Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Mike Sams
MARTIN — First Baptist Church in Martin did not have a large crusade or revival this past year. Nor did the church rely on the latest, greatest witnessing tool to come down the pike.
Yet, for the first time in its 141-year history, First Baptist baptized 50 people in a 12-month period. The church’s previous high in a single year had been 49, according to Pastor Mike Sams.
Carson-Newman News Office
JEFFERSON CITY — “A quality Christian education that is more affordable and obtainable in less time.” That is the plan Carson-Newman University officials are excited to share with students.
In concert with the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that summer Pell grants are now available, Carson-Newman staff and faculty began working on ways to help students take advantage of such an opportunity. [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
