News & Mission Stories
News / Mission Story
A pastoral lament for Minnesota
By Dr. Jeffrey Haggray
VALLEY FORGE, PA (01/26/2026)—My heart grieves the tragic deaths of Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renee Nicole Goode. They were both law-abiding citizens killed while exercising their civic and moral duty, along with their constitutional rights to peacefully resist the ruthless conduct of federally appointed agents that were visibly violating the rights of their neighbors.
Oasis: How American Baptist youth are reviving the church
VALLEY FORGE, PA (12/25/2025)—“I matter. My story matters.”
These are the words that many young American Baptists wrote again and again, claiming the power of storytelling, at the American Baptist Youth Convention on November 7-9, 2025, in Lyons Falls, New York. They came together for renewal, reflection, and new friendships. The gathering’s theme was “Oasis” — a place in a “desert of life where participants can find Living Water.”
When the church listens with a child’s heart: Rediscovering wonder, joy, and belonging in worship
VALLEY FORGE, PA (10/31/2025)—In this interview, Anna Piela, senior writer for American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) and associate editor of The Christian Citizen, speaks with Autumn Blalock, program coordinator of ABHMS’ Nurturing Children Initiative (NCI), a recently launched cohort-based effort helping congregations reimagine worship through the eyes of their youngest members.
Multicultural ministry—listening to one another
VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/25/2025)—“Allelon” (Greek for “one another”) is the annual gathering organized by Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries (MBMM). This year’s event, held from September 18-20 under the theme “Listening to One Another’s Story,” was a space for listening across cultural, racial, and even faith boundaries. Listening was centered at the event as a “theological tool rooted in the character of God and in the ministry of Jesus Christ,” in the words of Rev. Dr. Mar Imsong, executive director of MBMM.
Healing amid God’s love at 'Tu Refugio Seguro'
VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/16/2025)—“Eighty percent of sexual violence is committed by someone we know,” said Irina Sorrels, director of "Tu Refugio Seguro” (Your Safe Refuge), an Indiana-based ministry supporting Latino survivors of domestic and sexual violence as well as trafficking. “Usually the survivors know the abusers—they could be our parents, they could be our brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles—usually it’s somebody who is a part of or very close to the family.”
Sanación en medio del amor de Dios en Tu Refugio Seguro
VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/16/2025)—“El 80 % de los casos de violencia sexual son cometidos por alguien que conocemos”, afirma Irina Sorrels, directora de Tu Refugio Seguro, una organización con sede en Indiana que presta apoyo a los latinos y latinas que han sobrevivido a la violencia doméstica y sexual, así como de la trata de personas. “Por lo general, las víctimas conocen a los agresores: pueden ser nuestros padres, hermanos, hermanas, primos, tíos... normalmente se trata de alguien que forma parte de la familia o es muy cercano a ella”.