Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

ACP DATA: CHURCHES FEEL COVID IMPACT

By Carol Pipes & Lonnie Wilkey
LifeWay, B&R writers

NASHVILLE — When Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s season record for home runs in 1961, an “asterisk” was placed by his name because he played more games.

A similar rationale can be applied to the 2020 Annual Church Profile.

In the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Southern Baptist churches, including those in Tennessee, joined the wave of school and business closures to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. 

Churches shifted to online worship services, while Sunday School classes and small groups met in backyards and via Zoom. While the total impact of COVID-19 on church practices may not be fully known, recent data from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) suggests a significant effect. 

According to the latest Annual Church Profile (ACP) report, the Southern Baptist Convention saw key metrics decline in 2020, including baptisms, membership, average weekly worship attendance, giving and total number of Southern Baptist congregations. [Read more…]

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BROWNSVILLE CHURCH COMPLETES RESTORATION DURING PANDEMIC

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing writer, B&R

BROWNSVILLE — Woodland Baptist Church, located in eastern Haywood County, has completed a restoration of the 100-year-old auditorium. After 13 months, the congregation moved back into the renovated auditorium in February of 2021. 

Due to tithes, donations and other gifts, the renovation of Woodland Baptist is debt free.

After 10 decades, the auditorium was in need of repair. The plaster was cracking and the sheetrock was bulging. When the sheetrock was pulled off, there was black mold and rotted studs. Also, there were concerns about the foundation. Water was seeping into the basement. Serious structural problems were evident. 

After the deacons, pastor and committees met, it was decided to bring the matter of restoring the auditorium to the church body. In November of 2019, the church voted to proceed with the renovation. The project was begun in January of 2020, just prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…]

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THE RISING HOPE FOR DAYS AHEAD

By Randy C. Davis
President & Executive Director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Sometimes all people need to press forward is a sliver of hope. Last week we got it. 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky delivered that hope when the director of the Center for Disease Control stepped to the microphone during a press conference and said, “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or socially distancing.”

That simple pronouncement was like turning the corner at the end of the long driveway and seeing the Biltmore Mansion for the first time. 

Her declaration is a monumental, long-awaited signal that light is dawning after plodding through the dark night of the coronavirus pandemic.  [Read more…]

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PANDEMIC ALTERED U.S. CHURCHGOERS’ DISCIPLESHIP PRACTICES

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay news office

NASHVILLE — Fewer churchgoers filled pews and Bible studies during the pandemic, but many still continued personal discipleship habits throughout 2020.

A study by Nashville-based Lifeway Research found U.S. churchgoers were less likely to be involved in small groups during the pandemic, but many added some digital and individual activities to their discipleship routines.

“Some have defined discipleship as a journey of following Christ in fellowship with other believers,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “COVID-19 appears to have had both positive and negative impacts on discipleship. Pre-pandemic churchgoers largely have shown more resolve in following Christ over the following year while altering how they engage with other believers.”  [Read more…]

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‘HOW CAN YOU EVER PAY THAT BACK?’

Baptist and Reflector

Members of East LaFollette Baptist Church, called Zach’s Prayer Warriors, gather for photo in support of their pastor, Zach Lloyd, who spent 175 days in the hospital while battling COVID-19 and undergoing a double lung transplant.

NASHVILLE — As Zach Lloyd looks back on his seven month journey with COVID-19, he realizes he and his family have been extremely blessed.

“God has moved in ways I could never imagine,” said Lloyd, pastor of East LaFollette Baptist Church, LaFollette. “So many people and churches have reached out with monetary donations and other acts of kindness in addition to countless prayers lifted up on his behalf.”

One church reached out in a special way. 

Red Bank Baptist Church in Chattanooga found out about Lloyd’s unique situation from Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and reached out to the Lloyd family and offered to pay the mortgage on their home for nine months.  [Read more…]

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SEVEN-MONTH JOURNEY

After surviving COVID-19 and a double lung transplant, LaFollette pastor Zach Lloyd is eager to return home

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

After being away from his children for months, Zach Lloyd was able to spend time with his wife, Sara, and children, Lily and Titus, on April 23-24.

NASHVILLE — When a local television station in Nashville aired footage of pastor Zach Lloyd recently leaving Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, probably few people realized they were witnessing another one of God’s infinite miracles.

But that really is the only explanation for how Lloyd, pastor of East LaFollette Baptist Church in LaFollette, was able to leave after 175 nights in hospitals and a double lung transplant. 

While Lloyd is quick to praise the care he received during his illness, he is even quicker to point out that “God moved in ways that defy medical explanation.

“There were many nights that the hospital personnel did not know if I would make it through the night. Our stance is that God provided and will continue to provide and that He will move in a mighty way.” [Read more…]

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SURVEY: CHURCHES HANDLED COVID WELL

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, churches responded to serve churchgoers in a variety of ways, and churchgoers are overwhelmingly proud of how their church handled the crisis.

According to Nashville-based LifeWay Research, almost nine in 10 Protestant churchgoers (86 percent) say they are proud of how their church has responded during the coronavirus pandemic, with 58 percent strongly agreeing. Few (9 percent) disagree.

Inversely, few (12 percent) say they are ashamed of how their church responded to the crisis. More than 84 percent disagree, with 73 percent strongly disagreeing. [Read more…]

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DR VOLUNTEERS ASSISTING WITH VACCINATIONS IN MEMPHIS

Baptist and Reflector

MEMPHIS — It was not the typical request for help, but Tennessee Disaster Relief volunteers have responded to a request to assist with COVID-19 vaccinations in Memphis.

“It is one of our most unusual responses,” acknowledged Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

He noted it is unusual for government agencies to request help from volunteer organizations, but it was necessary to help speed up the vaccination process to get more Americans vaccinated as quickly as possible, Jones said. [Read more…]

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COVID-19 GIVES 70-YEAR-OLD CHURCH NEW LIFE

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

Ray Marin

MADISON — Like most every church in Tennessee, Madison Heights Baptist Church in Madison had to learn to adjust to the unique challenges of COVID-19.

After deciding to cancel in-person Vacation Bible School last summer, three ladies in the church (Cathy Searcy, Atley Spain and Stacey Spain) felt compelled to find ways to minister to children and families who live in an apartment complex across the street from the church.

Though members had visited the apartments in the past, it was the “traditional knock on the door,” said pastor Ray Marin. [Read more…]

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INGLEWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH: ONE CHURCH’S COVID-19 STORY

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Over the past several months I have been repeatedly asked, “Are you guys (the church) meeting in person? And, how are you guys doing?” My answer is always the same. Yes, we are meeting for in-person worship. And yes, by God’s grace, we are doing remarkably well. 

These questions caused me to rethink our story as we approach the one-year anniversary of what I call “the year of our discontent.” Here’s our story.

With the onset of COVID-19 we ceased in-person worship on Sunday, March 8, 2020. We began online worship on March 15, with the first three weeks with just preaching/teaching, with our able tech team assisting in broadcasting these sessions on our YouTube and Facebook pages. 

We added music on April 5 provided by our worship team who faithfully joined me every Sunday morning for weeks of faithful leadership to an online church family albeit from an empty room. We held at this pattern for 12 weeks.

Then, beginning on Sunday, May 31, we moved to two identical in-person worship services with music, 9:30 and 10:45. We remained at two services for 23 weeks. In the meantime, we added ministry to children on July 12,  offered simultaneously during the 10:15 worship time. We combined all children into one place by clearing out the fellowship hall to provide a type of “one room school house” for all children grades PreK-6. 

This allowed us to control spacing and cleaning protocols. Nursery ministries were added as well. Later we divided the children into grades 1-3 and 4-6 and have remained at this arrangement since. [Read more…]

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