Builder helps churches enlarge passion - 7/18/2008
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (BP)--When spring arrives each year, Chris and Dorrine Wurzel pack up their travel trailer and go on mission to construct a new building for a congregation God has led them to help -- this year, Emmanuel Baptist Church ...

Church lifts its passion across Canada - 5/30/2008
OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada (BP)--The legendary Paul Bunyan, who according to folklore hacked through seemingly impenetrable frontier forests to open much of North America, is said to have been based on the exploits of a French-Canadian lumberjack in the mid-1800s.

North Carolina church puts passion into creativity, kids - 4/18/2008
EDEN, N.C. (BP)--Pastor Steve Griffith of Osborne Baptist Church vividly remembers prayerwalking around the corporate headquarters of a major textile plant one day in February 1998 when he sensed God telling him, "I'm going to give you this building." "I could take you to the spot," said Griffith, adding that God impressed on him that it wasn't a matter of bricks and mortar but of His passion for people. Nearing the time of his graduation from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993, Griffith preached in view of a call at the Eden, N.C., church, which was at a crisis point. He was perplexed when the church voted against calling him as pastor. "About three weeks later they called me back saying the church had split and the people who wanted me to come were the ones who stayed," Griffith recounted. He sought counsel from his mentor, the late Mark Corts, then-pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, who frankly warned him to "Run!" But God did not let Griffith and his wife Jenny off the hook so easily. He returned a second time to preach and was called as Osborne's pastor.       "About three weeks later they called me back saying the church had split and the people who wanted me to come were the ones who stayed," Griffith recounted. He sought counsel from his mentor, the late Mark Corts, then-pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, who frankly warned him to "Run!"       But God did not let Griffith and his wife Jenny off the hook so easily. He returned a second time to preach and was called as Osborne's pastor.       "When churches go through a split, nobody wins. The first two years were really weird," Griffith said. "I went to the Lord and asked Him, 'What are You doing? Where do You want us to go?'"

Passion for kids appeals to parents - 4/18/2008
EDEN, N.C. (BP)--Why are kids waking up early on Sunday mornings to nag their parents, "We have to get to church!" And why does a church in a declining small town continue to grow?

Enthusiastic kids expand growing church's outreach - 3/28/2008
ROXANA, Del. (BP)--Church planters Andy and Tanya Ehlers started High Tide Baptist Church by walking their dog in a park.       Though few may regard walking a dog as an evangelistic activity, the Ehlers struck up relationships and invited other canine enthusiasts to a Bible study in their home. The initial meeting in August 2002 drew a dozen people.       Now, more than 350 attend two weekend services at the fire department building where the church meets in Roxana, Del. -- and 30 percent of them are children age 12 and under.       "At Southeastern [Baptist Theological Seminary], I heard the need for church planting and was called to do it," Andy said. "I just couldn't consider going to an established church unless I planted one first.       "Tanya and I both believe that God called us to minister outside of the Bible Belt and go where there weren't a lot of churches," said Andy, who noted that Delaware has but one Southern Baptist church for every 33,000 people.       While Andy is quick to credit the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware's church planting training and support system, he said, "We chose the parachute method. We dropped into a community … and said to ourselves, 'Go get 'em.'"       "Our first converts came from that park," Andy said of the location where he and Tanya walked their dog. "We got to know a couple, invited them to dinner and shared the Gospel with them."

He carries Scripture in his mind & heart - 1/11/2008
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP)--"A lot of people will say, 'This guy knows the whole Bible.'

Passion for Kingdom moments - 12/27/2007
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)--Building a log cabin is something I've dreamed about since I was a boy. One day last summer, I thought my dream had arrived when the company I'd ordered the logs from finally called to say the shipment would arrive on an upcoming Monday.

10-year-old's passion: serving others - 10/12/2007
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP)--Erin Oquindo received 99 pairs of shoes and 154 pairs of socks last year for her 9th birthday.       All of which she promptly gave away.

Children's ministry spurs baptisms, church's growth - 8/10/2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)--The way to reach an entire family with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is through exciting and meaningful ministries to children and teens. So says Rodney Gage, pastor of Fellowship of Orlando, a church started six years ago by Gage and First Baptist Church in Orlando.       After convening in several successive locations, the young church is now located in a former retail facility and is booming, having grown in the last 18 months from 100 to about 500 attendees.       At the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting at San Antonio in June, LifeWay Christian Resources honored the church and Gage with a pastor's excellence in evangelism award. For the 2005-06 church year, Fellowship's record of baptisms ranked among the top 100 SBC churches with 400 members or less. Fellowship's membership is about 275.

More than a clinic: Churches team up for unique outreach - 7/13/2007
DARDANELLE, Ark. (BP)--"If you just give Christian people a structure to express their Christianity, they will jump on it," pastor Stephen Davis said of the flood of believers from a variety of denominations who have volunteered to meet needs and share the love of Christ with people in need at the River Valley Christian Clinic, a free medical, dental and vision clinic that opened on Jan. 11 this year.       So far, the clinic has been able to provide more than $246,000 worth of healthcare services and medication free of charge to people who meet federal poverty guidelines, who are without insurance and who cannot yet qualify for Medicare/Medicaid. More than 70 churches across various denominations in Pope County, Ark., and about 650 volunteers, some medical and some non-medical, have united for the purpose of demonstrating and sharing the Gospel.

Beyond medical care, patients feel dignity - 7/13/2007
DARDANELLE, Ark. (BP)--Volunteers at the River Valley Christian Clinic often hear Dr. James Carter cite the story of the Good Samaritan to keep them mindful to treat each patient who comes through the clinic with dignity and respect.

Church helps members live out passion - 7/13/2007
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (BP)--"I feel fortunate to pastor people who have caught the vision to be what we're supposed to be as a church," pastor Stephen Davis said of First Baptist Church in , Russellville Ark., a body of believers that determined 10 years ago to do everything they could to give themselves away.

Collegian's passion tops cerebral palsy - 5/11/2007
GREENVILLE, S.C. (BP)--Kim Chapman has always believed in God because she has always been told she is a miracle from Him.

Jeremiah & church passionate for ministry - 4/20/2007

New churches called vital for the Dakotas - 3/16/2007
BISMARCK, N.D. (BP)--The Dakota Baptist Convention has launched an ambitious plan to increase their total number of churches by 15 percent this year toward reaching an ever-growing population of people who don’t know Jesus.