ELIZABETHTON — Sitting down with Kaye and John Thomas inside Grace Baptist Church to learn about their almost 30 years working with Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) turns into an impromptu version of show and tell.

While Kaye explains their role with the organization, she’s interrupted, almost on cue, by a volunteer. He reports to her about a man who needs electrical and plumbing work for the house he’s built from scratch. As coordinator, Kaye listens carefully and mentions the crew she’s already scheduled to work at that location.

“It’s taken some creative minds,” she explains, describing their role, from overseeing massive repair work to organizing large groups of volunteers. [Read more…]

FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s communications team won 17 awards in the 61st annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition during the Baptist Communicators Association’s awards banquet April 22 in San Antonio.

The 17 awards featured nine first-place honors, including the Baptist and Reflector taking the top spot in the Overall Publication (Newspaper) category.

“I am extremely proud of each person on our communications team,” said Chris Turner, TBMB communications director and Baptist and Reflector editor. “The awards were won in a broad range of categories that showcase the diverse skillset of our staff. Most importantly is that every entry for which we won an award was work done in support of the [Read more…]

Charlie Barnard is pastor at Wildwood Baptist. His wife Teresa serves as music director.

MARYVILLE — Wildwood Baptist in Maryville was a small church on the verge of closing when retired pastor Charlie Barnard received an unexpected call.

“I ain’t going — that’s bad English, but that’s what I told God,” recalls 66-year-old Charlie. He had retired from 17 years as senior pastor at First Baptist Tellico Village just three days before Wildwood reached out in April 2022 asking him to consider being their pastor.

Living less than a mile from the church, Charlie and his wife Teresa decided to attend one Sunday. The couple wasn’t unfamiliar with Wildwood — they had family members there and were even married in the church. What they found was a congregation of just 25 people, nearly all over age 70.

“After that service, I thought, gosh, I know that I’ve got a set of skills that can help this church,” he said. [Read more…]

Students join together in a worship song at this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference, which was held at three regional sites across the state. There were more than 250 decisions for Christ at the three conferences. — Photos by Shaq Hardy

FRANKLIN — In some ways, it felt as if the devil was in the details at this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference.

Severe weather, logistical challenges and altered travel plans were just a few of the obstacles that could have derailed the event.

But it was God, not the enemy, who orchestrated each variable of the 2025 YEC. And in the end, the perceived hardships just made the victories all the sweeter.

With several thousand students and leaders in attendance, the event — which was held at three regional sites — saw more than 250 decisions for Christ, including professions of faith and calls to the ministry. [Read more…]