Evangelistic Success, Ukrainian Ministry, & Called to Ministry

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers lead many to Christ in 2021

More than 2,100 professions of faith came as a result of the ministry of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) in 2021, which is nearly a record number for professions of faith in a single year for the ministry.

The full total of 2,133 professions of faith is just one of the positive statistics from SBDR.

Other positive reports include more than 83,000 meals distributed, more than 51,000 volunteer days throughout the year and more than 10,000 Gospel presentations.

Sam Porter is the national director for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief for Send Relief with the North American Mission Board. He told Baptist Press that the unique service-based ministry of disaster relief provides the opportunity to provide hurting people with hope.

Ukrainian church ministering despite war

Journey Church in Lviv, Ukraine is doing their best to continue the work of the ministry despite the country’s invasion by Russia. Slavik Pyzh, the church’s planter and president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary, said the church recently conducted a baptism service and hosted a wedding … though both events were far from what they would have been during peace time.

Pyzh says churches and other religious centers in the more-immediate war zone have been damaged, with churches in Mariupol heavily damaged, as well as Irpin Bible Seminary in Kyiv.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered all Ukrainian men ages 18-60 to remain in the country to fight, Pyzh will likely be excluded from combat because he is conducting humanitarian aid.

To help those dealing with the crisis in Ukraine, visit SendRelief.org.

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.

Lorie Keene is a nurse and pastor’s wife in Shelbyville, Tennessee. In a First Person piece on Baptist Press she shares her story how she felt called to ministry when she was teenager. As she matured, she pursued several missions’ opportunities and ended up in seminary at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

It was there she met and married her husband. Over the past 20 years, she says she’s served in her local church and seen the Lord give her many opportunities for ministry working in emergency rooms and on a care unit for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“Though my job is technically labeled as secular, the Lord has shown me time after time that any work surrounded to His glory is holy,” she writes.

Read the full piece from Lorie Keene at Baptist Press.

Find more stories at BaptistPress.com.