BCNE News

The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.

Students Join Northeastern Baptist College Chancellor in Growing Great Commission Baptist Church
Hunter Simpson Hunter Simpson

Students Join Northeastern Baptist College Chancellor in Growing Great Commission Baptist Church

Mark H. Ballard announced in September 2024 that he would be planting a church in Bennington, Vermont. The founding president and chancellor of Northeastern Baptist College (NEBC) shared a vision from the Lord for planting a local church in Bennington, reaching the community with the gospel, and multiplying itself across New England, the country, and the world. 

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Northeastern Baptist College Disciples Students and Impacts the World With the Gospel
Christian Weaver Christian Weaver

Northeastern Baptist College Disciples Students and Impacts the World With the Gospel

The 2025-26 academic year kicked off in September with NEBC’s largest student body ever—105 students! As you read that number, I encourage you to avoid concrete, impersonal thinking. Consider this: God brought on the campus 105 disciples,  with their beautiful stories. Each student is a child of God, a laborer in the harvest fields of Vermont. That perspective will change the way someone thinks about what God is doing here.

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Vermonters Took Point During a Relational and Contextualized Revival as International Commission Volunteers Assisted
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

Vermonters Took Point During a Relational and Contextualized Revival as International Commission Volunteers Assisted

The “hills are alive with the sound” of praise for Jesus because forty-two people made faith commitments and more than 600 heard the gospel when nine Vermont churches took part in the state’s first annual Operation Andrew evangelistic campaign. The yearlong interdenominational emphasis on praying for and talking about Christ with neighbors concluded October 11-18 with a celebration.

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Dorsett Tells Attendees at Inaugural NEXUS 2025 That “God Can Do More Than We Can Ask or Imagine—and God Is Just Getting Started in New England”  
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

Dorsett Tells Attendees at Inaugural NEXUS 2025 That “God Can Do More Than We Can Ask or Imagine—and God Is Just Getting Started in New England”  

Nearly 250 pastors and church leaders from six states and beyond gathered for fellowship, information, worship, inspiration, and a little bit of business at the Baptist Churches of New England’s (BCNE’s) inaugural NEXUS Conference, November 7-8, at First Baptist Church, Marlborough, Massachusetts.

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NEXUS 2025 Will Offer Vital Tools for Missions Multiplication, Leadership Development, Youth Ministry, Pastoral Coaching, Biblical Discipleship, and So Much More
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

NEXUS 2025 Will Offer Vital Tools for Missions Multiplication, Leadership Development, Youth Ministry, Pastoral Coaching, Biblical Discipleship, and So Much More

If you’re seeking “vital tools” to fuel a “movement of multiplication” in your church or if you want to remove your leadership-development “barriers to the gospel,” the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE) is organizing its inaugural NEXUS Conference, which ought to be an essential addition to your calendar.  

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After Nearly Two Decades in New England, Brazilians Are Using Creativity to Advance the Gospel as Missionaries in Portugal
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

After Nearly Two Decades in New England, Brazilians Are Using Creativity to Advance the Gospel as Missionaries in Portugal

Creative ministry comes easily to Silvio Simões dos Santos and Vera Lucia dos Santos, missionaries in Portugal, who use their talents in numerous ways to present the gospel—he as a clown and she as a creative artist.

The couple, who are natives of São Paulo, Brazil, opened their ministry center—called the “365 Family Project”—in Viana do Castelo, fifty miles north of Porto, on April 4, 2025. They sell high-quality, secondhand clothing; teach Brazilian jiujitsu; and offer Japanese origami paper folding classes. They also visit and provide a variety of activities at orphanages, schools, hospitals, and nursing homes in their adopted region and in several other countries.

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Consultant Will Ask New England Baptists to Sharpen Their Church’s “Leadership Development Culture” Because “The Mission of the Gospel Is Too Great to Be Left to Chance”
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

Consultant Will Ask New England Baptists to Sharpen Their Church’s “Leadership Development Culture” Because “The Mission of the Gospel Is Too Great to Be Left to Chance”

New England Baptists should understand their church’s “leadership development culture” and sharpen its focus for “growth and vitality,” which will provide “clarity and direction for improvement.” That’s the essence of what Mac Lake, a noted leadership development consultant, is expected to convey when he keynotes two Saturday plenary sessions at the Baptist Churches of New England’s (BCNE)  Annual Meeting, now called the “Nexus Conference,” November 7-8 at First Baptist Church, Marlborough, Massachusetts. 

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Collegiate Ministry Directors for Greater Boston and New England Will Equip Churches to Evangelize and Disciple Students
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

Collegiate Ministry Directors for Greater Boston and New England Will Equip Churches to Evangelize and Disciple Students

“No plan to reach New England for Christ would be complete without a collegiate component,” said Terry Dorsett, Executive Director of Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE), who appointed directors to lead the network’s collegiate ministry. Fady Ghobrial, for Boston, and Daniel McGhee for the rest of New England, are serving part-time with funding for three years by the Baptist Foundation of New England (BFNE).

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CPA Shaunna Varin Invests Seed Money in the Endowed Fund That Will Underwrite for Decades the Salary of Future Rhode Island Regional Coordinators
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

CPA Shaunna Varin Invests Seed Money in the Endowed Fund That Will Underwrite for Decades the Salary of Future Rhode Island Regional Coordinators

Shaunna M. Varin, a certified public accountant, invested seed money in an endowed fund that, when fully subscribed, will underwrite for decades the salary of the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE) regional coordinator in Rhode Island, America’s smallest state by geographical area and one of the least evangelical states by faith commitment. 

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Leadership Development Director Sandra Coelho Invests in the Endowed Fund That Will Underwrite the Salaries of Future Ministry Training Staff
Dan Nicholas Dan Nicholas

Leadership Development Director Sandra Coelho Invests in the Endowed Fund That Will Underwrite the Salaries of Future Ministry Training Staff

After nearly three decades of ministry, Sandra Coelho, the Leadership Development Director for the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE), has been pondering the “distant future” when she retires and a successor is named. Rather than simply contemplating a future with uncertain funding for “the next generation of leaders who will be serving our churches,” Coelho and her husband decided to donate seed money each year to a new BCNE endowed fund that the next person in her key position will come to depend on for a salary.

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BCNE Hosts Prepare/Enrich Training - Tools for Ministry, Health for Leaders 
Robby Pitt Robby Pitt

BCNE Hosts Prepare/Enrich Training - Tools for Ministry, Health for Leaders 

Fifteen pastors and ministry leaders from across the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE) gathered at the BCNE Multiplication Center on May 20 for a full-day certification in Prepare/Enrich—a proven, research-based assessment tool that helps couples build stronger relationships and churches grow healthier families.

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