VALLEY FORGE, PA (10/02/2025)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) mourns the passing and celebrates the life of Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr. (1931–2025), a prophetic preacher, courageous pastor, and prolific author whose influence extended far beyond the pulpit. Pastor Emeritus of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California, and Professor Emeritus at the American Baptist Seminary of the West, now Berkeley School of Theology (BST), Smith embodied the belief that authentic Christian faith must always lean toward justice.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/24/2025)— American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) has received the Hope Partner Award from Hope for Tomorrow, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit serving Burmese and Chin refugee families.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 09/24/2025)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) invites nominations for five esteemed national ministry awards that recognize American Baptist chaplains, pastoral counselors, spiritual directors, and other specialized ministers who exemplify excellence in spiritual caregiving. Award recipients will be honored at the Chaplaincy & Specialized Ministry Luncheon during ABHMS’ Space for Grace & Spiritual Caregivers Conference, April 21–23, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 09/17/2025)—The 2026 Spiritual Caregivers Conference Poster Subcommittee of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) is inviting chaplains, specialized ministers, pastoral counselors, and spiritual directors to submit proposals for poster presentations they wish to deliver at ABHMS’ 2026 Space for Grace & Spiritual Caregivers Conference, April 21-23, in Cleveland, Ohio. Applications to present are being accepted until 5 p.m. ET, November 21, 2025.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/27/2025)—Asian American Christian leaders convened in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 1 for two days of activities combining pilgrimage, storytelling, and dialogue across cultures and spanning generations. Titled “The Exchange: Stories of Rooted Faith,” the event sprang from a collaboration of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), the Arc Initiative at Berkeley School of Theology, and the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Seminary’s Asian American Center under ABHMS’ The Exchange initiative.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/25/2025)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) invites the public to the next edition of its Justice Dialogues series, set for Wednesday, September 3, at 12 p.m. EDT. Titled “Embracing a Prophetic Imagination: The Role of the Church in This Present Age,” this virtual event will feature Bishop Dwayne D. Royster, executive director of Faith in Action, the nation’s largest global faith-based organizing movement for racial and economic justice.