Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
September 16, 2022
LEADERS Oak Street Baptist Church, Elizabethton, has called Joe Ledford as interim pastor. Jeff Harless recently was called as pastor of Doe River Baptist Church, Elizabethton. Mike Kemper is serving as interim director of missions for Gibson Baptist Association. He previously served the association from 1999-2006 when he and his wife returned to the International […]
September 1, 2022
LEADERS Kevin Minchey, church revitalization team leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, moved from that role to Harvest Field 3 team leader, effective Aug. 15. Minchey is former pastor, associational missions strategist (AMS) and church planter. Prior to joining the TBMB staff, he served as the AMS for Concord Baptist Association, based in Murfreesboro. […]
August 18, 2022
LEADERS Mike Burns has been called as pastor of First Baptist Church, Watertown, effective July 17. A native of Tennessee, Burns was reared in Nashville and served for four years as youth and children’s ministry director at Riverside Baptist Church. For the past 20 years an associate pastor/students at a church in Louisiana and as […]
August 3, 2022
LEADERS Joe Lovell joined the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board July 8 as chief financial officer. He formerly served at the International Mission Board where he has spent the last 23-plus years. Most recently he served as senior finance director where he was responsible for accounting, investments, payroll, tax and treasury functions. Lovell […]
July 21, 2022
CHURCHES Pleasant Heights Baptist Church, Columbia, will host a weekend to honor Maury County First Responders Sept. 9-11. Activities will include a barbeque luncheon for first responders and they will be recognized and prayed over during the Sunday morning (Sept. 11) worship service. For more information, call 931-388-6453 or contact Pastor R. Maurice Hollingsworth at […]
July 7, 2022
LEADERS Pastor Juan Natal joined the New Churches Team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board June 13 as a part-time new church catalyst. Juan is church planter and pastor of Renovacion Church in Nashville and is married to Marybel Sotomayor. Cross Roads Baptist Church, Greenbrier, called Al Hodges as pastor on June 12. He had […]
June 7, 2022
LEADERS Roger Stacy will retire June 30 after 15 years as director of missions for Gibson Baptist Association. Prior to Gibson Association, he served as director of missions for Central Baptist Association, based in McMinnville, for 10 years. He and his wife, Penny, also were the first International Mission Board missionaries to serve in western […]
May 25, 2022
LEADERS Jason Hartley has been called as pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church, Elizabethton. He had been serving as interim pastor. Steve Evans has been called as pastor of Pilgrim New Covenant Baptist Church in Maryville. Five retirees of Carson-Newman University are inaugural members of the Robert Reedy Bryan Society. The recognition took place during C-N’s […]
May 11, 2022
CHURCHES Willie McLaurin, interim CEO of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee, will be at First Baptist Church, Somerville, on May 22 from 2-4 p.m. to meet with pastors, staff and directors of mission in West Tennessee to answer questions about the upcoming Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif. It is an open meeting […]
April 27, 2022
CHURCHES Fall Creek Baptist Church, Norene, will celebrate 200 years of proclaiming the gospel on Sunday, May 1, at 10 a.m. with Dave Shelley, director of missions for the Wilson County Baptist Association, delivering the anniversary sermon. The church was organized at the Copelands Meeting House in southeastern Wilson County on the first Saturday in […]
April 12, 2022
LEADERS After 49 years in ministry, Jerry Winfield has retired as pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church in Franklin. Previously he was pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville and First Baptist Church in Bolivar as well as churches in Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas. He also served as vice president of development and communications […]
March 31, 2022
Enon Baptist Church, Halls, called Phillip Senn as pastor on March 13. The church also named retired pastor William P. “Bill” Oakley as pastor emeritus. Susan Mason recently was recognized by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board for 25 years of service. She has been the administrative assistant at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport […]