its ultimate goal the flattening of human diversity, then the Tower of Babel narrative wouldn’t still stand today as a parable of God’s appreciation for (and insistence upon) the differences that make His creation special. But, for all its wonder, … Continue reading