News

[caption id="attachment_51569" align="alignleft" width="49"]James Layman[/caption]Chaplains —- military, medical and others —- work hard and sometimes can feel isolated in ministry. James Layman feels called to help change that in the Midwest.

Kingdom advancement depends upon volunteers, area church leaders believe.

Greg Morrow, pastor of First Baptist Church of California, Mo., is passionate about volunteering for missions. He leads his church on mission trips and is a volunteer leader for a parachurch organization that mobilizes people to give time to mission endeavors.

Pastoral Succession: Congregations and ministers will face leadership transitions. They can determine together how to facilitate a smooth change.

God's grace made pastoral succession work at Broadview Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas, leaders believe. Now the retired senior pastor still attends and still serves the congregation he led for nearly 38 years.

CBF Heartland Coordinating Council members approved a memorandum of understanding with CBF Global, accepted its nominating committee's report and discussed upcoming events at their March 14 meeting.

Initiating the "second act" of life -- the retirement years -- should be carefully anticipated and thoroughly planned.

Churchnet (the Baptist General Convention of Missouri) rolled out its strategic plan for the next five years at its March 6 directors’ session — a plan that calls for focusing on missional approaches.

As congregations continue to face lean economic times, they look for ways to stretch their dollars — particularly as facility needs change. Many are opting for renovating existing space, rather than building new.

Members of Second Baptist Church in Lincoln, Neb., and First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., wanted to create space to meet congregational needs. In both cases, renovation of the existing facility opened possibilities and saved money.

Frank Fain, director of educational services at The Baptist Home in Arcadia Valley, Mo., likens retirement to the biblical concept of Sabbath, when believers should take the time to strengthen their relationship with God; give renewed attention to their relationship to family, friends and others; and come to accept themselves.