This Week in the BRN Family 10.31.24

BRN churches engage their communities through Fall outreach; churches pray for local and global missions; and we celebrate new life through baptism - it's an exciting week in the BRN Family!

October 31, 2024
Macala Mays

This Week in the BRN Family shares quick highlights of BRN churches and ministries throughout Pennsylvania and South Jersey loving their neighbors. Check out the latest happenings, baptisms, and accelerating Kingdom movement stories below:

Fall outreach events are in full swing across PA/SJ

With the leaves changing and the air getting cooler, many of our churches are taking advantage of the seasonal change to engage with their neighbors through Fall outreach events! Check out just a few that happened this past week below:

First Baptist of Swedesboro:

First Baptist Church of Swedesboro in Swedesboro, New Jersey, showed gratitude towards its community by hosting a Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26. The free event brought many neighborhoods together and provided a variety of activities. Including a car show, an obstacle course, prayer, basketball, face paint, and, of course, plenty of yummy food!

Reclamation Church Greensburg:

The hiking club at Reclamation Church in Greensburg, Pa., laced up their boots and hit the trails this past week! The club completed a 4.5 mile loop to Wolf Rocks overlook, enjoying God’s beautiful creation along the way.

Two BRN churches collaborate to meet prayer needs in North Central Philadelphia community

St. John Memorial Baptist Church and Greater Exodus Baptist Church recently collaborated to ask a North Central Philadelphia community five little words: “May I pray with you?” The community overwhelmingly responded with “yes!

The two churches set up a pop-up prayer tent and spent the afternoon in the community connecting with their neighbors and praying for their needs. What a great way to show the love of Christ!

Keystone Fellowship – South Jersey prays over local politicians

On Sunday, Oct. 27, Keystone Fellowship – South Jersey in Sewell, New Jersey, welcomed Washington Township Mayor Laurie Burns and Councilman Anthony DellaPia. Both local politicians encouraged the church and shared their reasoning for running a positive election campaign. Pastor Matthew Pilla and the church then took time to pray over Burns and DellaPia.

IMPACT Church hosts Missions Conference Weekend

Last weekend, IMPACT Church in Parkesburg, Pa., hosted a three-day Missions Conference, where church members could interact with the missionaries they support and learn more about the importance of missions. David Ludwig, Baptist Resource Network (BRN) director of discipleship and leadership development, was present at the conference to represent the BRN!

Baptisms:

Several go public with their faith in Jesus at First Baptist Church of Delaware

On Sunday, Oct. 27, First Baptist Church of Delaware (FBCDE) in New Castle, Delaware, celebrated several people going public with their faith in Jesus by being baptized! Praise the Lord for these new brothers and sisters in Christ! Please join us in celebrating with them and the entire FBCDE church family.

In the News:

PA pastor is featured on national Podcast

Pastor Trent Kirkland, senior pastor of Zion Church in Clarion, Pa., recently was featured on The Care Ministry Podcast, a national podcast produced by Hope Made Strong. On the podcast, Pastor Kirkland shares about his experience hosting the first local Church Mental Health Summit in North America as well as his personal journey with mental health. Listen here

Be a part of This Week in the BRN Family

Have exciting things happening in your church!? Let us know so we can celebrate with you and share the good news with our BRN Family. Submit stories of your church accelerating Kingdom movement, loving their neighbors or celebrating baptisms on our News Tips page. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Macala Mays

In 2022, Macala Mays stepped into her current role as Associate Editor of BRN United and Podcast Producer for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey (BRN). Before taking this position, she worked as a contracted Podcast Producer in 2021 and a freelance writer in 2020 for the BRN. During her time with the BRN, Macala Mays has produced three different podcast series, including 50 Stories of Transformation (2021-2022), The #LovePASJ Podcast (2022), and Celebrating Cooperative Missions (2023). She also has written over 60 articles for the BRN and has been nationally published by The Baptist Paper and Baptist Press. She is also a member of the Baptist Communicators Association (BCA). Prior to working with the BRN, Macala interned at the State Capitol of Tennessee in the Publications Division under the office of Secretary of State. She also remotely wrote news for TalkErie, a radio station in Erie, Pa., and previously worked as a News Director/Producer for WJET-TV in Erie, Pa. Macala Mays holds a master of arts in communications from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (EUP) as well as a bachelor of arts in journalism/public relations from EUP. During her graduate years, Macala worked as a Graduate Assistant and helped manage the on-campus radio station. She also served as a managing editor for the university’s newspaper, which led to an interest in music journalism. Macala and her husband, Robbie, live in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where they attend Big Woods Bible Church and Robbie serves as the Associate Pastor of Campus Ministry. Both Robbie and Macala find great joy in discipling and walking alongside college students at Lock Haven University.