Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s NOW evangelism conclaves were held at regional sites in late April and early May.
Dates and host sites for the conclaves included: April 29 at Ellendale Baptist Church, Bartlett; April 30 at FBC Columbia; May 2 at Judson Baptist Church, Nashville; May 6 at Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Maryville; May 7 at Sullivan Baptist Church, Kingsport; and May 9 at Oakwood Baptist Church, Chattanooga. [Read more…]
Joe Davenport, right, chairman of the personnel team of First Baptist Church, Blountville, recognizes Clay Austin and his wife, Anita, upon his retirement after 38 years with the church. The Austins received several gifts and he was bestowed the title, “Pastor Emeritus.” — Photo by Lonnie Wilkey
BLOUNTVILLE — Members of First Baptist Church, Blountville, said goodbye to their pastor Clay Austin on April 28 after 38 years of ministry.
The church showered Austin and his wife, Anita, with several gifts and capped it off by naming him pastor emeritus.
“No church in this world wouldn’t be honored to have had Clay Austin as their pastor for the past 38 years. Pastor Clay exemplified what it means to be a pastor. He shepherded the flock through the good times and bad,” said Adam Sells, minister of students, who served with Austin for 13 years. [Read more…]
CLARKSVILLE — It is said that the key to good parenting is knowing when to hold your child’s hand and when to let go.
Ronny Raines, in a sense, feels the same is true in church planting.
Raines is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Clarksville. When he arrived at FBC, the church was in the process of helping “replant” Kirkwood Baptist Church — a once-thriving church that had dwindled to less than a dozen regular attendees in 2016.
With FBC’s help, Kirkwood experienced revitalization and began to regain its footing. Still, Raines believed even bigger things were in store. [Read more…]
BCM leaders from across the country enjoy a time of fellowship around the tables during this year’s Baptist Collegiate Network Leadership Summit at First Baptist Church, Collierville.
COLLIERVILLE — Cole Rogers said he picked up numerous new ideas during the 2024 Collegiate Leadership Summit.
But Rogers, collegiate ministry specialist at Belmont University, said that wasn’t his biggest take-away from the three-day event.
Instead, Rogers said that being reminded that college ministry is about “being centered on prayer more than trying to plan things and get down all the details” had the biggest impact on him during the event, which was held this year at First Baptist Church, Collierville.
Rodney Norvell, collegiate ministry specialist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, agreed that the conference was much more than just a seminar on how to better organize activities and events. [Read more…]
FRANKLIN — In 1974, Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes was founded when Tennessee Baptists saw the need for developing a residential ministry for the aging senior adult population in the state.
Fifty years later, TBAH is still meeting that original need, but has expanded its ministry to include residential care for adults with exceptional needs.
The ministry of Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes is as important as ever, especially when it comes to taking care of adults with exceptional needs, observed Mark Anderson, who is only the fourth president/treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Convention entity in its 50-year history. The others were Wade Darby, J.L. Ford and Kenny Cooper. [Read more…]
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $3,172,033 through the Cooperative Program in April.
For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given $17,681,651 through the Cooperative Program, which funds missions and ministries in Tennessee, the nation and around the world.
After six months of the 2023-24 budget year, CP gifts are $24,537 or 0.1 percent ahead of what was given at the same time last year and $181,651 or 1.04 percent above budget needs. [Read more…]
JOHNSON CITY — Let the celebration begin, Tennessee Baptists!
Propelled by a combination of energy, nostalgia and gratitude, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board is kicking off the “2024 Celebration Tour” — commemorating and saluting the 150th anniversary of the Tennessee Baptist Convention — with a stop-over in one of the most tradition-steeped locations in the state: Sinking Creek Baptist Church.
The church, established in 1772 and recognized as the oldest church in Tennessee, is the host site for a celebration program entitled “Humble Beginnings.” The program will be streamed on May 21, and will feature bluegrass music, Scripture reading and a deep-dive into the history of Sinking Creek Baptist Church and the TBC as a whole. [Read more…]
Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 10.
Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from Nolachucky Baptist Association work on clearing trees in Tazewell.
MOUNT JULIET — A series of late spring storms that spawned tornadoes, hail, high winds and flooding, swept across Tennessee on May 8-9, leaving behind at least two known deaths, several injuries and thousands of people without electricity and extensive wind damage.
The storms affected nearly every region of the state from north to south and east to west, according to news reports from media outlets across Tennessee.
As reports of storm damage surfaced in the morning hours of May 8, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were among the first to respond. [Read more…]
FRANKLIN — Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, is asking DR volunteers to be on alert and to begin to plan for possible response, as needed, in Texas.
Jones sent out an email on Wednesday, asking team leaders to check their schedules as to when they and/or their team might respond. Jones asked volunteers to contact Elizabeth Holmes (eholmes@tnbaptist.org) or Jones (wjones@tnbaptist.org) to let them know of their availability over the next three weeks.
Jones also asked volunteers and teams leaders to check their equipment to make sure it is in working order. He also asked those who have trailers to check the tires “for wear and cracks. Check the manufacture date on them to make sure they are not too old,” Jones wrote in the e-mail. [Read more…]
During the past 10 years, Tennessee Baptists have focused on the Five Objectives, one of which was to see 50,000 people annually saved and baptized by 2024. Evangelism will continue to be a focus of Tennessee Baptists during the transition to the Acts 2:17 Initiative.
Tennessee Baptists’ concern for the lost is not new. Read a portion of this article which appeared in the Jan. 12, 1911 issue of the Baptist and Reflector. [Read more…]
