WMU PRESIDENT HONORED FOR VOLUNTEER EFFORTS

March 19, 2020

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

Outgoing Tennessee WMU president Martha Pitts of Germantown Baptist Church, Germantown, accepts the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s “Light Award,” in recognition of her volunteer service in Tennessee.
— Photo by David Dawson

FRANKLIN — Missions has been an integral part of Martha Pitts’ life since she was a GA (Girls in Action) at Whitehaven Baptist Church in Memphis and was asked to pray at an associational event.

“I was nurtured through GAs,” said Pitts, who will be concluding her four-year term as president of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union during the annual WMU Get-Together scheduled for March 20-22 in Gatlinburg.

And, Pitts never forgot what GAs meant in her life. She served as a GA camp counselor during her teenage years and taught GAs as an adult. “I still love teaching kids about missionaries and the places they serve.” [Read more…]

TBMB SUSPENDS YEC AND GET-TOGETHER

March 12, 2020

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBMB

FRANKLIN — In an unprecedented move, leadership of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board made the decision to “suspend” both the 2020 Youth Evangelism Conference and the Woman’s Missionary Union annual Get Together/Connection.

“We did not make this decision to suspend these two great events lightly,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. “The COVID-19 situation moved very rapidly Wednesday evening with the National Basketball Association suspending the rest of its season, the SEC basketball tournament here in Nashville moving forward with no spectators and President [Donald] Trump’s address to the nation. [Read more…]

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…]

ACTEENS: INFLUENCING, CHANGING LIVES OF GIRLS

June 12, 2019

By Vickie Anderson
Tennessee WMU Executive Director

Tennessee WMU executive director Vickie Anderson, right, during her days as an Acteen.

My entry point into missions was the Acteens organization at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lebanon in 1980 as an eighth grader. During the next five years, the world of missionaries, ministry, service and missions opened up for me and a passion was ignited that still burns brightly today. Some of the things our group did that stand out in my memory are: [Read more…]

ACTEENS: 50 YEARS OF IMPACTING GIRLS FOR CHRIST

June 12, 2019

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

Teenage girls and their leaders worship together during a recent gathering.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Acteens, the missions education group for girls in grades seven-12, turned 50 years old this year.

To kick off the celebration, Woman’s Missionary Union brought together former Acteens to reflect on the past and look to the future on June 7, just prior to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention which will be held in Birmingham (the home of WMU) June 10-12.

The gathering was specifically for all women whose lives have been impacted through Acteens in their teenage years, as well as current and former leaders of Acteens, according to Heather Keller, missions consultant for Acteens and a Tennessee Baptist who grew up in the Acteens program of First Baptist Church, Bolivar.

Vickie Anderson, executive director of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, is a product of Acteens and she affirms its value. [Read more…]

THE B&R LOSES A FRIEND; HEAVEN GAINS A SAINT

May 2, 2019

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

Martha Waller, seated, attended the recent WMU Get-Together in Gatlinburg. With her are, standing from left, niece Rané Sewell; daughters Marjorie Sewell and Linda Rader; and Vickie Anderson, executive director of Tennessee WMU. Mrs. Waller died April 23 at the age of 99.

Vickie Anderson, executive director of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, stopped by my office on April 23 to tell me that Martha Waller had died at the age of 99, just a few months before her 100th birthday.

Mrs. Waller was the mother of former Tennessee WMU staff member Linda Rader and was a strong supporter of WMU and Tennessee Baptist life in general. She also was a staunch friend of the Baptist and Reflector.

In 2012, the B&R was promoting a “Friends of the B&R,” an effort to gain subscriptions for the paper. Mrs. Waller was a “friend” long before that promotion began. During that year alone she provided more than 10 subscriptions to members of the Sunday School class she taught at the time (at the age of 92). Her church had stopped providing subscriptions to its members, so she took the matter into her own hands. [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…]

WMU event features fellowship, worship, wisdom

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