Tennessee Archives - Page 3 of 176

RECOVERY PROCESS BEGINS WITH TIME OF WORSHIP AT BETHPAGE BAPTIST

December 13, 2021

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

An overhead view of the damage done by the tornado that hit Bethpage Baptist Church, Kenton.

KENTON — Roughly 30 hours after a tornado left devastating destruction on the campus of Bethpage Baptist Church in Kenton, a group of 70 church members gathered on the grounds for a time of worship and prayer on Sunday morning.

With many members still emotionally raw from the events of the weekend, Bethpage pastor Garry Burkacki said the Sunday service was a time of healing and hope.

“There was such a sweet spirit there,” he said. “There was a lot of hope and a lot of anticipation about what’s ahead for our church, knowing that God has always been faithful and that He will be faithful in this, as well.”

Bethpage Baptist was among the hardest hit by the storms that blasted parts of Tennessee in the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 11. The storm tore apart the church’s gym and fellowship hall. The sanctuary remained intact, but the building has now been classified as a total loss due to structural damage caused by the winds, Burkacki said.

The church’s steeple was found in a farmer’s field about 600 or 700 yards away from the church, Burkacki said. [Read more…]

KENWOOD RECEIVES NEW LIFE AFTER MERGER WITH 2ND MILE CHURCH

December 13, 2021

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Cal Hampton, left, pastor of 2nd Mile Church in Clarksville and Derek Simonis, campus pastor for Kenwood Baptist Church, are leading an effort to revitalize the 100-year-old congregation that has struggled in recent years. Kenwood is now a part of 2nd Mile Church.

CLARKSVILLE — When Cal Hampton returned to his hometown of Clarksville in 2018 to plant 2nd Mile Church, his goal was for 2nd Mile to sponsor a church plant or replant a church within three years.

Mission accomplished.

2nd Mile Church was approached by Rick Stevens, director of missions for Cumberland Baptist Association two years ago to see if the church would be interested in helping Kenwood Baptist Church, an older church with a distinguished history but one that had fallen on hard times in recent years.

Hampton’s interest was immediately piqued. Hampton had served as interim pastor of Kenwood Baptist in 1994 and his wife, Diane, had an uncle who was chairman of the deacons at Kenwood during those years.

Kenwood Baptist’s attendance had dwindled to between 12 and 15 people and the church was having a tough time meeting its financial obligations and dealing with the upkeep of an older church facility. Kenwood Baptist celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. [Read more…]

LIVE NATIVITY IS A BIG DRAW AT PARIS CHURCH

December 10, 2021

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Sheldon Yoder, left, performs with Tyler and Maci Miller during the live nativity drive-thru at New Harmony Baptist Church in Paris.

PARIS — Traffic jams generally aren’t something to smile about.

But Chris Downing, pastor of New Harmony Baptist Church, Paris, truly enjoys the gridlock that he sees in front of his church each December when New Harmony presents its annual drive-thru nativity scene.

This year’s event drew more than 3,000 people, and once again created quite a bit of congestion on the road in front of the church.

“It’s awesome to see people excited to come to church,” said Downing. “The community really gets excited about this. And it doesn’t matter (to the attendees) if they have to wait 20 minutes to get to the presentation. As a pastor, that’s thrilling.”

This year’s production was held on the nights of Dec. 3-5. It featured a cast of 100 and included 11 scenes depicting the story of Jesus’ birth.

New Harmony has been hosting the production for 21 years. Downing has been the pastor at the church for the last five years, and said the event has drawn at least 2,800 people in each of the years since his arrival. [Read more…]

TENNESSEE MISSIONARIES THANKFUL FOR COOPERATIVE PROGRAM, LMCO SUPPORT

December 9, 2021

Editor’s Note: Many churches across Tennessee observed the Week of Prayer for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions last week and are in the process of collecting the 2021 Lottie Moon offering. IMB missionaries Andy and Michelle Milam are on stateside assignment at Blue Mountain (Miss.) College. They traveled to Jackson recently for an interview with the Baptist and Reflector.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Andy and Michelle Milam, who serve as missionaries in Portugal for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, recently returned for a visit at Union University, where the couple first met and felt the call into ministry, and eventually, the mission field. The Milams were appointed in 2008 to serve in Porto, Portugal, where they have worked as church planters for the past 13 years.

JACKSON — A recent trip to the Union University campus in Jackson brought back a flood of memories for Andy and Michelle Milam, missionaries in Portugal for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

Milam, the son of former Tennessee Baptist pastor Jerry (now deceased) and Nancy Milam, met his future bride, Michelle Sarratt, of Tupelo, Miss., during their freshman year of college at Union University. The two had similar interests, especially in the area of missions. They dated and eventually were married and lived in Union’s married student housing before their graduation in 1992.

While there, they met Ramona Mercer, an IMB missionary who was in her first year as Union’s first missionary in residence during that time. Milam recalled asking her, “How do you know God is calling you to missions?”

He noted that Mercer replied, “In His time, He will show you, if that’s His will.” [Read more…]

December 8, 2021

By Tom Strode
Baptist Press

Brent Leatherwood, left, interim director of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and Brent Lambert, right, executive director of Birth Choice, gathered recently with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in a dedication ceremony for an ultrasound machine placed in Birth Choice in Jackson with a grant from the state to the Psalm 139 Project. — Photo by Melissa Higgins

JACKSON — For Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, partnering with the Psalm 139 Project in the placement of ultrasound machines at pregnancy resource centers in the state is one manifestation of what he describes as a long-standing desire.

Speaking Nov. 12 in Jackson, Lee told an audience gathered at the Birth Choice center for the dedication of an ultrasound machine, “One of the most important pieces of my job is to protect the lives of individuals in Tennessee. … But there’s no one in our state that’s more vulnerable than the unborn. And protecting the unborn is something that has long been in my heart as important for us to do as humans. … It’s long been in [his wife Maria’s] heart as well.

Birth Choice in Jackson received the machine for one of its mobile units as a result of a grant initiated by Lee in the 2021-22 state budget for the Psalm 139 Project, a ministry of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). Psalm 139 received a grant of $182,900 from the state to fund the placement of seven ultrasound machines at pro-life pregnancy centers in Tennessee. Private gifts to Psalm 139 underwrite the training of staff in the use of the technology.

TBC’S AFRICAN AMERICAN FELLOWSHIP HONORS COUPLE

December 8, 2021

Baptist and Reflector

Joining Robert and Jeanette West, center, during their recognition by the African American Fellowship of the TBC were Vickie Anderson, left, and Thomas Bester.

BRENTWOOD — The African American Fellowship of the Tennessee Baptist Convention honored its president and first lady — Robert L. West Sr., and his wife, Jeanette — during its annual meeting held during Summit at Brentwood Baptist Church on Nov. 15.

West, pastor of Kingdom Center Ministries Church in Memphis was cited “in honor and appreciation for your valuable contributions in the planting, advancing and developing African American churches in Tennessee with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, State and National African American Fellowships.”

Mrs. West was recognized for “her tireless efforts in promoting the values and goals of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board and her pioneering achievements in the Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union.”

“Pastor West, and his wife have been stalwarts in the state of Tennessee and to Tennessee Baptists,” said Thomas Bester, African American church relations specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. [Read more…]

C-N HONORS LONG HOLLOW PASTOR WITH FIRST KEN SPARKS AWARD

December 8, 2021

Carson-Newman news office

Jonathan Akin, left, of Carson-Newman University, presents Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church, Hendersonville, with the university’s inaugural Ken Sparks Award. Along with a certificate, Gallaty was given an Eagles football helmet in honor of C-N’s legendary coach whose name the award bears.

BRENTWOOD — Carson-Newman University presented Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, with the inaugural Ken Sparks Award during its Alumni and Friends Dinner Nov. 16 at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood.

“It is such a pleasure to honor Dr. Gallaty with this award,” said Carson-Newman President Charles A. Fowler. “His commitment to ‘making disciples who make disciples’ is having a tremendous impact for the kingdom.

His journey and his passion of serving the Lord are truly inspiring. Ken Sparks’ legacy prioritizes evangelism, discipleship, and Christ-centered excellence. Gallaty certainly embodies all of those.” [Read more…]

LEXINGTON PASTOR EXCITED TO SERVE AS TBC PRESIDENT

December 8, 2021

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Clay Hallmark, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lexington, is ready “to make sure people are aware of all that God is doing through the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the ministries of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

LEXINGTON — When Clay Hallmark became pastor of First Baptist Church, Lexington, six years ago, he probably did not dream that he would be elected president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, but he did know that he would seek to become involved in convention life.

Hallmark was no stranger to Tennessee. His wife, Leslie, was reared in Lexington and they both attended Union University in Jackson. In addition, Hallmark’s dad, Gerald Hallmark, is a former Tennessee Baptist pastor in Memphis. He has retired and returned to Tennessee and lives in Lexington near his son.

Hallmark, however, was content to remain in Arkansas where he was pastor of a strong church and was very involved in convention life there, having served as president of the state convention’s Executive Board and two terms as president of the Arkansas Baptist Convention. His rationale was that his church “was a great place to be” and “I knew everybody in Arkansas.”

But God had other plans. Though he had talked with First Baptist, Lexington, on at least two other occasions, he prayed about it once more and agreed to meet with the church’s search committee again. [Read more…]

FIRST BAPTIST, HENDERSONVILLE, PASSES BLESSING ON TO OTHERS

December 7, 2021

Baptist and Reflector

Pastor Bruce Chesser, center, and Bruce Raley, executive pastor of First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, present a check for $200,000 to Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. The check represented an overage in the church’s funds this past fiscal year.

HENDERSONVILLE — When First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, finished the past fiscal year with an overage, church leaders decided to share the blessing with others.

First Baptist Church presented a check for $200,000 to Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on Sunday, Dec. 5.

“Because of God’s blessings on our church this past fiscal year, we are excited to be able to bless others with this gift,” Chesser told the congregation. [Read more…]

FOWLER: THERE’S A GOOD PLAN IN PLACE

December 7, 2021

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Local police and firefighters responded to a fire at the Pederson Nursing Building on Friday morning, Nov, 26. Classes were not being held and no injuries occurred. — Carson-Newman University photo

JEFFERSON CITY — Leaders at Carson-Newman University are continuing to navigate through the recovery and assessment phases in the wake of a fire that damaged the school’s Pedersen Nursing Building on Nov. 26. (Story HERE).

“We are in the process of finalizing our plans for the (upcoming) semester so that our nursing students will have a consistent place where we can teach well and for them to have a home elsewhere on campus,” said Carson-Newman president Charles Fowler during a phone interview with the Baptist and Reflector on Dec. 1. “I think we have a good plan in place, and we are continuing to work out all the details.”

The fire occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 26. Carson-Newman faculty and students were on Thanksgiving break at the time of the fire, and the building was empty. No injuries were reported. [Read more…]

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