SYLVESTER, Ga. — When Ricky Braswell, weakened by chemotherapy and radiation, began having trouble maneuvering the steps into his home, a team of builders from Isabella Baptist Church showed up to construct an access ramp. Problem solved. Braswell’s ramp was only the latest built by the Isabella volunteers who have completed 108 for residents of Worth County over the past decade.

Lonely. Desperate. Drunk. Anxiety-ridden. It was a life Michaela Knippers knew all too well. Growing up she watched family members travel the exact road she was on. She wanted an escape.  So the young woman turned on the computer and transported herself from an empty Tulsa, Oklahoma, apartment to a techno-colored virtual world. In this video game, she could be anyone or do anything she wanted. No one in real life would ever recognize her.

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — It was during time of crisis that Mark Richt committed his life to Christ. While an assistant coach at Florida State University, one of his players had been tragically killed, and legendary coach Bobby Bowden, the always unapologetic Christian, pulled the entire team together and shared the hope that can be found in Christ. Richt, who went on to lead the University of Georgia football team as head coach, walked into Bowden’s office the next morning and said the words that changed his life: “I need Jesus.”

SUWANEE, Ga. — Keys to ensuring that pastors don’t get worn down by the grind of ministry include observing a day of rest each week and taking periodic sabbaticals. That’s according to the Barna Research Group, an organization that monitors cultural and religious trends in America. “When compared to statistics from 2015, current Barna data shows that pastors’ well-being — spiritually, mentally and emotionally — has decreased significantly,” Barna said in a June article that delved into the importance of rest and selfcare.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s annual SPARK conferences are taking shape with more than 40 speakers who will share insights into how churches can grow disciples and reach their communities for Christ. “The purpose of SPARK is to equip and empower lay leaders to their next step as a healthy disciple of Jesus,” said Scott Sullivan, the state Mission Board’s discipleship catalyst.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Many Georgia churches celebrated the long Independence Day weekend with sermons calling on believers to engage with politicians at the local, state and national levels on issues of biblical and ethical importance. “There’s an old saying that’s true, that they see the light when they feel the heat,” said longtime Atlanta-area pastor Richard Lee who spoke Sunday at Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

JESUP, Ga. — A resilient Jack Lee is back in the pulpit, serving as interim pastor at First Baptist Church in Jesup. “It has been invigorating for me,” said Lee, who has been fighting Stage 4 cancer for the past two years. “I’m not just surviving; I’m thriving.” Lee, 65, had retired as pastor at Altamaha Baptist Church at Madray Springs in 2021. “At the time, I was to the point I couldn’t preach,” he said. “Mouth sores that the chemo was causing was really giving me trouble.” Doctors had given Lee a year, possibly two, to live  at the time of his retirement. Yet, he’s still stepping into the pulpit on Sundays with the vigor of a young preacher.

SUWANEE, Ga. — A survey that quizzed Americans on their openness to hearing the gospel has affirmed what Georgia Baptists have been seeing on the frontlines of ministry, that people are eager to talk about Jesus. “Across all generations, the majority of people are spiritually open,” the Barna Group reported in an article last week.

NEW ORLEANS — Southern Baptists have adopted a groundbreaking resolution on artificial intelligence that will serve as a guide to church leaders as well as their government lobbyists. “We must proactively engage and shape these emerging technologies rather than simply respond to the challenges of AI and other emerging technologies after they have already affected our churches and communities,” the resolution said.

NEW OREANS — Southern Baptist messengers got their first look Wednesday at a website that provides resources to help churches prevent sexual abuse and that will eventually include an online sexual abuse registry of abusers. The registry currently has no names because its creators still are vetting people for potential inclusion.

NEW ORLEANS — Southern Baptists commissioned 79 newly appointed missionaries on Tuesday in New Orleans where the SBC annual meeting is underway. Nearly 12,000 messengers watched as the fledgling International Mission Board missionaries crossed the stage in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, some silhouetted behind screens to conceal their identities because they're deploying to countries hostile to the gospel.

ALBANY, Ga. — Georgia pastor Michael Catt who showed Hollywood that wholesome family films can still be huge box office successes has died, his church announced on Monday. Catt, executive producer of the Christian movies Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous, had been battling prostate cancer and had taken a turn for the worse in May.

ROME, Ga. — Student ministers in Georgia are reporting a growing spiritual awareness among school-aged kids, the latest evidence seen last week when 73 middle and high schoolers made salvation decisions at an IMPACT camp at Shorter University. “God is clearly doing something in this next generation,” said Chris Trent, Next Gen catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — A local official has backed off threats to fine Flat Creek Baptist Church for hosting an evangelistic outreach that he claimed violated zoning regulations. The outreach involved a car show that attracted more than 1,200 people to Flat Creek Baptist Church on Saturday.

BETHLEHEM, Ga. — Researchers from the Barna Group have identified stark differences of opinion about ministry between pastors and unchurched people in the communities they serve. “Eighty-four percent of pastors believe the church’s main role is to tell others about Jesus,” Barna said in an article published last week. “Non-Christians, on the other hand, think local churches should focus outward, providing practical help for people in their community.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — More than 100 vintage and classic automobiles were spread across the Flat Creek Baptist Church campus on Saturday in defiance of government officials who had threatened to levy a hefty fine if the congregation didn’t cancel a car show. “We’re not doing this in a spirit of rebellion,” said Pastor Josh Saefkow, standing amid hundreds of car enthusiasts and church members. “We’re doing this out of a commitment to Christ because there are people in this parking lot right now who are broken and in need of a Savior. That’s why we’re doing this event, to point men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus.”

HULL, Ga. — Sharon Reid is proud of her great uncle Harry Spratlin, a Georgia soldier killed in action in the waning days of World War I. Reid and her cousins gathered this Memorial Day weekend to lay a wreath at the base of his headstone in a rural cemetery just up the road from the farm where he was raised.

ALBANY, Ga. — Michael Catt, the groundbreaking Georgia pastor who served as executive producer of the Christian movies Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous, is facing setbacks in his battle with prostate cancer, his family said on social media Wednesday. “In recent months, his health has taken a turn for the worse, and he has had several surgeries, hospitalizations and emergency room visits,” the family said. “Recently, doctors found a tumor in his brain stem.

TOCCOA, Ga. — Some students who enrolled in the new Christian learning centers that have opened in northeast Georgia are getting more than Bible-based education. They’re finding salvation. More than 30 students in Stephens, Banks and Franklin counties have made professions of faith this school year through the Christian learning centers opened over the past two years.

ATLANTA, Ga. — Charles Stanley, the beloved Atlanta preacher whose In Touch Ministries reaches millions of people each day via television and radio, is being remembered as a man of prayer and faithfulness and an unyielding follower of Christ. Stanley died on Tuesday at his home. He was 90. “His legacy is going to continue to touch lives for generations,” said Georgia Baptist Convention President Josh Saefkow, pastor of Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Georgia businessman Ricardo Avila has resigned his seat on the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, the latest of …

Retired Pastor Darell Young sits on the back pew at Hiltonia Baptist Church where he is serving in an interim role. Interim Pastor Darell Young poses outside Hiltonia Baptist Church in east Georgia. …