Kidnapped in Ukraine, 60 Minutes Interview & Gospel Spreads in Disaster Relief

A Baptist pastor and his wife remain missing after being kidnapped Sept. 21 from their church in Russian-occupied Mariupol, Forum 18 News Service reported Oct. 6.

Armed masked men in Russian military uniforms took Council of Churches Baptists Pastor Leonid Ponomaryov and his wife Tatyana from their home in the Kalmiusky District of northern Mariupol, neighbors told Forum 18. Officials reportedly searched the home for about two and a half hours.

The Russian military also searched and sealed Ponomaryov’s church, identified as Kurchatov Street Baptist Church, and seized religious literature there, Forum 18 said, attributing reports to Mariupol Baptists.
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SBC President Bart Barber was a guest of Anderson Cooper on CBS’ 60 Minutes program Sunday (Oct. 9). The 13-minute segment dealt with issues of sexual abuse in the SBC, political division in the United States surrounding former President Donald Trump, the separation of church and state, abortion, immigration and same-sex marriage.

Barber was elected as president of the Convention at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in June in Anaheim, Calif.

“I believe that the Southern Baptist Convention faces some unique challenges right now. I felt like God was calling me to try to give leadership at this moment to help Southern Baptists move forward,” Barber told Cooper.
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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.
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When Hurricane Ian attacked Florida, Florida Baptist Disaster Relief (FBDR) was ready to offer restoration at a moment’s notice. State director David Coggins mobilized Florida volunteers as many states mobilized disaster relief teams to respond.

Numbers quickly ascended within days of the storm to include 180 volunteers serving at nine feeding stations and 10 cleanup sites in Florida, deployed from across Florida and eight other states. Through Oct. 5, volunteers had served more than 46,500 meals, completed 32 of the 232 cleanup and rebuild jobs initially requested and led three new believers to Christ.

The work, only a microcosm of the annual scale of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR), is funded by the Southern Baptist Cooperative Program and the direct gifts from Southern Baptists and other supporters nationally. Florida has already received two truckloads of food and cleanup and recovery supplies from Send Relief Appalachia Ministry Center in Ashland, Ky.

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