Within hours of the deadly EF5 tornado striking Moore, Okla., on Monday, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief chaplains were ministering to families at both elementary schools in the community destroyed by the storm.

North American Mission Board Disaster Relief Executive Director Fritz Wilson appealed to Southern Baptist to pray for the people of Moore, Okla., as the entity geared up to respond to the devastating EF4 tornado that leveled portions of the Oklahoma City suburb May 20.

North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell emphasized the importance of the entity’s focus on the work of penetrating lostness in North America in his address to NAMB’s board of trustees. The board met May 14-15, 2013, in Alpharetta, Ga.

Mark Chripczuk was a successful computer programmer. But then God called him to start a church in his hometown of Philadelphia. In this video and related story, see how he now works harder than he ever has and is happier than he's ever been.

Church planters, spouses, planting team members, mentors and coaches gathered at First Baptist Church, Martha Lake, for a four-day, church planting boot camp in April. The focus of the “Journey: Basic Training for Church Planting” was for participants to develop strategies and pray together.

Attendees of Lakeview Church in Woodbury, Minn., have yet to meet all together in one building. They’ve held no potluck dinners. No one has yet signed up for nursery duty.Yet consistently 40 people regularly listen to church planter Travis Hart’s weekly sermons.

Jeremiah Brown (@jeremiahjbrown) practices what he preaches. In the months leading up to the Easter 2013 launch of Generation Church in Noblesville, Ind., Brown urged his core group to get others involved in what God was doing in Greater Indianapolis.

Five minutes east of downtown Columbus, you’ll find one of the most influential Central Ohio suburbs. Called Bexley, it’s home to the governor’s mansion, the president of Ohio State University, a highly ranked school district and one of Central Ohio’s largest Jewish populations.

Two Southern Baptist leaders have issued a statement voicing concern about religious freedom within the U.S. military but also cautioning Christians to refrain from jumping to conclusions about recent incidents in the military that have been perceived by some as threats to religious liberty.

Taylor Field, founding pastor of Graffiti Church in Manhattan, recently began serving as a North American Mission Board national church planting catalyst and a member of NAMB’s LoveLoud Team with the vision of expanding effective Southern Baptist urban ministry throughout North America.