Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

CHURCHES CONTINUE TO FACE BUDGET SHORTFALLS

By Bob Smietana
LifeWay Research

160321lifewayNASHVILLE, Tenn. — When it comes to finances, the new normal for American churches seems to be “just getting by.”

A third of Protestant senior pastors say their church’s giving was under budget in 2015, according to LifeWay Research.

One in five saw their finances decline.

Overall, about half of pastors say the economy negatively affected their churches this year.

Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, says pastors are still uneasy about their church’s finances.

“Wages grew in 2015, and inflation and unemployment remained low,” said McConnell. “Yet the financial picture for many churches did not improve.” [Read more…]

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10,356 FILIPINOS MAKE COMMITMENTS

Baptist and Reflector

Charles Pratt, left, assists a Filipino pastor in baptizing a new Christian in the South China Sea. Pratt directs Cross Partners Ministry.

Charles Pratt, left, assists a Filipino pastor in baptizing a new Christian in the South China Sea. Pratt directs Cross Partners Ministry.

SOMERVILLE — A team of nine missions volunteers serving on the Cross Partners Ministry team recently returned from two weeks in the Republic of the Philippines where they served with more than 30 churches in four different Baptist associations.

The team participated in more than 100 evangelistic crusades with Filipino Baptists across Luzon Island and saw 10,056 professions of faith and 300 other decisions for Christ.

The team was led by Charles Pratt, director of missions for Fayette Baptist Association based in Somerville. Pratt also is president and founder of Cross Partners Ministry, Inc. He has been leading volunteer missions teams on 5 continents for over 26 years to serve on short time missions trips. [Read more…]

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DR VOLUNTEERS GOING TO LOUISIANA

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

dr-disaster-relief-logoMOUNT JULIET — Three teams of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers will be traveling to Leesville, La., in a few days to help victims of flooding there.

Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, reported that the Tennesseans responded to a request for teams to help the people in Louisiana begin cleanup after the devastating floods in the state. [Read more…]

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CHURCH HELPS STRUGGLING CHURCH

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160316creeksideHENDERSONVILLE — When Mike Pennington, director of missions, Bledsoe Baptist Association, began helping Cragfont Baptist Church, Castalian Springs, it was in trouble. He tried to assist the congregation for several years but it was still declining in attendance and could not meet its financial obligations.

Then he approached First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, whose senior pastor, Bruce Chesser, agreed to try to lead his church to help Cragfont.

Now, just four years later, the new Creekside Fellowship, which meets in the former Cragfont facility, is drawing about 130 people to Sunday morning worship and is a healthy church, agreed Pennington and Bruce Raley, executive pastor, First Baptist, who led in the process. [Read more…]

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WEST TENNESSEE EVANGELISM RALLY DRAWS 800

By Nathan Handley
Union University News Office

Fred Luter speaks at Union.

Fred Luter speaks at Union.

JACKSON — Fred Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said evangelism needs more emphasis in churches and organizations.

Luter was the keynote speaker at the West Tennessee Evangelism Rally, held Feb. 21 at Union University. The event was sponsored by Union and the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

“We need to understand how critical, how important it is that we make evangelism a priority in this state,” he said. [Read more…]

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DEACONS ARE SERVANTS FIRST, SAYS HENRY

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Tennessee native Jim Henry speaks during a recent conference for deacons at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson.

Tennessee native Jim Henry speaks during a recent conference for deacons at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson.

JACKSON – Nashville native Jim Henry has a love for deacons that grows stronger with each passing year.

From the surgeon who shined the shoes of his prayer group members at First Baptist Church, Orlando, Fla., to the small group of deacons who “had his back” at a rural church in Mississippi during days of racial tension in the 1960s, Henry knows his ministry has been made easier by deacons who held to the servant model of leadership. [Read more…]

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VBS: A MOST EFFECTIVE EVANGELISM

25 percent of baptisms in Tennessee and nationally result from Vacation Bible School

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160310VBS-BKCBRENTWOOD — Vacation Bible School has been around for decades, but it is still one of the most effective evangelism tools in the Southern Baptist Convention, according to two Tennessee Baptist Convention specialists.

“In Tennessee Baptist life we know that approximately 25 percent of our professions of faith come either through VBS or Backyard Kids Clubs,” said Steve Pearson, TBC evangelism specialist. [Read more…]

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STEVE GAINES TO BE SBC PRESIDENT NOMINEE

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Steve Gaines

Steve Gaines

ST. LOUIS (BP) — Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt announced today (March 9).

“When Steve Gaines shared his prayer journey he and [his wife] Donna had travelled, I was touched by his clear call to allow himself to be nominated,” Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., wrote in a news release stating his intention to nominate Gaines during the SBC annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis.

“Steve struggled with this nomination as he has always believed this office should seek the man,” Hunt continued. “With such a passionate desire for spiritual revival in our churches and nation, and knowing him to be a man of deep intense prayer, it brings joy to my heart to nominate Dr. Gaines.” [Read more…]

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NEARLY 1,000 MISSIONARIES RETURN HOME

IMB ‘reset’ will allow missions agency to have balanced budget for 2016-17

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

RICHMOND — Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board were told Feb. 24 that 988 missionaries are leaving the missions field along with 149 stateside staff members.

Last August IMB President David Platt announced that for financial reasons, the IMB needed to cut 600-800 missionary/staff positions. Over recent years the IMB consistently spent more money than it received — a combined $210 million more since 2010, leading to the critical need to balance the organization’s budget.

Missionaries and staff age 50 and above, with at least five years of employment, were given a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI). Those not meeting that criteria were given the opportunity to retire through a Hand Raising Opportunity (HRO). [Read more…]

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IMB’S PLATT LOOKS FORWARD AFTER ‘RESET’

Baptist Press

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3. -Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3.
-Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Following an “organizational reset” that saw more than 1,100 International Mission Board personnel transition away from the board, President David Platt told a March 3 live stream audience he is ready to focus on the future.

“I really want to shift the conversation from talking about numbers and finances to talking about how this army of brothers and sisters going out specifically from Southern Baptist churches across North America can make the Gospel known among the nations,” Platt told an online audience that included viewers on more than 1,000 electronic devices. [Read more…]

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