Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

BCM STUDENTS LEARN BY DOING

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Mary Rachel Gean and Luke Love led BCM students from the University of Tennessee-Martin in early January to assist with clean up efforts in Waverly last summer.

WAVERLY — Luke Love and Mary Rachel Gean are serving this semester as campus missionaries with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the University of Tennessee-Martin. Both have a desire to continue in BCM work in the future.

Through the campus missionary program at UT-Martin, the two recent graduates are gaining valuable experience. The two campus missionaries led a team of BCM students from the school to help residents of Waverly continue clean up efforts following a massive flood last summer.

“Leading this mission trip was important to Luke and Mary Rachel,” observed Morgan Owen, BCM director. “It was also vital to me in their development as staff ministry leaders at the UTM BCM,” he added.  [Read more…]

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JAM EVENT INCLUDES ‘EVERYTHING IN ONE PACKAGE’

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

OLD HICKORY — In years past, children from Tulip Grove Baptist Church have often gone to mission events in the area.

This year, a big event is coming to them. 

On the first Friday of November, the church is hosting “Jammin’ in a Box” —  an event designed by WMU that focuses on missions and the impact that missionaries make across the world.  

“This is the first time for us to host an in-house JAM event,” said Eric Boswell, children’s minister at Tulip Grove. “We are thankful that Tennessee WMU put together all the teaching materials needed in an ‘event in a box’ format. It has made putting together this event super easy.” [Read more…]

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GOTM FOCUSES ON THE ‘SAME JESUS’

By Vickie Anderson
Exec. Dir., TN Woman’s Missionary Union

One hundred twenty years ago, W.C. and Mildred Golden challenged Tennessee Baptists to pray for our Tennessee mission field and give to the first state missions offering. That first offering in 1902 was $800. The offering was named after the Goldens in 1943. Today, churches are still encouraged to learn about, pray for, give to and serve in missions and ministries in Tennessee.

I think the 2021-22 Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions will be the year that Tennessee Baptists break the $2 million mark for the first time and reach the offering goal of $2.1 million. What a great way to celebrate the 120th year of our state missions offering! While many things may look different from what they did in 1902, much is still the same, including that Tennessee is still a mission field.  [Read more…]

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SBC: MISSION, TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, UNITY

By Todd E. Brady
Vice President For University Ministries, Union University, Jackson

In mid-June, I was one of the 15,726 Baptists who attended the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville — the most attended convention since 1995 and the first large gathering in Nashville since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having done research this past year in high school for a research paper and learning about the SBC’s deliberations at an earlier convention, my son Jack asked to attend with me. In all the years of going to Southern Baptist Conventions, I learned that it is a much better experience when your son goes with you. [Read more…]

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SENDING HELP AND HOPE

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Donnie Dalton, of Grassland Heights Baptist Church, Franklin, sits with an elderly lady while on a mission trip to Guatemala. Dalton has made more than 40 trips to the poverty-striken country.

FRANKLIN — More than 20 years later, Donnie Dalton still gets emotional when he recalls the life-changing conversation he once had with a pastor from Guatemala. 

The pastor was visiting Dalton’s church, Grassland Heights Baptist Church, and was talking about the needs of the people in his poverty-stricken community. At the end of the service, Dalton and his wife, Susan, decided to give the pastor some money.

“We had written him a check, and I handed it to him,” Dalton said. “But he never would pull the check completely out of my hand. He just stood there, partly holding it.”  

After a few awkward seconds — “that felt like five minutes,” Dalton recalled — the pastor finally took the check. And as he did so, he said something that Dalton would never forget.

“He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I will take your money, but what I really need is your time, ’ ” Dalton said, choking back tears.  [Read more…]

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APPLICATION PROCESS FOR BHSET GRANTS UNDERWAY

Baptist and Reflector

submit, button, online, form, computer, keyboardKNOXVILLE — Applications are now being received for grants from the Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee Medical Missions Fund.

The Baptist Healthcare System of East Tennessee was begun by Tennessee Baptists soon after the end of World War II. More than $2 million was contributed by 800 churches in 32 counties of East Tennessee. The hospital began service on November 30, 1949. [Read more…]

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LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT STARTS WITH ‘PUTTING MISSIONS INTO THE DNA OF NEW BELIEVERS’

By Trennis Henderson
WMU National Correspondent

Kim Cruse, who served as an International Mission Board missionary to the Philippines for more than 20 years, began serving last year as Tennessee WMU’s missions discipleship specialist. A strong proponent of missions involvement and support, she emphasized, “You want a missions call? Read the Bible. It’s in there. Jesus said, ‘Go to all the nations.’ ”
— WMU photo by Pam Henderson

KNOXVILLE — How can your church start a missions group like Love World to help young women develop a heart for missions?

Kim Cruse, a former International Mission Board collegiate church planter in the Philippines, insists the need is urgent. “If you can put missions into the DNA of a new believer or of a young believer early on in their Christian life, they will always see missions as important,” she emphasized.

Cruse, who began serving last year as Tennessee WMU’s missions discipleship specialist, poses the tough, thought-provoking question: “Where are the future IMB missionaries going to come from and where are the future mission supporters going to come from if we’re not able to engage and connect and get these younger women involved in missions?

“This has been a burden of WMU for many years,” she said, “so I love what has happened at Wallace (Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville).” Missions leaders there launched Love World in 2019 to reach and involve women from age 25 to 40 in missions discipleship and support. [Read more…]

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SAFETY, SECURITY AND SALVATION

Love World, Welcome House impact Knoxville, and the world, for Christ

By Trennis Henderson
WMU National Correspondent

Sunny Ikojoh, who serves as minister of hospitality for Welcome House Knoxville, came to the U.S. from Nigeria in 2015 to attend seminary. The Welcome House facility is a former missionary guest house that the ministry rents from a local church to provide short-term housing for refugees.
— WMU photos by Pam Henderson

KNOXVILLE — How can the crisis of an Iraqi refugee family’s house fire help churches engage young women in missions involvement amid their busy 21st century lives?

Several congregations in the Knoxville area are discovering the answer through hands-on interaction with such ministry groups as Love World, Welcome House Knoxville and Knoxville Internationals Network.

Kimberly Poore is a member of the Love World team at Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville. The missions group, which launched in 2019, is geared toward young women age 25 to 40. She said the leadership team seeks “to educate and also provide mission opportunities for other Wallace women within our church.”

Love World’s missions focus includes ministering alongside Welcome House Knoxville, a nonprofit ministry that provides temporary housing for immigrant and refugee families in the Knoxville area. [Read more…]

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IMB APPOINTS 30 MISSIONARIES

Seth Polk (left), trustee chairman, joined the virtual IMB board of trustee meeting from West Virginia. IMB President Paul Chitwood participated from IMB’s studio in the Richmond home office.
-IMB photo

RICHMOND — International Mission Board trustees unanimously approved the appointment of 30 full-time, fully funded missionary personnel during their Feb. 3-4 meeting, and trustees applauded a report that cumulative international mission offerings have nearly reached a historic $5 billion.

The new missionaries will be sent to eight of IMB’s nine global affinities. A recent Sending Celebration recognized the 30 new appointees, plus two missionaries previously appointed, and one sent in partnership with the Canadian National Baptist Convention. Both the Sending Celebration and trustee meetings  were held virtually due to COVID-19 safety considerations. [Read more…]

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MRM’S ‘RADAR O’REILLY’ RETIRES AFTER 20 YEARS

Baptist and Reflector

Randy Pool

TRENTON — For the past 20 years Mississippi River Ministry and Randy Pool have been synonymous in Tennessee.

A former pastor and Southern Baptist missionary for 11 years in Central America, Pool and his wife, Cindy, returned to the United States in 2000 for a leave of absence to deal with family issues. During that time they became caregivers for his wife’s mother. “It became apparent that we were going to be here longer than a personal leave of absence,” Pool reflected.

Within six months, Pool was selected and approved as coordinator of Mississippi River Ministry, a ministry designed to reach those affected by poverty in West Tennessee.  [Read more…]

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