EVENTS
The Bells Community Revival is scheduled for March 18-21 and will rotate between Walnut Hill Baptist Church and Cross Roads Baptist Church. The Sunday night service features The Barnett Family in concert at Cross Roads at 6:00 p.m. Remaining services are at 6:30 p.m. The Monday night service is at Walnut Hill with Josh Simmons. The Tuesday night service is at Cross Roads with Justin Moreland and the Wednesday night service is at Walnut Hill with Larry Murphy.
ASSOCIATION
Lawrence County Baptist Association is sponsoring “Returning to Holiness Through Spiritual Renewal” April 22-25. Sessions and locations include Summertown Baptist Church, Summertown, April 22, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; First Baptist Church, Loretto, 6:30 p.m., April 23; Leoma Baptist Church, Leoma, 6:30 p.m., April 24; and Macedonia Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, 6:30 p.m., April 25. Gregory Frizzell, founder and president of Gregory Frizzell Prayer & Renewal Ministries, will lead the sessions.
LEADERS
Immanuel Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, has called Chris Campbell as pastor, effective March 25.
Stephen Leach recently resigned as pastor of First Baptist Church, Collinwood, to return to Texas.
Laverne Griggs recently resigned as senior pastor of Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church, Waynesboro.
Lawrence Steiner has resigned as pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Collinwood, but will continue to preach until the church calls a pastor.
EDUCATION
More than 115 Carson-Newman University students and members of the C-N family in Jefferson City will spend their spring break volunteering as part of the university’s annual SPOTS mission trips. The SPOTS (Special Projects Other Than Summer) trips have been an annual spring event since the mid 1970s and this year eight teams will travel to seven states. Beginning Feb. 28, teams left campus to serve in locations from Alaska to Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico team will involve disaster relief work and will include a student who is from Puerto Rico and still has family there.
Roland Porter
DEATHS
Roland M. Porter, founding pastor of Agape Christian Fellowship Church and longtime Jackson pastor and educator, died Feb. 8 at his home in Medon. He was 81. Porter is survived by his wife Patricia, five children, three grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Doug Sager
Longtime Tennessee Baptist pastor Doug Sager died Feb. 24. He was 78. Sager, who was president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention in 1998, served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville, from 1992-2013 when he retired. Retirement did not last long as he began serving soon after as interim pastor of Vonore Baptist Church, Vonore, and was later called as pastor where he served until his death. He held numerous positions within both the TBC and the Southern Baptist Convention. He was a former trustee of the International Mission Board. Sager is survived by his wife, Faye, three children, and six grandchildren.
Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Maryville, recently celebrated the anniversaries of pianist Carol Haynes (10 years) and organist Lisa Curtis (30 years). Both ladies have strong ministry backgrounds. Haynes is the daughter of Edith and the late John Churchman who was pastor of several churches before becoming director of missions for Chilhowee Baptist Association. Curtis is the daughter of Mary and the late Dana Skeen who served several churches in the Maryville area as minister of music. Joining in the celebration on Feb. 25 on the front row were, from left, Norm Hicks, Carol Haynes, Sam Wagner (worship pastor at Madison Avenue), Beth Ottinger, and Lisa Curtis.
