This Week in the BRN Family 05.22.25

PA/SJ ethnic pastors gather and discuss Kingdom goals; churches host first-time events; and we celebrate new life in Christ through baptism - it's an exciting week in the BRN Family!

May 22, 2025
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:

PA/SJ ethnic pastors gather to discuss Kingdom goals

Several ethnic pastors and their wives gathered this past weekend for encouragement and to discuss setting goals using the BRN’s Next Step tools, all with the eye of accelerating Kingdom movement in our region. We are grateful for all of the pastors and their wives who attended this event as well as for our BRN Church Advancement Consultants – Noelson Chery, Gerald Waters, and others – who organized this effort!

BRN EVANGELISM GRANT: Ladies Night stirs up gospel conversations at Reclamation Church Greensburg

Through a BRN Evangelism Grant, Reclamation Church Greensburg was able to bless women connected to their church with a meal and a night out, where each woman was met with the gospel and a sister in Christ. Read More

Freedom Biker Church hosts first-ever men’s retreat

Over the weekend, men from Freedom Biker Church in York, Pa., packed up their bags and hit the road for their first-ever men’s retreat. The men spent the weekend resting and worshiping together – what an encouraging time together as brothers in Christ!

BRN EVANGELISM GRANT: Easter outreach paves the way for gospel conversations at Providence Church

Leading up to Easter, Providence Church Coatesville organized multiple strategic outreach opportunities in order to show the love of Christ to those in their community and open the door for gospel conversations. Read More

First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church rejoices with graduates in their community

On Sunday, May 18, First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church in Lansdowne, Pa., hosted its first-ever community graduation celebration for families a part of their church and those outside of the church. It was a beautiful day of recognizing the students and their families for all they had accomplished during the past school year!

Baptisms:

Several young people are baptized at CareView Community Church in Lansdowne, Pa.

On Sunday, May 18, several young people made a public declaration of their love for Jesus through baptism at CareView Community Church in Lansdowne, Pa. Praise the Lord for these young brothers and sisters in Christ and their boldness to proclaim Jesus as Lord! Please join us in celebrating with them and the entire CareView Community Church family.

Steel City Church baptizes two on Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day (May 11), Steel City Church in Pittsburgh not only celebrated the gift of motherhood, but also the gift of new life found in Jesus! The church witnessed the baptisms of Hudson and Stephanie as they both made bold declarations of faith in Jesus. Praise the Lord for this brother and sister in Christ! Please join us in rejoicing with them and the entire Steel City Church family.

Prayer and Praise Night results in 16 baptisms at Keystone Montgomeryville

Earlier this year, Keystone Montgomeryville hosted a Prayer & Praise service, which resulted in the celebration of 16 baptisms! The night started out with worship, communion, and powerful prayer. Together, the church lifted up their mission partners around the world in prayer, including those in Guyana, Bangladesh, and the Middle East.

However, the highlight of the evening was witnessing believers from every ministry – elementary, middle school, high school, young adults, and adults – publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized! Praise the Lord for each of these lives committed to following Jesus! Please join us in celebrating with them and the entire Keystone Montgomeryville Church family.

In the News:

IN THE NEWS: Restored Church + Serve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

On May 19, Pastor Tim Morris of Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was featured on WRGN, the local Christian radio station, to chat about Serve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Morris was able to share the heart behind Serve PA/SJ and invite the community to participate in this BRN initiative! Check out his interview on WRGN’s Rewind Podcast by clicking the button below. Listen Here

Collegiate Corner:

‘Midnight Pancakes’ tradition continues at LHU

During finals week at Lock Haven University, Big Woods Bible Church, Lock Haven, Pa., kept the tradition of Midnight Pancakes going as members from the church and students involved with New Life campus ministry and Athletes Bible Study served up pancakes from 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. on May 13 for nearly 300 students! This event not only provides the church with a way to serve the students, but also to engage in gospel conversations. New Life and Athletes Bible Study are college ministries affiliated with and supported by Big Woods Bible Church.

Penn State University college ministry welcomes VT BCM for spring outreach

New Life campus ministry at Penn State University hosted a team of students from Virginia Tech to help with spring outreach happening on PSU’s campus. Read More

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.