Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptists gave $2,600,319 through the Cooperative Program in May.
For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptist Convention churches have given $19,909,664 through the Cooperative Program for missions and ministries throughout the state, the nation and the world. [Read more…]
By Matt Tullos
TBMB Special Assistant to the Executive Director
2020 will be remembered as the Year of the Pandemic. A new normal swept across our country as leaders grappled with circumstances that previously were only portrayed in doomsday novels and disaster movies. We’ve seen the best and worst of humanity. Mass graves, food lines, and market crashes flood our news feeds. The death tolls and statistics overwhelm us each day. [Read more…]
Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — During a month that most churches did not meet in person, Tennessee Baptist Convention churches still gave $2,694,179 through the Cooperative Program. [Read more…]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ronnie Floyd is president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. April 26 is Cooperative Program Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.
By Ronnie Floyd
Ronnie Floyd
NASHVILLE — When the coronavirus (COVID-19) began to spread across the globe, our work as Southern Baptists did not stop.
And as we approach and celebrate Cooperative Program Sunday in the SBC on April 26, it’s possible that in our lifetimes, we have never had greater reason to continue to generously support the Cooperative Program.
Our missionaries are still on the field, both overseas and in North America. Our seminary students are still being trained for ministry and missions. Our work together in each of our respective regions, states, nation and world is still alive and active. Disaster Relief ministry is still operating through state conventions in this critical hour, along with our Send Relief ministry. Our chaplains are still ministering. [Read more…]
By Matt Tullos
Stewardship Development Specialist, TBMB
We’ve seen this scene played out in countless westerns. The weather-beaten cowboy in the dusty western saloon looks across the table and pushes all his chips to the center. For better or for worse, he’s all-in.
John the Baptist was all-in, too. He couldn’t be categorized as anything other than completely, radically, undeniably committed. His calling and mission propelled him into the vortex of the Jesus story. What do you call a man who wears camel’s skin? How do you explain a consistent diet of wild honey and extra-crispy locust? [Read more…]
Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $2,657,992 through the Cooperative Program in February.
After the first quarter of the 2019-20 fiscal year, Tennessee Baptists have given $12,157,989. The amount is $293,198 or 2.5 percent over the amount given after the first four months of last year and is $491,322 or 4.2 percent over budget needs.
“We are grateful for Tennessee Baptists who continue to give faithfully to meet Great Commission needs in our own state and around the world,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $4,083,899 through the Cooperative Program in January.
It is the largest single monthly amount ever and the first time CP gifts have exceeded $4 million in a month for more than a decade. It is the largest monthly amount since Tennessee Baptists gave $4,019,171 in December of 2008. [Read more…]
By Art Toalston
Contributing writer, B&R
Maybe you’ve seen a missionary cry.
Interviewing a missionary in Ecuador some years back, my heart was gripped when he spoke through tears of the persecution experienced by the indigenous people he worked among in the Andean mountains.
It was midday, we were in a cold, dark room. All I could do was sit there and dig for empathy within my soul as he cried.
In a conference more recently, I saw a husband and wife, missionaries to Russia, cry as they described their love for the people they had served. [Read more…]
Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Cooperative Program gifts from Tennessee Baptist Convention churches got off to a slow start in November, the first month of the new 2019-2020 fiscal year.
TBC churches gave $2,445,574 through the Cooperative Program in November. The amount is $213,173 or 8 percent below what was given during the first month of the 2018-19 fiscal year. The total also is $471,093 or 16.15 percent below budget. [Read more…]
Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, preached the final message of the Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference on Nov. 18. He encouraged pastors to gather at the altar for prayer for each other and their churches.
– Photo by James Wilson
Editor’s Note: See stories from the 2019 Summit in Knoxville throughout this issue.
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee Baptist Convention messengers gathered at First Baptist Concord, Nov. 17-20 for four days of inspirational worship, fellowship and to conduct business during the 145th annual meeting held during The Summit: A Gathering of Tennessee Baptists.
The Summit drew 998 registered messengers from 444 churches and 117 registered guests. The total is the highest since 2016 when 1,228 messengers from 501 churches gathered at the Sevierville Convention Center. Last year’s Summit drew 994 messengers from 409 churches to West Jackson Baptist Church, Jackson.
Convention messengers demonstrated focus, excellence and unity, observed Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. [Read more…]
