By James Dean
Pastor, New Day Church, Nashville
New Day Church launched Sept. 23 at Harpeth Valley Elementary School with 78 in attendance. Truly what is taking place is a God thing! My wife Sheryl and I felt called to leave Springfield Baptist Church in Springfield to start a new church in the Bellevue area of Nashville during the summer of 2017.
Roc Collins of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board was the first contact from Tennessee Baptists who offered to “help in any way we can.” David Evans, TBMB evangelist specialist, had pastored in Springfield and also came alongside. David helped with organizing Pray for Tennessee and offered prayers and words of encouragement on a regular basis. Later, the evangelism team provided more than a thousand John 3:16 tracts which was written by David Leavell (president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention) which have been used in numerous outreach events and placed on doors in the community with church information.
Lewis McMullen, the new churches team leader for the TBMB, has been amazing. Early on, Lewis provided a number of documents that help a church planter. These included helpful information from the TBMB to other organizational helps such as 501-C-3 information, IRS identification numbers and more. Lewis has been a constant source of help by listening, advising and giving practical guidance. His assistant, Bernie Baker, has also been available to help in many ways.
In May, I was contacted by Mark Harvey with Nashville City Reach. Mark put us in contact with Sanford Hill Baptist Church in Henderson. They came to Nashville in June and prayer walked in our community, wrote cards to families in a targeted neighborhood and printed materials for the church. Since that time, Sanford Hill Baptist Church with leadership from Pastor Shane Connor and Scott Dunaway have returned to help with a Saturday outreach project and provided some financial support.
The state WMU meeting collected items for backpacks to be given out in elementary schools. Through the Nashville Baptist Association we received 50 of the backpacks. We shared 15 of these with another church plant and took the remainder to three elementary schools. These were much appreciated and gave us a great way to minister to and connect with some local schools.
New Day Church has also received funds for start-up projects through the New Churches Department and Lewis McMullen. Two grants totaling $3,500.00 have been a great help to New Day Church. These funds are provided through the Golden Missions Offering.
Starting in September, we are now receiving a $500 a month salary supplement from the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions and are distributed by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board through a mother church.
I am writing this to say, “Thank You!” New Day Church has been helped in several ways by Tennessee Baptists. We could not be doing what we are doing without the provision of God through you. You are a part of planting New Day Church and our mission to reach Bellevue, Nashville, Tennessee and the ends of the earth.
God bless you! B&R