Messengers show their ballots at the 2024 Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Murfreesboro.
MURFREESBORO — Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church, Nashville, was re-elected without opposition for a second term as president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention during the afternoon session of Summit on Nov. 12.
Hardwick was nominated by Cliff Marion, pastor of First Baptist Church, Covington, who described Hardwick as a family man, a faithful preacher and a true friend. “He has shown that he is a great, unifying leader in Tennessee,” Marion said.
Joining him as officers are Justin Hiens, pastor of Second Baptist Church, Union City, vice president, and Mike Hensley, director of missions for East Tennessee Baptist Association, second vice president. Both men were unopposed for office.
During the opening session of the convention on Nov. 11, the Budget and Ministry Committee proposed a CP allocation budget of 55 percent for TBC causes, 40 percent for SBC causes and 5 percent directly to the International Mission Board.
Steve Freeman, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield, moved that the 5 percent for the IMB be eliminated and proposed a distribution of 55 percent to the TBC and 45 percent to the SBC.
The motion was referred to TBMB for assignment to the Budget and Ministry Committee for analysis and reported to the convention on Tuesday for discussion and vote. Daniel Jerkins, chairman of the committee and pastor of Hickory Withe First Baptist Church, Eads, said the committee was okay with either plan and would let the messengers decide.
After extended discussion and debate, a ballot vote was taken and the amendment passed by a margin of 52.4 percent in favor of the amendment and 47.6 percent opposed.
ACTS 2:17 INITIATIVE
With a near-unanimous showing, messengers approved the Acts 2:17 Initiative Report as the “foundational blueprint for Convention ministry for the foreseeable future.”
The report — which included the complete report of the Steering Team and Workgroups, the executive Summary of Steering Team and Workgroups and the plan of implementation — was overwhelmingly approved, with only two dissenting votes.
“We are ready to pour everything we’ve got into (the initiative) in order to assist and serve our churches,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the TBMB.
TBC president Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forest Hills, served as chair for the Acts 2:17 Vision Team, and outlined the report for messengers prior to Tuesday’s vote.
The parameters of the Initiative, as detailed in the report, were developed through a series of listening sessions, surveys, workgroups and other forums that took place since the Initiative was introduced to messengers for the first time at the 2022 Summit.
The overarching structure of the Initiative, including its order of priorities and early-stage implementation plan, was approved by directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on Tuesday, Sept. 10. That approval set the stage for Tuesday’s vote, where messengers made it clear that they were ready to move forward with the plan.
Hardwick said evangelism is at the heart of every aspect of the initiative.
“We want to see our churches taking the Great Commission seriously because they are taking the Great Commission personally,” he said. “We want to strengthen disciples from every generation.” B&R — This story includes reporting by Lonnie Wilkey and David Dawson.
