VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/11/2025)—When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, 80 percent of the city was flooded, leading to the devastating loss of 1400 lives (some sources suggest the higher number of 1833 lives). The Black residents of New Orleans suffered the most; many lived in low-cost housing below the sea level that was not sufficiently protected from flooding by the faulty levees. There also weren’t any evacuation plans for the poor residents of the city, many of whom did not have their own transportation or any place to escape to.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/11/2025)—“Currently, 26 percent of Puerto Rico churches are without pastors,” noted Rev. Abigail Medina Betancourt, national coordinator of Intercultural Engagement at American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) and associate program director of Creciendo Juntos, an ABHMS program that seeks to build capacity for Latino ministries. Building Bridges, a three-year collaborative program developed by ABHMS, Iglesias Bautistas de Puerto Rico (IBPR, Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico), and Unión de Jóvenes Bautistas de Puerto Rico (UJBPR, Union of the Baptist Youth of Puerto Rico) addresses the problem of a lack of intergenerational leadership development opportunities that would appeal to emerging leaders. In recent years, it has become painfully clear that the need for training intergenerational clergy in Puerto Rico is pressing.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/08/2025)—On K Street in Lincoln, Nebraska, a sacred gathering is held on Saturdays. In an act of discipleship, volunteers from First Baptist Church of Lincoln and other churches in town come together to help fulfill their neighbors’ need for sustenance and human belonging. Thanks to the K Street Lunch initiative, those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity in Lincoln can partake in God’s bounty that involves a nutritious meal and community connection.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/08/2025)—Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds in Yamhill, Oregon, are American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) longtime ministry partners. They grow food, welcome students, host tours, and teach earth-honoring ways of living. Indigenous spiritual frameworks define Eloheh’s mission, focusing on right relationship with the land, animals, water, and people; non-extractive, regenerative practices in farming and teaching; decolonization of theology; and healing and restoration through community and earth-centered justice.

VALLEY FORCE, PA (07/17/2025)—Union Baptist Church in Mystic, Conn., one of American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) many longtime supporters, looks like many small-town churches in New England. It is a beautiful, historic, white-steepled building; it also houses a congregation charting a bold course. Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Lonnie Brown, Union Baptist has embraced a public theology of welcome and justice, becoming a spiritual home for those often pushed to the margins. The church is doing more than proclaiming openness: it’s practicing it. At a time when many churches are shrinking or disagreeing over social justice issues, Union Baptist is finding growth not in numbers, but in courage and clarity.