For several years now I have had a vision to open a coffee shop in the new building of First Baptist Church of Sofia. The idea is that the coffee shop will serve as a connection to the local community, a meeting place for the church community and eventually a training ground for girls leaving prostitution and other at-risk individuals.

The Literacy Program at Sofia Baptist Church got off to a great start in mid-September, with 15 children coming the first day. Since then, between eight and 15 participants have been coming regularly, with the youngest being five years old, and the oldest 16.

I grew up in what some refer to as the ‘Deep South’. My family lived and farmed in a small rural community; we attended a conservative Methodist church.   Worship was …

“Sometimes, health care organizations can become sick and in need of healing, just like our patients and our communities,” says American Baptist International Ministries (IM) medical missionary Dr. Steve James.

As I got on the older rickety bus at the border of Laos and Thailand, I had the slight feeling come over me that the upcoming ride through the mountains was not going to be the same as a trip in Thailand.

This was a historic moment for Cape Cod’s Brewster Baptist Church. As Lead Pastor the Rev. Dr. Doug Scalise stated, “As far as I know, over the more-than-190-year history of the congregation, this is the first time our very own missionary has been commissioned.”