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CHALFONT ST. PETER, England — Two by two, men and women of several denominations clustered near the worship stage, on their knees or standing with arms outstretched and praying for one another’s needs.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Attendees elected Michael Olmsted of Springfield, Mo., moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Heartland for the coming year during a luncheon business session March 15 at First Baptist Church, Columbia, Mo.

Evangelicals traditionally have referred to it as a “call to vocational or Christian ministry” or simply “the call.” What is it?

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship awarded Carol McEntyre, pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., the Young Baptist Leadership Award for her excellence in Christian education ministry and leadership. She was honored Feb. 24 at the 2014 Churchworks! Conference in Huntsville, Ala.

Observers say there is an ongoing reconsideration of the morality of birth control among the SBC’s leading thinkers.

“We are all part of an amazing story — God’s story,” said Global Women Executive Director Cindy Dawson, sitting at a table set for tea at the 2014 Global Women Summit in St. Louis on March 7-8.

Five Midwestern pastors find bivocational ministry both rewarding and a bit frustrating. Asked what they would share with a roomful of seminarians, they offered advice from their church and secular experiences.

Bivocational ministers live in two worlds — in part to support themselves and their families economically but also, at least for some, as a way to translate the world to the church and the church to the world.

Economic and other factors are driving a bivocational ministry trend. But bivos still juggle two jobs and family obligations.

Africa is a large continent, with a variety of terrain — from desert to lush jungle to towering mountains — and a diversity of people and languages — from French to English to tribal tongues. As African Christians immigrate to other parts of the world, they look for the familiar, a taste of home and an opportunity to praise God in their heart language. Many have found that -- in spite of tribal differences -- with the African congregation at First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo.