Foundation provides grant for CBF resource. The Christ Is Our Salvation Foundation provided a $250,000 grant to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to produce church resources, including "Dawnings: Welcoming a New Day in Your Church's Missional Journey." It is a follow-up to the "It's Time: A Journey Towards Missional Faithfulness" study course that challenged churches and individuals to move from a program-driven model toward a missional focus of purpose, passion and meeting needs in communities. Along with "Dawnings," the new grant also will help support CBF's continuing college ministry, which has placed about 200 students in congregations in the past two years through internships, as well as other resources. The Christ Is Our Salvation Foundation was founded in 1952 by philanthropist, entrepreneur and businessman Paul Piper and his wife, Katy, to benefit Christian causes.
Tennessee church van crash kills two. Two people were killed and 12 others injured when a van carrying youth from Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., collided head-on with an SUV while returning from a weekend retreat in Gatlinburg. The driver of the van, Jeff Trussell, 45, and passenger Courteney Kaliszewski, 16, were killed. Ten passengers ranging from middle school to college age were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Two of those were transferred to Children's Hospital. The driver of the SUV, 21-year-old Tyler J. Schaeffer of Seymour, Tenn., crossed the center line of Chapman Highway in Sevier County and struck the van head on, causing it to catch fire. Police said a "powdery substance" was found in Schaeffer's 1997 Chevy Blazer and sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for analysis. He is a convicted felon released from prison in 2011 and placed on six years probation for burglary and robbery.
History conference invites submissions. The Baptist History & Heritage Society invites prospective writers to submit a proposal—500 words or less—for papers to be presented at its 2013 conference, May 20-22 in Richmond, Va. Papers should relate to one aspect of the theme, "Faith, Freedom and Forgiveness: Religion and the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconciliation in Our Time." The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 19. Send submissions to [email protected]. For additional information, contact [email protected].
Volunteers serve in China. This summer, 17 teachers with Volunteers for China led oral English programs as a way of showing God's love to Chinese students, and additional volunteers are needed next year. The nonprofit ministry is working in partnership with Chongwenmen Christian Church in Beijing to provide an English-language church camp for children ages 12 to 15, Aug. 8-19, 2013. College-aged camp counselors and adult teachers are needed. Other opportunities next summer include English programs for Chinese middle-school teachers and college students. Volunteers do not need to speak Chinese. For more information, contact Ann and David Wilson at (865) 983-9852 or [email protected].
–Compiled from wire services
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