Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

RICH, YET POOR

By Jerry Drace
Evangelist and senior pastor, Friendship Baptist Church, Friendship

This article is written from two perspectives: one from the experience of having been a vocational evangelist for 38 years and the other from the experience of currently serving as a pastor for the past eight years.  

The latest statistics from the Annual Church Profile (ACP) of the Southern Baptist Convention have just been released and were published in the June 12 issue of the B&R. Guess what? The time for rhetoric is over. We have had enough motivational sermons, church growth conferences and restructuring.  [Read more…]

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NOT ALL STORIES HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS, BUT GOSPEL PREVAILS

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Participating in a recent Backyard Kids Club, sponsored by Hermitage Hills Baptist Church, Hermitage, were, from left, pastor Poly Rouse, Vicki Hulsey and Rick Short.

HERMITAGE — In the perfect world, every story has a happy ending.

Unfortunately, due to sin introduced in the Garden of Eden, there is no such thing as a perfect world. As a result, some stories end tragically.

A case in point is the story of Clayton Gangji. Clayton would have been 16 years old on June 6. Yet, two years ago, Clayton was killed by gunfire at the age of 14 after being involved in a robbery involving stolen cars.

But as always, God can use evil for His good. [Read more…]

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JESUS TENT: HOW IT STARTED

Baptist and Reflector

Bonnaroo concert-goers line up outside Jesus Tent.
-Photo by Dan Ferrell

MANCHESTER — In the summer of 2001, when the Bonnaroo Music Festival experienced its first significant attendance boom, the city of Manchester was ill-prepared for the influx of visitors.

The result was gridlock in the streets of Manchester, and traffic tie-ups spilled over onto the highways.

Brenton Cox, the lead pastor at First Baptist, Manchester, felt moved to reach out to the stranded drivers, many of whom were trapped on the roads for hours. [Read more…]

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IDEAS AVAILABLE FOR SERVANT EVANGELISM

Baptist and Reflector

MANCHESTER — David Evans, director of evangelism at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said Jesus Tent is just one example of the impact that can be made through servant evangelism — a means of sharing the gospel while also performing acts of service.

“Every local church in Tennessee and across the world can do a servant evangelism project,” said Evans. “And you’ll be amazed by how effective it can be in reaching people for Jesus.” [Read more…]

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TENT REVIVAL — WITH A TWIST

Jesus Tent offers ‘servant evangelism’ to Bonnaroo attendees

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Bonnaroo attendees take advantage of the phone-charging stations and free snacks inside Jesus Tent.
— Photos by Dan Ferrell

MANCHESTER — Although the final numbers are still being calculated, the final assessment can already be made: Jesus Tent was a massive success. Again.

“It was phenomenal,” said David Evans, director of evangelism for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Located amid the sprawling campgrounds at the Bonnaroo music festival at Great Stage Park, Jesus Tent is an outreach ministry of First Baptist Church, Manchester, and is supported through a team of churches from Duck River Baptist Association and several other associations. [Read more…]

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CHURCHGOERS SPLIT ON VISIBILITY OF THEIR FAITH

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Research

NASHVILLE — Spiritual topics aren’t a part of regular conversations with fellow believers for many Protestant churchgoers, but most seem at least somewhat confident others know they’re a Christian.

The 2019 Discipleship Pathway Assessment study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research found those who regularly attend Protestant churches are split on how visible and pervasive their faith is in their daily lives. [Read more…]

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WORKING HARD IN THE HARVEST FIELD

Inglewood Baptist Church reaches community with Saturation Saturdays

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

-Photo: Inglewood Facebook page.

NASHVILLE — In the business world, this method would be referred to as “flooding the market.”

In the spiritual vein, it’s a means of carrying out the Great Commission.

During the past few weeks, the members of Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville, have been involved in  “Saturation Saturdays” — an initiative in which church members fan out in the community to distribute door-hanging bags that contain information about the church, DVDs about Jesus, invitations to VBS and other items. [Read more…]

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‘OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF THE CHURCH’

Riverview Baptist in Savannah reaches community with ‘Loving God, Loving Others’ event

Completing one of the many service projects at this year’s ‘Loving God, Loving Others’ event were (first row, from left) Samuel Evans, Sandy Clapp, Carol Gravett, Amy Byrd; and (back row from left) Dwayne Smith, Steve Clapp, Don Brown and Gay Brown.

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

SAVANNAH — Allen Guyer, pastor of Riverview Baptist Church, Savannah, believes that a church should be more than just a “holy huddle” that gathers on Sundays.

The Riverview members obviously support that notion wholeheartedly.

The church recently hosted its second annual “Loving God, Loving Others Day” — a ministry in which church members perform a series of service projects and other acts of kindness throughout the community.

The Riverview congregation fully embraced the project, with 140 people — from the church’s roughly 200 regular Sunday attendees — participating in the ministry. The event took place on the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday. [Read more…]

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‘BLESS EVERY HOME’ HELPS MILAN WOMAN REACH NEIGHBORHOOD

By Tim Ellsworth
Contributing Writer, B&R

MILAN — When Dinah Hufstedler of Milan heard about the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s “Bless Every Home” initiative, she was quick to sign up.

She began praying for her neighbors. But that was just the start.

“After approximately six or seven months of praying for them, I thought, ‘I want to do something where they know there’s somebody there for them,’ ” said Hufstedler, a member of Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Milan. [Read more…]

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MEETING TO FOCUS ON ‘GOSPEL ABOVE ALL’

Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Keeping the focus on the “Gospel Above All” theme is Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear’s main goal going into SBC’s annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala., June 11-12.

But following a year of transition among five SBC entities searching for new leadership and the convention responding to reports of sexual abuse, Greear noted there will be other issues demanding attention.

Greear, who is expected to be reelected SBC president without opposition, acknowledged that confronting sexual abuse is among them. [Read more…]

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