Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN DOMINICA

DR teams continue recovery efforts on Caribbean island

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

DR volunteers gather for prayer with staff and members of La Plaine Baptist Church on the island of Dominica.

FRANKLIN — More than 17 months after Hurricane Maria left its devastating signature on the Caribbean island of Dominica, Tennessee Baptist disaster relief teams are still going strong in their efforts to help residents recover from the deadly storm. 

And they won’t be slowing down any time soon.   

Tennessee Baptist Mission Board disaster relief specialist Wes Jones said DR teams will continue to routinely travel to Dominica for the foreseeable future.   [Read more…]

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ALWAYS ANSWERING THE CALL

Tennessee Baptist DR units aid recovery from February floods

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing writer, B&R

Don Vailes from Woodland Baptist Church, Brownsville, surveys the damage of the flood waters.

JACKSON — February 2019 was one of the wettest Februaries on record in Tennessee. Torrential rains swelled the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers and all their tributaries to record flood levels. 

Numerous homes and businesses in several counties near the rivers were flooded and underwater. 

Flooding affected much of the state. In all, 58 counties in West, Middle and East Tennessee surveyed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were over their per capita damage threshold in public damage, according to an article in The Jackson Sun on March 26.  [Read more…]

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DISASTER RELIEF: AT WORK IN OUR STATE — AND WELL BEYOND

Compiled by B&R staff

Sandra Williams, left, of Sullivan Baptist Church, Kingsport, and Shelley Self of First Baptist Church, Alcoa, work the feeding unit at a recent Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief project.

While many Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from a number of TBC churches have been working in various places in Tennessee in response to the flooding that struck the state in February, other DR personnel have been continuing to work elsewhere around the country and in Puerto Rico and Dominica. 

Here’s a look at just some of the projects and recovery efforts that are taking place:  [Read more…]

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FOR THE LONG HAUL

Morristown business donates truck for Disaster Relief work

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

Standing in front of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief’s newest ministry tool are, from left, David Hawkins, director of missions, Nolachucky Baptist Association; Don Owen, DR director for Nolachucky Association; Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board; Roscoe England, DR volunteer and driver; Doyle Wallace, president of Wallace Hardware in Morristown; and Wes Jones, DR specialist for the TBMB. Wallace Hardware donated the truck to be used for disaster relief ministry.
— Photo by Charles Key, Carson-Newman University

MORRISTOWN — Wallace Hardware in Morristown recently donated a truck to be used for Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief ministry.

The truck was donated to Nolachucky Baptist Association’s disaster relief ministry, which, in turn, donated it to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief. The truck will be housed at “God’s Warehouse” in Morristown.

Don Owen, disaster relief director for Nolachucky Association, noted that Wallace had allowed DR to use the truck and its trailers for the past three years for numerous trips to areas that have been impacted by hurricanes and other disasters. [Read more…]

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A BUSY MARCH — DAVIS REFLECTS ON YEC, DR, BCMs

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

FRANKLIN — Evangelism and missions were once again at the forefront of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board in March.

In his podcast reflecting on the month before, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board President and Executive Director Randy C. Davis observed that 780 decisions for Christ during the annual Youth Evangelism Conference was one of the highlights in March. In addition, more than 60 people surrendered to vocational ministry, he said.

“We’re just thrilled at what God did at YEC this year.”

Davis said the impact of YEC continues to grow even after its 51st year. [Read more…]

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DR FLOOD RECOVERY TEAMS NEEDED ACROSS STATE

Baptist and Reflector

MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief flood recovery teams will be needed en masse in the weeks ahead, according to Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Teams are already at work in Knoxville, which was hit hard by flooding almost two weeks ago. An incident command center has been set up at Glenwood Baptist Church in Knoxville, Jones said.

[Read more…]

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N.C. MISSION VOLUNTEER DIES IN PUERTO RICO

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Paul Fisher (right in brown shirt), pictured here earlier this week after fixing a roof damaged by Hurricane Maria, died Feb. 28 while leading a mission team in Puerto Rico. He is survived by his wife Carrie (left in hat and neon shirt). Submitted photo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Paul Fisher, the leader of a North Carolina Baptist mission team repairing roofs in Puerto Rico, died Feb. 28 in a swimming accident near San Juan. He was 36.

Fisher and his wife Carrie were heading up a team assembled by North Carolina Baptists on Mission to fix homes damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. On Thursday, the team completed their work for the day early and went to the beach to swim. A riptide pulled Fisher underwater and he drowned despite the team’s 30-minute effort to resuscitate him, according to an email from Richard Brunson, executive director of North Carolina Baptists on Mission. [Read more…]

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SEXUAL ABUSE AND ABORTION BILLS TOP FEBRUARY HEADLINES

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — Sexual abuse instances, as reported by The Houston Chronicle in February, “needed a bright light to be shined on it,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

In his monthly podcast reflecting on what happened in convention life the previous month (Episode 25 of Radio B&R), Davis said the silver lining of the horrible news is that it has made churches more aware of the issue and that it needs to be addressed.

“I think the fact that any child is abused anywhere, under any circumstances, should grieve us all to the very core,” Davis said. “I think it is hellish. I think it is demonic. I think that the predator who does this kind of deed is going to attempt to go wherever there are children, including churches,” he noted.

[Read more…]

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DR TEAMS NEEDED TO ASSIST TENNESSEE FLOOD VICTIMS

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

KNOXVILLE — After nearly two years of nonstop response to needs caused by hurricanes across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Dominica, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are needed in their own state.

Record amounts of rainfall in February caused severe flooding in many areas of the state last week.

Among the hardest hit areas of the state was Knoxville. According to a Knoxville city office, as of Feb. 26, there were more than 1,000 homes and businesses damaged and 143 area roads closed at the height of the flooding. [Read more…]

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