By David Dawson
Baptist & Reflector
FAIRVIEW — A causal phone call about formal clothing.
That’s really all it took to prompt Jamie Gillette to start a ministry. [Read more…]
By David Dawson
Baptist & Reflector
FAIRVIEW — A causal phone call about formal clothing.
That’s really all it took to prompt Jamie Gillette to start a ministry. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist & Reflector
Editor’s Note: View the Cooperative Program video featuring Gene Nelson at tnbaptist.org/CP.
RUSSELLVILLE — Pastor Gene Nelson is convinced that one reason Russellville Baptist Church is “healthy” today is because of the church’s strong commitment to missions — both in giving and going. [Read more…]
By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP) — Unity across the nation and among churches spanning all denominations, generations, races and cultures is the overarching plea of the 2018 National Day of Prayer, scheduled for May 3.
Mobilizing people across the nation in public prayer events May 3 — capped by a nationally televised and livestreamed prayer service at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the U.S. Capitol Building — is the day’s goal, event president Ronnie Floyd said at nationaldayofprayer.org.
“America needs God now, more than any time in our generation,” said Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. “America is broken. Division is undeniable and unity is missing. Racial tension is alarming. Lawlessness abounds. Reconciliation appears impossible. Government cannot fix us. Politics will not heal us.”
“Pray for America – Unity” is the 2018 theme, based on Ephesians 4:3, with event participants encouraged to address statewide, regional and national concerns, Floyd said in one of several videos at nationaldayofprayer.org.
“There’s at least one thing we can all agree on today: America needs prayer,” Floyd said. “The National Day of Prayer is biblically based, Jesus-centered and Holy Spirit empowered.”
SBC Pastors’ Conference President H.B. Charles will be a main speaker at the national observance, Floyd told Baptist Press, and Floyd will interview First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose congregation is recovering from the mass murder of 26 worshipers during a November 2017 Sunday service in the small Texas community. Going Beyond Ministries founder Priscilla Shirer, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Samuel Rodriguez and other evangelical leaders will participate in the program.
Floyd said the National Day of Prayer “has thousands upon thousands of gatherings across the nation on May 3,” many of which are listed at nationaldayofprayer.org.
“While this has a national focus, it also has a global impact,” Floyd said, adding that it also could lead to a national spiritual revival.
The prayer gatherings will be held in churches, schools, businesses, government offices and outdoor venues, many led by Southern Baptist pastors or laypeople. In 2017, an estimated 2 million Americans observed the event in over 30,000 events across all 50 states, Floyd said.
Prayer gatherings are autonomous, but national leaders encourage a 25-25-40-10 breakdown, with 25 percent of the prayer time focused each on local and state concerns, 40 percent on national concerns, and 10 percent given to a national prayer led by Floyd and available in text and video at nationaldayofprayer.org/national-prayer.
“While each gathering and observance is different, we are praying all will be forwarding our theme for unity,” Floyd told BP. Unity in the nation, communities, churches, families, workplaces and among all ethnicities is among prayer concerns recommended on the event’s website, as well as prayers for the U.S. military and government, media, businesses, the educational system are also recommended.
Free resources, promotional items and event planning aids also are available at nationaldayofprayer.org including a digital toolbox with prayer guides and videos. An expanded catalog of purchasable promotional items, including prayer journals, tote bags and T-shirts, also is available on the site.
Watch the national observance on Daystar, at nationaldayofprayer.org, or on the event’s Facebook page.
Editor’s Note: This column was distributed among directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board during their April 24 meeting in Franklin. See related story.
By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director
The Cooperative Program is the fabric that weaves us together as Tennessee and Southern Baptists. From the cradle to the grave, the Cooperative Program has a profound impact on our calling as Great Commission Christians and our ability to reach a spiritually lost and dying world. It binds us together for the purpose of reaching every geographic priority Jesus identifies in Acts 1:8.
It fuels the SBC Ecosystem.
Here’s what I mean.
Take a Tennessee boy named Billy Baptist. He comes to Christ at 10 years old during a Vacation Bible School where workers were trained and equipped through a joint venture of his church’s local association and specialists from the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB). Later, at a summer camp held at one of the TBMB’s two conference centers, Billy responds to a call to ministry. Eventually he’s off to college and gets involved in one of the TBMB’s 20-plus dynamic Baptist Collegiate Ministries. While there, Billy gets his first taste of international missions during a summer BCM project in India. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — The board of directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board unanimously approved a $2.1 million goal for the 2018-19 Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.
The goal is an increase of $250,000 or 13.5 percent over the 2017-18 goal of $1.925 million. The projected income is $1.85 million.
The Golden Offering for Tennessee Baptist Missions is a cooperative effort of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union and the TBMB. The goal also was approved by the Tennessee WMU Executive Board.
The Golden Offering “is an important part of what we do,” affirmed Martha Pitts, president of Tennessee WMU. [Read more…]
LEADERS
Mount Hermon Baptist Church, Savannah, has called Jonathan Barnard as pastor to students and children. He had been living in Gulfport, Miss., while attending New Orleans (La.) Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Stefanie, have three children.
Joe Wright, director of missions for Dyer Baptist Association, based in Dyersburg, for the past 18 years, has resigned to become executive director of the Bivocational Small Church Leadership Network. He was honored by the association for his service during a farewell reception held April 14 at the BCM center on the campus of Dyersburg State Community College.
Calvary Baptist Church, Brownsville, recently called Barry W. Presley as pastor. [Read more…]
Baptist and Reflector
WASHINGTON — The Communications Team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board captured 15 awards during the recent Baptist Communicators Association awards competition. Awards were presented during the organization’s 64th annual workshop held April 18-21 in Washington, D.C.
In addition, the Baptist and Reflector was cited as the second best overall state newspaper in the Southern Baptist Convention in terms of design and content.
“I’m extremely proud of what the TBMB’s communications team has accomplished,” said Chris Turner, director of communications.
“The projects that were submitted for the competition are a reflection of what our team does to serve Tennessee Baptists on a daily basis.”
Awards included:
First place — Website (adapted template) event: YEC 50 (Corinne Rochotte)
First place — Social media campaign event design: Super Summer (Corinne Rochotte)
First place — Integrated design: Rescue Now (Royce DeGrie)
First place — News writing single article: “Gatlinburg Fires: One Year Later” (David Dawson)
First place — Blog, “Tennesseans Say No to Racism” (Lonnie Wilkey)
First place — Promotional photography: RESCUE NOW theme photo (Royce DeGrie)
Second place — Overall print publication, Baptist and Reflector (Lonnie Wilkey, David Dawson, Corinne Rochotte)
Third place — Video (including podcast) editorial feature, ETSU BCM (TBMB Communications team)
Third place — Photography feature, “An Uplifting Surprise — City Reach Knoxville” (Corinne Rochotte)
Third place — Photography news, Steve Freeman — Summit “rescue the perishing” (Corinne Rochotte)
Third place — News writing, “The ripple effect of the Cooperative Program” (Lonnie Wilkey, Chris Turner)
Third place — Feature writing, Column, “Caught in Bro. Ray’s Crosshairs” (Chris Turner)
Third place — Blog, “Something More Important Than Football” (Lonnie Wilkey)
Third place — Logo design, YEC 50 (Corinne Rochotte)
Third place — Public relations campaign under $25k, The Summit, (TBMB communications group)
By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
SEYMOUR — Having been in existence for less than five years, The King’s Academy softball team has quickly established itself as a genuine Goliath — in a David-sized body.
Proudly carrying the banner for a high school that has only about 160 students, the Lady Lions have captured back-to-back Division II-A state championships in the past two years, and they appear primed to make a push toward a third consecutive title in the next few weeks.
Owning a 24-2 record this season, the team is ranked No. 4 in the state (through April 27). The Lady Lions have compiled a 140-22 overall record in their four-plus seasons of varsity fastpitch softball, and have been ranked among the Top-25 teams in the country by USA Today.
The secret to all this success? Oh, it’s no secret at all. In fact, it’s a very visible, very prominent part of the TKA program. It can be seen in the Scripture references that some of the players write on their arms before games, and it can be spotted when the team gathers for prayer after each game and each practice. [Read more…]
LifeWay News Office
NASHVILLE — Randy Parks remembers the music, the games, and the wacky events from the first summer he attended Centrifuge in 1979. But most of all, he remembers the clear message of the gospel and the strong conviction that a life following Christ was exciting and worth living. [Read more…]
by Baptist Press staff
DALLAS — Going into this year’s annual meeting as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Steve Gaines acknowledged Southern Baptists face some critical decisions in the days and months ahead. [Read more…]
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