NAMB Blog

By Sara Shelton 

“We love the Lehigh Valley.”

This is the motivation and the message behind all that Joseph Velarde and his team do through Riverbend Community Church in eastern Pennsylvania. The area, known as the Lehigh Valley, consists of the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Eatonton and is the third largest area in the state of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, it is also considered to be one of the most unreached areas in the United States.

 Zendeh (Living) Church was a long trek westward for Iranian Amin Pour Kaveh who’d fled his country when he became a Christian. Pour Kaveh accepted Christ in Iran in 2002 and began telling others about his newfound faith.

His passion for Christ led to persecution at home and at work.

“They had fired me from my job,” Pour Kaveh says. “And it was not safe for me to stay anymore. The secret police were monitoring my phone line and watching me.”

By Joe Conway 

Joy. Excitement. Opportunity. Celebration. Those were just a few of the thoughts occupying Ben Pilgreen’s mind Tuesday afternoon. Pilgreen was preparing his sermon to mark Epic Church San Francisco’s first year anniversary on Feb.12.

“It has been a great year,” said Pilgreen. “It far exceeded any expectations we had. We were blown away by what God is doing in the city. We would not want to be doing anything else.”

Pilgreen’s sermon will be part celebration—part vision casting for year two. The church planter’s head was swimming in all that God has accomplished in one short year 

By Tobin Perry 

A funeral home isn’t the kind of place you usually go to find something alive—unless you happen to live in Garfield Heights, Ohio. There, every Sunday morning, you’ll find worshippers at Alive Church praising and learning about Jesus at the local Lucas Funeral Home, not far outside of Cleveland.

In fact, Alive Church just might be the most alive thing you’ve ever found at a funeral home. Born out of North American Mission Board church planter Greg Clark’s passion to reach people who wouldn’t normally go to church, the two-year-old church plant specializes in lost causes.

For example, Alive Church has quickly become a place where recovering addicts have found the power to stay clean and drug-free in a relationship with Christ. 

By Kevin Ezell 

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – During my first year as president of the North American Mission Board I gained a deeper appreciation for who we are as Southern Baptists. It was my aim to get out and meet as many people as I could.  As a result, in one year’s time, I was able visit the majority of the state conventions and spend time with the people there. The thing I was most thankful for was how diverse we are as a convention and how God is using that diversity to reach people of all backgrounds for Christ.

I am thankful for the early Home Mission Board missionaries who took the gospel to the new territories of North America so the people there would have an opportunity to hear about Jesus and have a church to worship in. I recently heard the story of one of those early pioneers, a man named Paul James.

In 1638 this city birthed the first Baptist church in America. But today, the population of Providence, Rhode Island could almost be classified as an unreached people group. Now church planters Travis Rymer and Kevin McKay are trying to make Providence known once again as a home for new churches. A second video in this missionary focus tells the story of one college student who encountered Christ through the church and its people.

By Adam Miller 

If you visit Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., on a Sunday morning, chances are you won’t leave without the opportunity of a lifetime.

“In my church you can count on the following four things,” says Pastor Ronnie Floyd. “I will always invite people to come to Christ, I will always offer an opportunity for people to join with Cross Church, I will provide a time for people to respond to a call to full time ministry and we always invite people to pray and seek the Lord.” More >  

Wynn It Counts is a new evangelism video series hosted by Larry Wynn, NAMB's vice president of evangelism. 

By Joe Conway

For more than 10 years Kirby Woods Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., has been supporting church planting efforts in Las Vegas. The highest profile connection is with Hope Baptist Church, Pastor Vance Pitman and the now 12-year-old plant that was a partnership of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., the North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Kirby Woods’ support has expanded to include the church plants of Hope Church and the work of Redemption Baptist Church, including their lay church planting network. But it is the latest role Kirby Woods has assumed that brings new excitement to the church. 

It is not the Bible Belt. It is not the East. It is not the West. It is simply St. Louis. In this series of videos, see how God is calling unique people to a unique place; and hear how God is calling many of His people to a unique opportunity.

When he used to live on the streets of Norwich, Connecticut, David Holland used to watch church vans pass by and wonder why they never stopped for people like him. Then and there, he made a promise to himself. At the time, it seemed like an impossible promise to keep; but times change. Now he's driving a van for the church started by missionary Shaun Pillay.