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…]

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…]

AS IMPORTANT AS EVER

November 6, 2018

Camp-O-Ree a reminder of the need for RAs

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

Juliana Wilson, communications and childhood missions specialist for Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, shares information about the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions with this RA group from Faith Baptist Church, Bartlett.
— Photos by Stephanie Johnson

LINDEN — Though the number of boys in Royal Ambassadors, a Southern Baptist missions education program for boys in grades one-six, has declined in recent decades, it is still as relevant as ever, agree missions leaders in Tennessee.

“Royal Ambassadors is 110 years old this year and the mission today is just as important as it was all those years ago,” said Brian Holt, state Royal Ambassadors and Challengers (missions education program for boys in grades 7-12) coordinator for Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union.

“We have unreached peoples all over the world. That includes places here in the United States. How will we understand the importance of reaching these groups if we do not start teaching missions at an early age? Would you know that Salt Lake City is an unreached people group? RAs do,” Holt said.

He added that RAs teach “what it means to be a missionary, what our missionaries do and provides them with the most basic skills they need to be a missionary themselves.”

RAs, however, is not alone in the decline. Missions organizations as a whole have experienced a decline in membership, observed Juliana Wilson, communications and childhood missions specialist for Tennessee WMU. [Read more…]

JAM CHALLENGES KIDS TO MAKE CHRIST KNOWN

October 17, 2018

Baptist and Reflector

Children and leaders gather for a time of exciting worship and learning during Middle Tennessee JAM 2018.

MOUNT JULIET — Middle Tennessee JAM (Journey Adventures in Missions) 2018, a missions event for boys and girls in grades 1-6, including Girls in Action, Royal Ambassadors and Children in Action, took place Sept. 29 at Victory Baptist Church in Mount Juliet.

JAM allows children from across the state to come together to learn more about what it means to know God and make him known, said Juliana Wilson, communications/childhood missions specialist for Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union. The Middle Tennessee event was the first of three JAM events which will take place in each grand division of the state, she added.

The group of 275 children, leaders and volunteers attending JAM learned fun new ways they could make Christ known to their families, communities, country and world.
[Read more…]

TWO SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL WORDS: THANK YOU

October 10, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

It’s just two words but they are incredibly powerful when flowing from a heart genuinely filled with gratitude. They can be delivered a number of ways; a text, an e-mail, or better yet, a handwritten note. Think what it means if you receive a call and the person on the other end simply says, “I wanted to call and just say thank you.”

And then there is the ultimate. Someone who gives you a hug or a handshake, looks you in the eyes and sincerely says, “thanks” for something you’ve done.

You know the Bible instructs us to “Devote [our]selves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). Simple. Straightforward. Impactful: “Thank You.” [Read more…]

BLESSINGS IN BACKPACKS

September 25, 2018

Christmas backpack ministry brings gospel, toys to children

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — This Christmas, hundreds of underprivileged children in Tennessee will be receiving Barbie dolls and board games, matchbox cars and model planes.

More importantly, they will be receiving hope through the good news of Jesus.

All across the state, Tennessee Baptists are participating in “Christmas Backpacks for Children and Teens” — a ministry that originally started in 2001 with a group of GAs (Girls in Action) in Georgia. The ministry, which has grown dramatically since its inception, provides children with brand-new backpacks, filled with toys, card games, hygiene products and more. [Read more…]

GOTM REACHES SECOND HIGHEST TOTAL IN 2017-18

September 13, 2018

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — In 2016-17, Tennessee Baptists gave a record $1,843,511.03 through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.

A year later, Tennessee Baptists followed that record amount with the second highest total ever given — $1,797,423.72

“While falling short of our goal of $1,925,000, Tennessee Baptists still have a lot to celebrate with the 2017-18 Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions,” said Vickie Anderson, executive director of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union. [Read more…]

WMU event features fellowship, worship, wisdom

Camp-O-Ree a reminder of the need for RAs

Christmas backpack ministry brings gospel, toys to children

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