Kerry Mock, center, manager and representative of the donor, Highlands at English Mountain LLC, signs papers donating 494.68 acres on English Mountain to the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board as his wife, Kristin, and William Maxwell, left, chief administrative officer of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, look on. Behind them, from left, are Cindi Groomes, chair of the Conference Centers Committee and member of The First Family Baptist Church, Antioch; Kevin Perrigan, manager of Carson Springs; and Amarilis Nunn, chair of the Mission Support Committee and member of Faith Baptist Church, Bartlett. — Photo by James Wilson
FRANKLIN — Highlands at English Mountain LLC (HEM) has donated 494.68 acres on English Mountain which adjoins the current property owned by Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport to the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
The property currently making up Carson Springs was originally donated to Tennessee Baptists by the families of former Governor Ben Hooper and Charles Rhyne.
This donation more than triples the property at Carson Springs from 181.9 acres to 676.6 acres.
The property includes more than five miles of ridgeline on English Mountain with a number of prominent 360-degree views, including the Cherokee National Forest.
The gift was announced and papers were officially signed on July 11, 74 years to the day after the first event was held at Camp Carson, according to Mark Proctor, associate administrator of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
“It is a fitting occasion to begin the celebration of our 75th year of operations,” said Proctor.
The closing of the property was held in conjunction with meetings of the TBMB’s Missions Support and Conference Centers committee.
“This is a monumental and historic day for our ministry,” affirmed Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the TBMB.
Davis was unable to attend the ceremony, but spoke on a Zoom video call.
Davis noted that hundreds upon hundreds of pastors, missionaries and Christ-followers developed their relationships with Christ at either Carson Springs or Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in Linden. “Thank you for entrusting us with this incredible gift,” he said.
Proctor said the property includes a conservation easement designed to protect and preserve the property in perpetuity.
“It can only be used for certain things,” he said, adding that “our desire is to use the property to further the ministry of Off the Grid.”
The “Off the Grid” ministry — which officially launched in 2020 — was developed by Kevin Perrigan, manager of Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center.
Perrigan said he wanted to have a ministry that would enable pastors to find an outlet to get away from the pressures of ministry while also forming new friendships with other pastors from around the state.
Perrigan said the gift will enable the conference center “to expand the vision God has for Carson Springs.”
In addition to enhancing the Off the Grid ministry, Perrigan hopes to establish an environmental education program for children. “We want to develop trails and locations where they can learn about God’s creation and ecosystems,” he said.
“We are excited about what we can do,” Perrigan added.
William Maxwell, chief administrative officer for the TBMB, signed the papers on behalf of the Board. “We are excited to have this additional land for Carson Springs,” he said. “It will provide another opportunity to share the gospel.”
Kerry Mock, manager, represented Highlands at English Mountain. He noted the property company determined that the TBMB would be the most aligned beneficiary of the property because it owned adjacent acreage.
“Providing greater access to enjoy the environment of the eastern Tennessee mountains will serve the greater community and align with our desired goals for the property for the future,” Mock observed.
He added that it was important to those affiliated with HEM that the property be protected and used to glorify God. He encouraged the Board to “use the property well.”
“It will become a place in your hands where God and His Word will be able to be heard more clearly while experiencing God’s natural creation in an undeveloped state without the distractions of everyday life as the property will never be developed under the conservation easement,” Mock said.
