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Newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan | January 2025 | Volume 69, Number 1


What does VBS mean?
LIVONIA, MI – Recently, while wearing a VBS t-shirt, I was asked by a 20-something young man, “What does VBS stand for?” (Yes, I continue...
Baptist Beacon
Jul 6, 20183 min read


Surrender to freedom
ROSCOMMON, MI – Except for Christmas, my best day as a kid was the last day of school! No more teachers, no more tests, no more sack...
Baptist Beacon
Jul 6, 20182 min read


SBC resolution affirms women, denounces abuse
DALLAS, TX (BP) – Messengers to the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention affirmed the dignity and worth of women, denounced all forms of...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


'All of us' must evangelize, SBC agrees with task force
DALLAS, TX (BP) – Lay persons, pastors, churches, state conventions and Southern Baptist Convention entities have a role in an evangelism...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20184 min read


Five ways being a church planter has changed my life
CHARLESTON, SC – While our church is now more than 10 years old, I still call myself a church planter. I get away with holding onto this...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


Churchgoers stick around for theology, not music or preachers
NASHVILLE, TN – Most churchgoers will put up with a change in music style or a different preacher. But don’t mess with a church’s beliefs...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20186 min read


Ever wanted to fit in?
ALPHARETTA, GA – We had just packed up our kids moved to a new town to serve on church staff. Can you say culture shock?! This new place...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20182 min read


From generation to generation
DAVISON, MI – Since the beginning, every generation has been tasked with passing the knowledge of the works of God to the next...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


Finding freedom from your own expectations
ALPHARETTA, GA – If you are like most women, you are your own worst critic. Being hard on ourselves is what we do. If you live your life...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20184 min read


Freedom: the power to become
“To as many as received Him, He gave the power to become God’s sons” – John 1:12 BAY CITY, MI – As we celebrate our nation’s independence...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


How to find freedom from regret
GREENVILLE, SC – Regret is as deadly as worry. One confronts an unknown future, the other an unfortunate past. Both seem unwilling to...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


Summer vacation with Bible school
I was born with SBC blood flowing through my veins. My parents were Southern Baptists as were my parent’s parents. So, attending vacation...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


The art of civility: 14 practical ways to demonstrate civility
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Growth in the social media sphere has created a challenge for Southern Baptists that we did not have prior to the...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20184 min read


Survey: VBS remains popular among American parents
NASHVILLE, TN (BP) – Back in the 1890s, a pair of Sunday School teachers -- D.T. Miles of Hopedale, Il., and Virginia Hawes of New York...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20184 min read


First Person: Attracting a crowd at VBS
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (BP) – Every year, thousands of children across our country meet Jesus for the first time at Vacation Bible School...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


Freedom of a different sort
WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker, Paul Ryan, released a statement back in February regarding the horrible state of sex trafficking in...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


Pew: Religious restrictions spreading globally
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) – Religious restrictions continue to spread globally in Pew Research Center's ninth annual study of laws and social...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20183 min read


A tour unholy in name, unpleasant by design
ATLANTA, GA (BP) – It's Thursday evening, and a group boards a bus at the Georgia Baptist Convention building for several strip clubs, a...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 30, 20185 min read


An invitation from pastor Ronnie Floyd
Sunday July 1, Call2Fall Join Christ followers from across America in united prayer for our nation. Throughout July, 31 Days of Prayer...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 6, 20181 min read


Pastor: 'Not a big church, but … faithful'
DETROIT, MI (BP) – First Baptist Church of Trenton prayed for two hours after Sunday morning worship late last year about what to do --...
Baptist Beacon
Jun 6, 20184 min read
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