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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

SBC Phoenix: ‘Pray! For such a time as this’

By Shawn Hendricks and David Roach PHOENIX (BP) -- As this year's Southern Baptist Convention 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 this" based on Luke 18:1 and Esther 4:14. Gaines hopes that through a commitment "to fervent, frequent, faith-filled prayer," the SBC will become "a catalyst for spiritual awakening and revival." "I believe Southern Baptists can be used of God to spark a mighty movement of prayer, evangelism and discipleship across our nation and around the world," said Gaines, pastor of Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. "If we will pray and abandon ourselves to the Lord, He will use us exponentially to take the Gospel to people." In addition to several seasons of prayer, Gaines said, annual meeting highlights will include a personal evangelism emphasis Tuesday evening (June 13) led by California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie and a Wednesday afternoon (June 14) panel discussion on financial stewardship. Southern … [Read more...]

Lottie Moon falls $11.3 million; Annie Armstrong down $13.1 million

By Will Hall, Message Editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) —The Southern Baptist Conventions’ International Mission Board released final numbers, June 7, for its annual special collection, showing the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering has fallen short $12.8 million, or greater than 7.7 percent, compared to last year. Meanwhile, the SBC Executive Committee published data, June 2, indicating the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, which composes 49 percent of the budget for the North American Mission Board, is down $13.1 million, or more than 37 percent, year-to-date (only one month following Easter, and just four months before the end of the accounting year). For context about the two special offerings, year-to-date giving for all national causes through the Cooperative Program has been relatively stable, but down about $1.4 million, or off about 1 percent, compared to the same time frame last year. LOTTIE MOON The Christmas offering hit an all-time high of $165.8 million only a year ago, when Southern Baptists responded with generosity to IMB’s revelations about chronic overspending and the need for personnel reductions. IMB leaders had forecast an even larger offering for this year, announcing in November 2016 it had crafted … [Read more...]