FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist experienced a most historic 2024 marked by unique milestones and events that ranged from the celebratory to the tragic.
Hurricane Helene: Hurricane Helene devastated East Tennessee in September, triggering the largest disaster relief response in state Baptist history.
The storm, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph sustained winds, weakened to a tropical storm before dumping up to 30 inches of rain across East Tennessee and Western North Carolina on Sept. 27.
The Pigeon and Nolichucky Rivers overwhelmed their banks, causing widespread flooding that devastated eight counties: Cocke, Greene, Unicoi, Washington, Carter, Hamblen, Hawkins and Johnson. More than 1,500 homes, churches and businesses were destroyed or significantly damaged, displacing thousands of residents.
Bill Keen, of Chilhowee Hills Baptist Church, Knoxville, and Larry Russell, of Lyons Creek Baptist Church, Strawberry Plains, discard materials stripped from a house in Newport. As part of the Hurricane Helene response efforts, Knox County Association of Baptists disaster relief teams took several houses down to wall studs.
Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) volunteers mobilized immediately, establishing command centers in Newport and partnering with Texas Baptist Disaster Relief in Johnson City.
In the initial weeks, volunteers completed hundreds of recovery projects, including mud removal and structural preparation to prevent mold damage. Teams also provided thousands of meals and operated shower and laundry facilities for displaced residents.
Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB), launched “Arise and Build” in October.
This initiative coordinates long-term recovery efforts among churches, associations, organizations, private contractors and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s Office of Faith Based Initiative.
Financial support for ongoing relief efforts continues through TNDisasterRelief. org.
TBC 150: The Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC) celebrated its 150th anniversary during the November gathering in Murfreesboro, where it first constituted in 1850.
Throughout 2024, a series of “TBC 150” programs streamed through the TNBaptist. org/TBC150 website (programs are still available for viewing). The programs journeyed from Johnson City’s Sinking Creek Baptist Church and “our humble beginnings,” through Jackson (Cooperating Together), Memphis (Celebrating Our Stories), Knoxville (Tennesseans on Mission) and ended in Chattanooga (Together as One).
Five Objectives Concluded: When messengers gathered at Brentwood Baptist Church in 2014, they launched an ambitious initiative called the Five Objectives. The program focused on six key areas: evangelism, baptism, discipleship, church planting, church revitalization and missions giving through both the Cooperative Program and Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.
The initiative, which concluded at the 2024 Summit, resulted in more than 180,000 baptisms. “History will record these 10 years as one of the strongest baptizing decades in Tennessee Baptist life,” said Roc Collins, director of strategic initiatives for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
The church revitalization component helped more than 500 congregations implement strategies to address membership decline and stagnation.
GOTM hits record $3.1 million: The Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions (GOTM) surpassed $3 million in 2024, setting a record and achieving a major goal of the Five Objectives initiative.
Tennessee Baptists contributed $3,128,219.03 million to state missions, marking the sixth record-setting year since 2016. The total represents significant growth from 2014, when giving reached $1,532,060 million.The 2024 total includes $2,451,737.21 million in church contributions and $676,481.82 through Golden Opportunity projects.
CP giving tops $1.5 billion: When Cooperative Program receipts were counted at Tennessee Baptist Mission Board offices on Dec. 6, the final tally pushed the total CP contributions giving by Tennessee Baptists since the CP was established in 1925 in Memphis to more than $1.5 billion.
“Our state crossed the $1 billion mark in the summer of 2010 after 85 years of giving through the Cooperative Program,” said Randy C. Davis, TBMB president and executive director “It has taken less than 15 years for the next half of a billion dollars to be given by Tennessee Baptists through CP.”
Acts 2:17 Initiative — new ministry blueprint: Messengers to the 2024 Summit approved the Acts 2:17 Initiative with only two dissenting votes, establishing a new framework for Tennessee Baptist Convention ministries.
The comprehensive plan includes recommendations from steering teams and workgroups, along with implementation strategies.
“We are ready to pour everything we’ve got into this initiative to assist and serve our churches,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Convention president Jay Hardwick emphasized evangelism’s central role in the plan.
“We want to see our churches taking the Great Commission seriously because they are taking the Great Commission personally,” Hardwick said. “We want to strengthen disciples from every generation.”
Turner named Baptist and Reflector editor: Chris Turner has been named editor of the Baptist and Reflector, succeeding Lonnie Wilkey, who retired Dec. 31 after 26 years at the publication’s helm, and 36 years overall.
Turner brings communications experience from the International Mission Board, where he served two overseas assignments, and LifeWay Christian Resources, where he worked as corporate media relations manager. The Ouachita Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate has served as communications director for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board for 11 years.
Wilkey joined the Baptist and Reflector in 1988 as associate editor before becoming editor in 1998. His 26-year tenure as editor ranks third-longest in the paper’s 189-year history.
Other 2024 Tennessee Baptist news:
• Foundation Leadership Change: Bill Gruenewald retired Oct. 31 as president-treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation, a position he held since 2014. Sam Warner, former vice president for development at the Georgia Baptist Foundation, succeeds Gruenewald, who joined the foundation as executive vice president in 2011.
• Record Gift to Children’s Homes: The Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes received a $3 million gift from the Sumpter Yeaman Charitable Foundation, marking the largest living-donor contribution in its 133-year history.
• Convention Presidential Race: Two Tennessee pastors sought the Southern Baptist Convention presidency in June: Dan Spencer of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, and Jared Moore of Cumberland Homesteads Baptist Church, Crossville. North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley defeated Spencer in a runoff election.
• Blue Oval Initiative Continues: The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s Blue Oval City Initiative has established two new churches despite Ford Motor Co.’s delayed F-150 Lightning production. Churches in Haywood County and surrounding areas lead evangelism efforts.
• Backpack Ministry Exceeds Goal: Churches provided 7,540 Christmas backpacks, surpassing the 7,000-unit goal. The additional supplies aided Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in northeast Tennessee.
• Budget Remains Steady: Messengers to the 2024 Summit approved a $35 million budget for 2024-25, marking six years at this level. The Cooperative Program distribution changed to 45% for the Southern Baptist Convention and 55% for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, adjusted from the previous 47.5%/52.5% split. While giving has stayed between $34 million and $35 million for a decade, inflation has reduced purchasing power by 24%. B&R
