Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEEDED TOOL FOR MINISTRY

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Mark Miller

Mark Miller

BRENTWOOD — While enrollment and attendance numbers for Sunday School have declined across the Southern Baptist Convention in recent years according to Annual Church Profile (ACP) reports, Sunday School remains a much needed ministry tool in churches, says Mark Miller.

Miller, Sunday School specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, cited research on “transformational groups” provided by LifeWay Christian Resources.

“Worship attenders who also participate in a group or class read their Bible more, pray more, confess their sins more, share the gospel more, give more, and serve more than those who just attend worship,” he observed. [Read more…]

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CHILDREN RAISE $16,569 DURING VBS

By Hannah Muñoz
Intern, The Alabama Baptist

VBS leaders at Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville, “slime” Larry Robertson, senior pastor, after the VBS participants exceeded their goal for their offering to a local food ministry for students. — Photo by Kayla Enquist

VBS leaders at Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville, “slime” Larry Robertson, senior pastor, after the VBS participants exceeded their goal for their offering to a local food ministry for students. — Photo by Kayla Enquist

CLARKSVILLE — Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville, raised $16,569 for a local food ministry for students during its Vacation Bible School on June 6–10.

The food subsidization program  or FUEL Ministry is designed to feed children whose only food source may be the food they are receiving at school, according to its website. Several area churches gather food and funds to provide food to children in the Clarksville Montgomery County School System.

Hilldale has supported FUEL since 2009 and specifically with its VBS offering since 2012.

During this year’s VBS, Senior Pastor Larry Robertson and Preschool and Children’s Pastor Tim Muñoz set an offering goal of $12,001 with a reward of “sliming” Robertson during the final worship time on Friday afternoon. And the 708 children who attended were not disappointed. [Read more…]

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YEC TEAM SERVES IN GUATEMALA

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Jania Howe, left, of First Baptist Church, Manchester, leads some public school students in an activity in Guatemala.

Jania Howe, left, of First Baptist Church, Manchester, leads some public school students in an activity in Guatemala.

BRENTWOOD — “We went to Guatemala to change people there and show them Jesus, but we came back with changed hearts and opened eyes,” said Jania Howe, 17, who ministered recently in Guatemala.

Howe and 77 other teens and adults served in Guatemala as a part of the Youth Evangelism Conference missions team. They went to support the Tennessee/Guatemala Baptist Partnership. The team served June 3-11. Offerings given at the 2015 and 2016 YEC helped fund the trip.

The team was made up of students from 11 churches, reported Bruce Edwards, youth specialist, Tennessee Baptist Convention, and team leader. “It was an incredible experience for all of us. We left a part of our hearts in Guatemala!

“Seeing these students boldly share their testimonies and the gospel through interpreters was amazing and we saw many Guatemalans, especially youth, accept Jesus Christ and make professions of faith,” he added. Assisting Edwards was Wes Jones of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief and his wife Pam, who are former Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionaries to Guatemala. [Read more…]

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CHURCH, PASTOR, MEMBERS IN BIG ROCK ARE FLOODED

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

-Photo: Angela Elliott

-Photo: Angela Elliott

BIG ROCK — A Tennessee Baptist church facility, the home of a pastor, and the houses of several church members were flooded in the early hours of Thursday, July 7, here.

The worship center and Fellowship Center of Big Rock Baptist Church, Big Rock, were flooded. The worship center which included most of the church’s classrooms had two feet of water in it. Also two church vans were severely damaged.

The home of David Whitehead, pastor, Big Rock Baptist, was flooded. Several homes of members of the church also were damaged by flood waters, reported William Gray, director of missions, Judson, Stewart, and Truett Baptist Associations, based in Dover and Bon Aqua. Another resident who lived in a mobile home saw it washed from its location. [Read more…]

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AFTER W.VA. FLOODING, BAPTIST DR AIDING RECOVERY

Editor’s Note: Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief has been asked by the North American Mission Board to oversee operations in the Rainelle, West Va., area. Efforts will include on site command, feeding volunteer teams, chaplains, assessors, and mud out teams. The Tennessee volunteers will be hosted by Calvary Baptist Church in Meadow Bridge, West. Va. Mud out teams are urgently needed. If interested in serving, contact Elizabeth Holmes in Tennessee Baptist DR at eholmes@tnbaptist.org or call 615-371-7926. Donations for disaster relief (designated for West Virginia) may be sent to TBC Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 728, Brentwood, TN 37024 or give online at www.tndisasterrelief.org.

 

By Josie Rabbitt & Jacob Brooks, NAMB

Pat McCoy (right) of Berkley Springs, W.Va., member of South Berkley Baptist Church and Raymond Bouchoc of Charlestown, W.Va., member of Baker Heights Baptist Church mark and remove wet drywall in Rupert County as part of mud-out recovery. Much of what various disaster relief recovery teams looked for after damage assessments were rotten walls and dangerous mold. -NAMB photo by Van Payne

Pat McCoy (right) of Berkley Springs, W.Va., member of South Berkley Baptist Church and Raymond Bouchoc of Charlestown, W.Va., member of Baker Heights Baptist Church mark and remove wet drywall in Rupert County as part of mud-out recovery. Much of what various disaster relief recovery teams looked for after damage assessments were rotten walls and dangerous mold.
-NAMB photo by Van Payne

GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. (BP) — Blue and “yellow” hard hats can be seen along eight West Virginia counties’ roads and streets — hats worn by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers. Engaged in recovery assessment, the SBDR response teams are making their way through communities that were under water just days ago, answering calls for help from numerous West Virginians left without power, vehicles and even homes.

On June 23, torrential rains hit West Virginia, causing flooding that claimed at least 24 lives and more than 100 homes. More than 30,000 homes and businesses lost power.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) described the flooding as a “historic” tragedy and applauded the continued efforts of relief response teams such as the American Red Cross and various SBDR units, as reported by the Associated Press.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin tweeted his appreciation for state partners who provided critical resources to West Virginia as quickly as possible and announced that FEMA will expand federal funding to eight counties: Fayette, Clay, Roane, Summers, Monroe, Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas. [Read more…]

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EVANGELISTS EXPLORE PARTNERSHIPS

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Phil Glisson, president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, preaches during the COSBE meeting. Glisson has been an evangelist based in Memphis for 45 years.

Phil Glisson, president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, preaches during the COSBE meeting. Glisson has been an evangelist based in Memphis for 45 years.

ST. LOUIS — Building relationships with pastors was the emphasis of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists as it gathered in St. Louis June 12 for a worship service and business meeting preceding the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting there.
“I really felt led of the Lord this year to make this the year we mix and mingle with pastors at the convention,” COSBE President Phil Glisson, who has been a vocational evangelist 45 years, said during the business session. “… Pastors do not know us, especially these younger guys. They don’t even understand what we’re all about.”

Some 40-50 pastors attended the worship service, which was hosted by St. Louis’s Tower Grove Baptist Church, an increase from the typical number of pastors who attend the annual pre-convention event, COSBE reported. Among the service’s highlights were a message from Glisson and the posthumous induction of two evangelists into the Hall of Faith, an honor bestowed upon evangelists “who have ‘fought the fight’ and ‘kept the faith,’ ” according to COSBE’s website. The service included music, testimonies, and ventriloquism as well. [Read more…]

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LACK OF EVANGELISM A DISCIPLESHIP ISSUE

By Harper McKay
Baptist Press

Robby Gallaty

Robby Gallaty

ST. LOUIS — The lack of evangelism among Southern Baptists is at its heart a discipleship issue according to panelists at the Replicate Ministries breakfast.

“I think the challenge we have in our convention and our churches is that we have seen discipleship and evangelism as pitted against each other,” said Robby Gallaty, president of Replicate Ministries, during the June 14 gathering at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in St. Louis.

Gallaty, who also is pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church, Hendersonville, moderated the panel that included David Platt, president of the International Mission Board; Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova; J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Johnny Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga.

Gallaty’s questions centered on the decline of baptisms and church attendance in the SBC and how evangelism and discipleship factor into those numbers. [Read more…]

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CARSON-NEWMAN GRAD HONORED BY NATIONAL WMU

By Julie Waters
Baptist Press

Mindy Jamison, center, co-director of the Friendship Baptist Center in Des Moines, Iowa, stands with David George, left, president of the Woman’s Missionary Union Foundation, and Wanda Lee, right, retiring WMU executive director, during the WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting Monday, June 13, in St. Louis. Jamison was the recipient of the 2016 Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development for her work.

Mindy Jamison, center, co-director of the Friendship Baptist Center in Des Moines, Iowa, stands with David George, left, president of the Woman’s Missionary Union Foundation, and Wanda Lee, right, retiring WMU executive director, during the WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting Monday, June 13, in St. Louis. Jamison was the recipient of the 2016 Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development for her work.

ST. LOUIS — Mindy Jamison, co-director of Friendship Baptist Center in Des Moines, Iowa, for the past 17 years along with her husband Jon, is this year’s recipient of the Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development.

“Mindy pours her life into people living in the inner city of Des Moines, and at the same time invites and encourages others to minister alongside her,” said Joni Wilkinson, executive director of Iowa Woman’s Missionary Union and volunteer at the Friendship Center, who recommended Jamison for the award. “She is a mentor to women of all ages and backgrounds and continues to teach about her passion — living out her faith in her community and seeing people living in poverty come to know Christ.”

The Jamisons are well known to many Tennessee Baptists who traveled to Des Moines and worked at the Friendship Center during the decade or so that the Tennessee Baptist Convention partnered with the Baptist Convention of Iowa. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEANS SERVE FERGUSON RESIDENTS

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Dr. Mike Carrigan, a physician in Clarksville who is a member of First Baptist Church, Clarksville, reviews a chart of a patient as nurses help her at the Send Relief medical/dental mobile clinic of the North American Mission Board on June 11 in Ferguson, Mo. — Photo by Bill Graham

Dr. Mike Carrigan, a physician in Clarksville who is a member of First Baptist Church, Clarksville, reviews a chart of a patient as nurses help her at the Send Relief medical/dental mobile clinic of the North American Mission Board on June 11 in Ferguson, Mo. — Photo by Bill Graham

CLARKSVILLE — Racial animus in Ferguson, Mo., was long forgotten as African Americans and Anglos enjoyed a block party prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in nearby St. Louis, and some Tennessee Baptists were a key part.

Medical professionals mainly from First Baptist Church, Clarksville, manned the Send Relief medical/dental mobile clinics of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. The clinics were premiered at the pre-convention Crossover St. Louis activities June 11 in Ferguson, the site of protests and riots after the fatal shooting of an African American by a white police officer two years ago.

The mobile clinics operated from the parking lot of First Baptist Church, Ferguson, which is located just about two blocks from the site of the infamous riots. [Read more…]

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PASTORS FAVOR PATRIOTISM FOR JULY FOURTH SERVICES

By Carol Pipes
LifeWay Facts & Trends

thanksgiving1NASHVILLE – Americans who attend a Protestant worship service the week of July Fourth are likely to get a good dose of God and country.

Six in 10 Protestant pastors (61 percent) say it’s important for July Fourth worship services to incorporate patriotic elements to celebrate America, according to a survey by Nashville-based LifeWay Research. And while they plan to celebrate the birth of the nation, more than half (53 percent) agree their congregation sometimes seems to love America more than God.

Most of the 1,000 Protestant pastors surveyed say their church will change its worship service to acknowledge America’s Independence Day. Two-thirds (66 percent) plan to include special music honoring America. Sixty-two percent each say they will recognize living veterans and those with family currently serving in the armed forces. Fifty-three percent will recognize families who have lost loved ones in service to our country. [Read more…]

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