BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
Annual Meeting Attendees Asked to Consider How “Multiplication Matters” When Growing Churches for New Englanders
More than two hundred representatives of New England Baptist churches, mission partners from Southern Baptist entities, and interested guests were enthusiastic about multiplication when they gathered November 1-2, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Manchester, CT, for the Baptist Churches of New England Annual Meeting.
Brazilian “Reverse Missionary ” Completes Two Decades as a Pastor, Is Re-Elected BCNE President
At their annual meeting on November 1 in Manchester, CT, the Baptist Churches of New England re-elected Lierte Soares Jr. as president. Soares is a self-proclaimed “reverse missionary” from Brazil to New England. He is pastor of Family Church, Framingham, MA; and New Life Community Church, Georgetown, MA.
BCNE Appoints Josh Presley, a Ministry-Experienced Practitioner Who Loves Churches and Pastors, as Its Next Associate Executive Director
Ministry “success,” for Joshua Presley, is about encouraging others to be the best possible followers of Jesus Christ and the best possible leaders of a church they can become—the very approach he will bring on January 1 to a new assignment as Associate Executive Director of the Baptist Churches of New England.
Every Church Member Has a Seat at the Table—Nationally and Regionally
By the standards of most Southern Baptist “state conventions,” the Baptist Churches of New England is uncommon. Despite its relatively small size when compared to Texas, for example, BCNE leaders—and by representation every church member—have an equally important seat at the table and an outsized voice on what is decided in Baptist circles across the nation.
Lessons Learned by a Pastor in Rural Vermont Over Decades
The difficult lessons that David Scott Lee has learned along the road to becoming a faithful pastor in rural Vermont for two decades began when, as a teenager, he realized that his lifetime of church attendance was not synonymous with genuine Christian faith.
Helping University Students During Boston’s “Big Move-In” Is Central to the Community Engagement Strategy of King’s Hill Church
Thousands of university students were on the move to Boston over the Labor Day weekend and they needed a lot of help. Nearly three hundred Baptists from seven states came to their rescue at the invitation of King’s Hill Church.
Stamford Baptist Gives Generously to the BCNE and Invests Wisely Through Its Foundation
A single approach is not enough for Stamford Baptist Church. The multiethnic and multicultural congregation supports ministry in New England in two distinct ways.
Annual Meeting Participants Will Focus on the “Ministry of Gospel Multiplication”
“But the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24, ESV) in the first-century Middle East and it is doing so in twenty-first century New England.
That’s the inspiring message that New England Baptists can expect to be preached in various ways from the podium and discussed in small-group workshops when they attend the Baptist Churches of New England annual meeting—the theme of which will be “Multiplication Matters.”
BCNE “Mission Force” Is Making an “Impactful Change”as Young Leaders Studied for Months and Then Visited Europe
Sarah Crowther spent part of her summer vacation from college exploring Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal, which has been described as “a vibrant European city [where] tradition fuels creativity.” She visited the UNESCO World Heritage destination, not as a tourist, but as short-term missionary. From August 2-12 she sought and found a measure of “spiritual renewal.”
Relief Teams Bring “Help, Hope, and Healing” to Flooded Central Vermont Homeowners for a Second Consecutive Summer
Exactly a year after rain-soaked rivers escaped their banks, filling many basements with mud and many hearts with despair, torrential rain returned July 10 to Barre and other Vermont communities, destroying or causing major damage to more than one hundred homes, according to a preliminary report.
CrossWalk 2024 Recap: Running the Race Together
The verse above is one of the verses we looked at in our Bible study groups at Crosswalk this year. And to me, this verse really captures the heart of Crosswalk. For anyone wondering, Crosswalk is a weeklong Bible camp for middle school and high school students throughout New England, taking place at Nichols College. Youth pastors, leaders, and parents take a week off to chaperone these students - 30 congregations being represented! - and give them a chance to learn the Bible and worship the Lord with other believers.
Antioch Baptist Church Serves the Global Academic Community of Boston and Plants Churches Around the World
An abiding passion to live as disciples of Jesus has attracted a church full of college students, graduate students, and people with advanced degrees to Antioch Baptist Church, which is located in the world-class academic community of Greater Boston.
Brazilians Learn About Multicultural Ministry in a Post-Christian World and Explore New England’s Revival History
Seven church leaders from Brazil traveled to New England in July to explore the benefits and challenges of multicultural ministry in a post-Christian world and return home with fresh ideas on how to effectively serve their neighbors from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and other Latin American countries.
Vietnamese Church Makes New England Baptist History While Struggling to Reach Second Generation With the Gospel
A monumental slice of New England Baptist history happened on June 2 when the first Vietnamese church in the Baptist Churches of New England network ordained their first pastor.
Near the ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World,’ Church Connects Town’s Founding to Current Need for the Gospel
BEDFORD, Mass. (BP) — Ministry in a place that witnessed the first shots of the American Revolution demands an appreciation for history. Trinity Church of Bedford works to honor that connection while hoping to draw residents back to a commitment made long ago.
Lessons Learned by a Massachusetts Pastor Over Decades
It can take decades to grow a thriving church in the spiritually rocky soil of New England, and it can take a lifetime to learn the essential lessons of faithful discipleship. Consider the forty-year ministry of Neal Davidson.
BCNE’s Vacation Bible School Training Draws Church Leaders From 19 States
“When it comes to kids’ ministry I want to soak in every bit of training I can and hear the curriculum taught from different perspectives,” wrote Renee Hauser, an experienced Vacation Bible School leader from North Carolina.
Couple Who Brought Fresh Perspectives to BCNE’s Church-Planting and Partnership-Development Strategies Are Relocating to Florida
Associate Executive Director Hal Haller, who strengthened the Baptist Churches of New England’s church-planting efforts, developed a church “multiplier team,” and led in the creation of an interdenominational partnership to start new congregations, completed his ministry in New England after nearly four years of leadership at the BCNE. He plans to move to Florida later this month to coach business executives.
Kiwanis Club Honors Fellowship Church Granite State with a Community Impact Award
Aaron Cockrum takes seriously God’s challenge to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you . . . and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Apparently, town officials and civic leaders in Hooksett, NH, concur.
Soft-Spoken Bengali Pastor Combines the Mind of a Scholar and the Heart of a Shepherd
The late Pentecostal scholar Gordon D. Fee, who taught for almost two decades at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, once told an academic gathering at which he was being honored that he “was spurred on to scholarship in part when he heard a minister say from the pulpit, ‘I would rather be a fool on fire than a scholar on ice’”—which led Fee “to the conviction that it should be possible to be a ‘scholar on fire.’’’