Participation at NEXUS will help pastors and church leaders find ministry partners and equip members for leadership. The conference speakers, worship, and practical training offered will “encourage your spirit so that your church can flourish!”

Several hundred immigrants in Greater Boston accepted such invitations to at least ten watch parties held at or sponsored by immigrant churches that affiliate with the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE). At least six Brazilian and four Haitian churches held unadvertised watch parties for World Cup matches. 

When they decided fourteen years ago to plant New Hope Bible Chapel in the North Worcester County community of Templeton, Massachusetts, Bob and Michelle Cote could not have imagined what would happen in the years ahead and especially what transpired the evening of June 1 when they were called in to meet with the Select Board that governs the town.

Hillside Baptist Church has been described as “a faithful church with an aging congregation and limited resources.” That’s a true but incomplete description. It is never a simple endeavor for a church of any size to cultivate a substantial vision for spiritual faithfulness and numerical growth, and that is especially so when fewer than twenty people attend worship and half that number are members.

The numbers have been crunched and the Annual Church Profile (ACP 2025) report from 384 Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE) congregations reflects the national trend of “sustained growth” in attendance and baptisms, while the membership totals declined in 2025 when compared with 2024.

If your church finds itself the target of an intruder with a deadly weapon and a lethal intent, what should your pastor, leaders, and members do in the crisis moment to stay alive? And what training and strategies should you implement to prepare—as much as possible—to survive an attack that hopefully will never happen? 

“That is awesome!” proclaimed Jim LaMothe, pastor of Stamford Community Church, when he learned that his community-focused congregation in rural Southwestern Vermont, some fifteen miles “on the other side of the mountain” from historic Bennington, had become the four-hundredth church to join the Baptist Churches of New England nexus. The Board of Directors approved their application for membership at its March meeting.   

An excellent example of a congregation that represents BCNE’s growing edge is the multiethnic Word of God Christian Fellowship that Neptali Rondina has been leading since May 14, 2017. The Filipino American immigrant church serves recent arrivals from the Philippines, individuals and families who have found their way to Metrowest Boston and those who have lived near the region’s largest city for generations.