Messengers show their ballots at the 2024 Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Murfreesboro.

MURFREESBORO — Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church, Nashville, was re-elected without opposition for a second term as president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention during the afternoon session of Summit on Nov. 12.

Hardwick was nominated by Cliff Marion, pastor of First Baptist Church, Covington, who described Hardwick as a family man, a faithful preacher and a true friend. “He has shown that he is a great, unifying leader in Tennessee,” Marion said.

Joining him as officers are Justin Hiens, pastor of Second Baptist Church, Union City, vice president, and Mike Hensley, director of missions for East Tennessee Baptist Association, second vice president. Both men were unopposed for office.  [Read more…]

MURFREESBORO — The 150th annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention convened Nov. 11 with 836 registered messengers from 468 churches.

“We are excited to be back in the town where it all started,” said TBC president Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church, Nashville.

The convention exists because of the “faithfulness” of the group that gathered in 1874 and “decided they could do more together than they could apart,” he said. [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, shares gratitude for Tennessee Baptists partnering with Southern Baptist churches to cooperatively send and support international missionaries. — IMB photo

MURFREESBORO — An International Mission Board Sending Celebration is a time to support those who are going on the field to share the gospel with a lost world. Such an event allows participants the chance to commemorate those who mentored and discipled them. For many, their mentors are current or former IMB missionaries who have encouraged them to ask how God might use them through the IMB.

New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro hosted a Sending Celebration on Nov. 10 that featured 49 newly appointed missionaries, including three from Tennessee. The IMB event kicked off the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the state convention.

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, shared how thankful Tennessee Baptists are to partner with Southern Baptist churches to cooperatively send and support international missionaries. [Read more…]

Wade Thomas, left, and Tom Nelson are involved in the medical equipment ministry at Roan Creek Baptist Church in Mountain City. The church provides medical equipment and supplies at no cost to people in the community.

MOUNTAIN CITY — Looking for a walker or hospital bed or some other medical equipment and don’t know where to go? Roan Creek Baptist Church would be a good place to start.

While a medical equipment ministry may not be typical for most Baptist churches, it definitely fulfills a need in northeast Tennessee, said Roan Creek pastor David Hankal.

There is a lot of poverty in the area, Hankal said. “This ministry is God-sent,” he affirmed.

The ministry began about 12 years ago under the leadership of Harry Cunningham (now deceased) who also was serving as senior adult minister at the time, Hankal said. [Read more…]

Kathy Fields, center, with her husband Brad Fields, holds the Eagle Award that was presented posthumously to her parents, Don and Ann Davis. Standing with her are: Dillion Taylor, Kate Fields, Lucile Conley, Fannie Golden (Ann’s sister) and Don Golden.

MURFREESBORO — Summit 2024 opened with celebration, ceremony and send-offs.

Gathering at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro for a time of worship and praise on Sunday night, an overflow crowd cheered for, and prayed over, a group of roughly 50 missionaries who were commissioned by the International Mission Board. 

The Sunday night service marked the kick-off of this year’s Summit — the annual gathering of Tennessee Baptists — and served as the opening bell for the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s 150th anniversary celebration.

The service, which included a message from IMB president and Tennessee native Paul Chitwood , concluded with recognition of Don and Ann Davis, who were honored posthumously with this year’s Eagle Award.  [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, passes out donuts to fans attending the Middle Tennessee State University football game Nov. 9 in Murfreesboro. TBMB partnered with Concord Baptist Association to host “a tailgate party” as part of an outreach event in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, which was established in Murfreesboro in 1874.

MURFREESBORO — Two days before the Tennessee Baptist Convention officially celebrates its 150th anniversary, Tennessee Baptists returned to their roots to share the gospel in Rutherford County.

The TBC was established in 1874 at First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.

The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board decided to commemorate the milestone by partnering with Concord Baptist Association on Nov. 9 to minister and have gospel conversations in two locations within the county.

“The reason we’re having our convention this year in Murfreesboro and the reason we want to show them some love is because 150 years ago, that’s where the first Tennessee Baptist Convention came together,” said Randy C. Davis, TBMB president and executive director. [Read more…]

NEWPORT — Randy Runions, senior pastor of Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, has always been a supporter of both the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention and a strong believer in cooperative giving.

But after going through the devastation left behind in Newport and throughout Cocke County, cooperation “is way greater than I thought,” Runions affirmed.

Cooperation is not people in Nashville cutting checks, he said. “Cooperation is seeing different disaster relief teams (our fellow Baptists) come to our communities and provide help where it is needed.”

Runions has learned firsthand the truth of how “Baptists are stronger together. [Read more…]

Cynthia King of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, lets an attendee admire her newly designed face during a fall festival at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Newport. — Photo by Lonnie Wilkey

NEWPORT — Presenting a fall festival for residents of Sevier County has become a tradition at First Baptist Church in Sevierville. 

The event usually draws between 12,000-13,000 people over four nights, said Craig Mintz, Grow and Go pastor at First Baptist. “We do it up big,” he said. The festival typical includes a lot of food, hayrides, a corn maze, games, and a biblical drama with a gospel presentation. 

Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in late September, however, First Baptist leaders felt it was a good time to alter its tradition. “We decided to take our fall festival on the road,” Mintz said. 

“We sensed that we needed to use our resources to take care of our neighbors who were still recovering from damage caused by the hurricane,” added Craig Wells, Next Gen Ministries pastor at First Baptist who coordinated the effort.  [Read more…]

On behalf of the Sumpter Yeaman Charitable Foundation, Bill Yeaman recently gifted Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes with a three-million dollar donation, the largest living-donor gift in the 133-year history of the organization.

BRENTWOOD — Greg McCoy’s use of the word “historic” isn’t hyperbole. It’s factual. 

When Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes recently received a three-million dollar donation from Bill Yeaman as part of the Sumpter Yeaman Charitable Foundation, it marked the largest living-donor gift in the 133-year history of the organization. 

“We were just amazed by this act of generosity,” said McCoy, president and treasurer of Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes. “It’s a serious, historic gift.” 

The funds will be used for the TBCH’s Firm Foundations Project — an on-going initiative in which the organization is replacing its aging facilities with new campus homes for its Residential Care program.  [Read more…]