Chip Smith’s passion for bi-vocational ministry began behind the pulpit, grew during his time with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) and will continue as he plans to return to bi-vocational pastoring. Smith served as an associate in SBOM’s office of LeaderCare and church administration for 10 years, concluding his service there in [...]
Rick Lance (left), executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, was awarded Southern Baptist Theological Seminary‘s E.Y. Mullins Award for Distinguished Denominational Leadership on June 14. Described as Southern Seminary’s “highest award” by seminary president Albert Mohler Jr., the award has been bestowed on only three others (Thom Rainer, 2014; Paige Patterson, [...]
I have personally worked with ministries receiving support through the Cooperative Program in my metropolitan area, my county, my state, my country and seven other countries on continents ranging from South America to Eastern Europe to Africa. No one church is large enough to support all of these ministries, but through the effort of many, [...]
Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have risen to the occasion to serve those affected by recent floods in Missouri and Arkansas. Two teams served in Missouri earlier this month. Last week 5 teams prepared to go to Missouri and assist. Because of the efforts of many volunteers, Missouri was able to see a significant reduction [...]
As this year’s Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting approaches, SBC President Steve Gaines says fellow Baptists should anticipate emphases on prayer, evangelism and financial stewardship at the June 13–14 gathering in Phoenix, where the 2003 and 2011 annual meetings also were held. This year’s annual meeting theme is “Pray! For such a time as [...]
A couple of years ago Heritage Baptist Church, Montgomery, decided to make good on its desire to reach the nations in a big way. It sent two of its own, youth pastor Adam Bishop and his wife, Erin, to New York City to start a church plant among Asians. But the people of Heritage Baptist had [...]
During meetings of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and Executive Committee on May 11-12, 2017, John Thweatt, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, issued this Call to Prayer: Dear Alabama Baptist: For almost 200 years, Alabama Baptists have worked together, preached together, and sacrificed together for the cause of missions and the [...]
I didn’t expect much. When I was assigned to cover part of the Senior Adult Evangelism Conference, I wouldn’t say I was exuberant. I had an ever-mounting to-do list and I had already decided what I would tackle that Monday, which just so happened to be May 1, the day of the conference. So when [...]
The time between one person leaving a position and a new person moving into that role is a good opportunity to do some evaluating and refreshing — and this is true for church ministry positions as well. The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) offers assistance with this exact concept through its transitional pastor [...]
Gary Fenton said he had a defining moment in his ministry after he preached a message one Sunday and it really connected. “It was a vision sermon and you could tell people really got it,” he said. And then that afternoon, his phone rang. “A lady called me and told me how good it was [...]