Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

TBC CP GIFTS DOWN SLIGHTLY

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $2,648,026 through the Cooperative Program in September.

For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given $31,139,417 through the Cooperative Program which funds missions and ministries in Tennessee, the nation, and the world.
The amount is $828,320 or 2.6 percent below what was given during the same time frame last year. With one month to go in the 2016-17 fiscal year, gifts are $943,916 or 2.94 percent below budget needs. [Read more…]

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PASTOR KEEPS CHURCH INFORMED VIA WEBSITE

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

Pastor Matt Ward of West Cleveland Baptist Church, Cleveland, stands with Bonnie Johnson, one of the Houston homeowners that his team helped following Hurricane Harvey.

CLEVELAND — Matt Ward, pastor of West Cleveland Baptist Church, was briefly out of sight. But he made sure he wasn’t out of mind.

Ward recently returned from a week-long stay in storm-ravaged Houston, where he served as the team leader for one of the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief units in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

During his stint in Texas, Ward diligently updated his congregation on the details of the relief efforts by posting videos, blogs, and photos on the church’s website.

“One of the most important parts about me going out to the missions field is being able to tell the stories to those who maybe haven’t gone out or are timid about it,” said Ward.  “If you don’t really have a passion for missions, it’s probably because you haven’t really understood what missions is all about.” [Read more…]

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DR TEAM HEADS TO PUERTO RICO

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — A team of 20 disaster relief volunteers from East Tennessee left on Oct. 9 for Puerto Rico to assist in recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria. The team will be there for two weeks, according to Wes Jones of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

In San Juan, 70 percent of the city is without cell service, and outside the city, cell service is even more scarce. Only around five percent of Puerto Rico has electricity. In these early stages, Southern Baptists who serve in Puerto Rico will be trained disaster relief volunteers. [Read more…]

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RECORD ATTENDANCE SETS HIGH EXPECTATIONS

By Sarah Knapp
The Pacer (UT-Martin Student Paper)

MARTIN — A record-breaking attendance of 101 freshmen at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry’s (BCM) “Survival 2017 sets high expectations for freshmen involvement on campus this year.

Survival is a four-day event held by the BCM that helps freshmen and transfer students adjust to college and allows them to interact with other Christians before the fall semester begins. [Read more…]

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CHURCH SECURITY NEEDS TO BE IN FOREFRONT

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Mark LeMay, left, and Ken Alexandrow look over the latest statistics regarding church security.

FRANKLIN — In light of the church shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch a few weeks ago, churches need to take a look at their security plan or, sadly in many cases, lack of plan.

“Hope is not a strategy anymore,” says Ken Alexandrow, founder of Agape Tactical in Franklin, a business that focuses on helping churches and businesses avoid situations such as what occurred at Burnette Chapel.

On Sunday, Sept. 24, a man drove into the parking lot of Burnette Chapel and shot and killed a woman leaving the church before entering the church and opening fire. Seven people were shot and injured including the shooter who was stopped by an usher.  [Read more…]

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CHURCH PLANS TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE CP GIFTS

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

JACKSON — Jordan Easley, the senior pastor at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, has a simple philosophy when it comes to missions: Teamwork makes the dream work.

Guided by that belief, Easley is leading his church into a new era in regard to its commitment to giving through the Cooperative Program. He plans to exponentially increase the church’s yearly Cooperative Program giving over the next several years, and he hopes to reach this goal with large incremental increases each year.   [Read more…]

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UNION TRUSTEES HEAR REPORTS

Union University news office

GERMANTOWN — Union University trustees celebrated the 20th anniversary of Union’s Germantown campus during their Sept. 7-8 meeting, with President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver sharing a number of success stories of Germantown graduates over the past two decades.

Oliver also reported to trustees on the school’s fall enrollment, and the board adopted a new tuition rate for 2017-2018.  [Read more…]

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MURRAY MATHIS STILL HONORING GOD’S CALL

By Ralph Vaughn
Contributing Writer, Baptist and Reflector

MURFREESBORO — F. Murray Mathis of Murfreesboro, like most in ministry, has seen and experienced mountaintops and valleys in his nearly 60 years of preaching the gospel.

His eyes well up with tears when describing how a country boy from Fayetteville has made friends throughout America and in foreign countries.

Recently, Mathis and his wife of 54 years, Loretta, were involved in what could have been a fatal traffic accident in Atlanta. The couple was broadsided at an intersection on a busy thoroughfare on May 18. [Read more…]

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VEGAS SHOOTING IMPACTS WEST TENNESSEE CHURCH

By Chris Turner
Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN –A small West Tennessee Baptist church felt the blow of Sunday night’s mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert when it learned one of the victims was a native son.

Sonny Melton, 29, who grew up in Big Sandy and attended Ramble Creek Baptist Church (Western District Association), was killed when he was struck by gun fire while shielding his wife, Heather Melton. [Read more…]

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NASHVILLE-AREA CHURCHES PARTNER FOR MINISTRY

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

NASHVILLE — With hopes of harvesting the mission field that exists in their own backyard, the congregations from First Baptist Church, Joelton, and New Season Church recently joined together to host a community-wide gathering in which the two churches provided a free meal for those who live in the underprivileged neighborhood in north Nashville.

The event — called “Time for a change” — was held on Aug. 27 on an open lawn on Buchanan Street.

“It was a very effective outreach,” said David Royalty, the pastor of First Baptist. “We gave away clothes, shoes, and the meal. Anyone on Buchanan was invited to come and eat.” [Read more…]

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