PARTNER WITH ASSOCIATION TO ADVANCE KINGDOM

October 24, 2019

Editor’s note: The Week of Prayer for Baptist Associations is Oct. 20–26, 2019.

By Sandy Wisdom-Martin
Exec. Dir., Southern Baptist WMU

I suppose he had to be the first denominational celebrity I ever met, though I did not know it at the time. I heard whispers in the halls of our tiny country church when I was a child: “Mr. Whitmer is here today.” Mr. Whitmer was our associational missionary, as the role was called then. He would usually visit our church twice a year.

God uses others to shape and mold us, and my story is incomplete if I leave out the role of the association in my spiritual and leadership formation. Here are some examples: [Read more…]

STILL JAMMING: GA EVENT TURNS 30

October 22, 2019

By Ashley Perham
Baptist & Reflector

Tennessee WMU missions and ministry advocate Linda Robbins leads a JAM small group as children learn more about missions.

NASHVILLE — JAM, a one-day mission event for children, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

JAM, which stands for Journey into Adventures in Missions, was started by the Tennessee WMU in 1989.

Originally, the event was only for 1st through 6th grade girls in the WMU Girls in Action (GA) program.

In 2001, the event became open to all children in 1st-6th grade. [Read more…]

WMU MISSIONS DISCIPLESHIP HIGHLIGHTED TO MESSENGERS

June 17, 2019

By Julie Walters
Baptist Press

Jordan Ball (far right, back to camera), a Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) leader, helps RAs and GAs from First Baptist Church Jackson, Miss., and First Baptist Church Alexander City, Ala., remember their motions as they perform songs June 11 during the WMU report to messengers at the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala. — Photo by Van Payne

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — WMU Executive Director Sandy Wisdom-Martin welcomed the Southern Baptist Convention June 12 to Birmingham, Ala., where the national missions organization is headquartered.

“This has been our home for the past 98 years, but for the entire history of our organization, we’ve stayed focused on our assigned task,” Wisdom-Martin said. “Our mandate is making disciples of Jesus who live on mission. This is what we do.” [Read more…]

CONNECTION CHALLENGES GIRLS TO PURSUE CHRIST

April 16, 2019

By Juliana Wilson
TN WMU Communications/Childhood Missions Specialist

Attendees participate in an activity during last week’s event.

GATLINBURG — Connection 2019, a missions event for girls in grades 7 through 12, took place April 5-7 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center in conjunction with Get-Together.

The group of 294 girls and leaders focused on the event theme “Unshakable Pursuit” which was based on the key Scripture from 1 Corinthians 15:58.

Through worship, breakout sessions, missionary testimonies and hands-on experiences, the young women were challenged to pursue the God who pursues them and seek Christ in their life even when things do not go according to plan. [Read more…]

BARBIER SHARES KEY TO REMAINING UNSHAKEN

April 16, 2019

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Natalee Barbier speaks to attendees during a break-out session. Barbier’s session was called “Unshaken by Life’s Storms.”

GATLINBURG — Natalee Barbier didn’t say it has been easy.

She just said it’s been worth it.

Barbier, who was one of the featured guests for the “breakout sessions” at last week’s WMU Get-Together, spoke to the attendees about the challenges that she has faced during parenthood. Her session was entitled: “Unshaken by Life’s Storms.”

Natalee and her husband, Jay, the evangelism event specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, have a 15-year-old daughter, Mary-Clare, who has Down’s Syndrome. The journey of raising a special-needs child has been challenging, of course, but has enabled the couple to grow in their faith in ways they couldn’t have imagined. It has shaped the Barbiers’ ministry, and opened doors to sharing God’s love and faithfulness. [Read more…]

TOGETHER TIME

April 16, 2019

WMU event features fellowship, worship, wisdom

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

WMU attendees bow for a time of prayer during this year’s Get-Together and Connection. –Photos by James Wilson, Baptist and Reflector

GATLINBURG — Many tourists travel to Gatlinburg with hopes of relaxing and rejuvenating. But for those who attend WMU’s Get-Together and Connection, the goal is much deeper: To become re-energized spiritually.

The three-day event, which was held April 5-7 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center, featured the theme “Unshakable Pursuit,” and presented attendees with ideas and plans on how to be strong in the Lord, even amid the turmoil and challenges that life so often presents. [Read more…]

MISSION WORK STILL MATTERS TO WILSON

April 2, 2019

By Grace Thornton
Writer, WMU Foundation

Creely Wilson displays her Girls Auxiliary cape which she earned as a member of Girls in Action (GAs). “Being a GA was always very important to me,” said Wilson.

BRENTWOOD — Creely Wilson has been packing recently to move to her next home — a small place in a senior living community. She’s had to downsize a little bit.

But in all of the cleaning out, Wilson was certain one thing wasn’t getting left behind — a small Lottie Moon doll that’s been on her mantle for years. She has other things she loves in life, but missions tops the list.

“I’ve learned a lot from the life of Lottie,” she says of the beloved missionary to China. “She really got women started in missions.”

It’s a legacy that’s kept going with Wilson, says Betty Wiseman, a fellow church member at Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee — to the point that Wiseman says without hesitation that Wilson “is our Lottie Moon.”

“She’s revered in our church,” Wiseman said. “She’s a gem, a really special lady. She represents to us what it means to be a woman of God who cares, who gives and who offers servant leadership.” [Read more…]

TENNESSEE WMU ANNOUNCES WORLDCRAFTS ADVOCATES

March 12, 2019

By Kendall Christian
WMU news office

Tennessee WMU WorldCrafts advocates are, from left, Anna Huggins, Charlyene Couey, Rhonda Poore and Bobby Turner

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — WorldCrafts, the fair trade division of national WMU, develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Its vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth.

Tennessee WMU desires to offer churches and small groups the opportunity to discover how they can get involved in missions through the ministry of WorldCrafts. [Read more…]

SHARING “GOD’S LOVE FROM A DIAPER BAG”

December 14, 2018

By Trennis Henderson
WMU National Correspondent

Bessie McPeek speaks to the gathering.

JENKINS, Ky. — Bessie and Lester McPeek are known throughout eastern Kentucky as the Diaper Lady and the Diaper Man. They wouldn’t want it any other way.

The McPeeks, who have been married for 24 years, started a unique diaper distribution and parent education ministry in Jenkins, Ky., in 2001. Since then, they have given away more than 2 million diapers to single moms, unemployed families and others in the economically troubled region who are struggling to make ends meet.

[Read more…]

HOW WILL YOU RESPOND TO LOTTIE’S CHALLENGE?

December 4, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

Time passes, transitions happen, and generations come and go, but I pray we as Southern Baptists never lose the missionary spirit of Charlotte Digges “Lottie” Moon.

Lottie Moon stood no taller than 4 feet 6 inches tall, but she cast a shadow that’s stretched for more than 100 years. Lottie left for China in the early 1880’s and gave 39 years and her life – literally – to the Chinese people as a teacher and evangelist. Among her monumental Kingdom contributions was the foundation she laid for support of international missions among Southern Baptists through a special offering. [Read more…]

WMU event features fellowship, worship, wisdom

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