Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
July 28, 2017
By Kara Bettis ERLC Writer CORDOVA — Born and raised in the “birthplace of Rock and Roll,” Donna Gaines returned 25 years later armed with a background in education and a heart for the county that claims one of the highest rates of childhood poverty. Gaines is a women’s ministry leader and wife to Southern […]
July 27, 2017
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector GATLINBURG — Ruth Martin is not likely to ever forget Nov. 28, 2016. That’s the day she became homeless. The 91-year-old widow of a Tennessee Baptist pastor left her home of 40-plus years that night with just the clothes she wore. As fire surrounded her home atop a […]
July 26, 2017
By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Driven by the belief that “school safety” should not be limited to fire drills and first-aid kits, many churches in Tennessee are doing their part to protect the spiritual safety of students, too. Numerous initiatives and programs have been designed in recent years to cover students in […]
July 25, 2017
Photo gallery. See also: KNOXVILLE IMPACTED THROUGH CITY REACH
July 25, 2017
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector KNOXVILLE — Last November messengers to the annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention overwhelmingly adopted City Reach, an effort to reach the five largest metropolitan areas in the state — Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Clarksville, and Chattanooga. Because Summit was in East Tennessee last year, Knoxville was chosen […]
July 17, 2017
By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector COLUMBIA — Stroking his long, gray beard and pausing occasionally to collect his emotions, Jay Binkley shares his story about how he came to know Jesus. It’s a modern-day Road-to-Damascus narrative, complete with the persecution of Christians — at least those who dared to come onto Binkley’s property. “I […]
July 14, 2017
Baptist and Reflector MEMPHIS — Former Tennessee Baptist Convention president Jerry Glisson died July 11 at the age of 94. Glisson was a long-time Tennessee Baptist pastor. He served at Leawood Baptist Church in Memphis from 1956-91. He also was pastor of First Baptist Church, Huntingdon from 1951-56. He was a graduate of Union University, […]
July 14, 2017
By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector BRENTWOOD — With an urgent desire to fulfill the biblical principle of bringing light to dark places, a large collection of churches in the mid-state area has become actively involved in the battle against one of the country’s most horrific problems: human trafficking. In addition to raising awareness of […]
July 12, 2017
Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN – Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, and Bethel Baptist Church, Greenfield, were leaders among Tennessee Baptist Convention churches in Cooperative Program giving in 2016. Bellevue Baptist gave $937,531 through the Cooperative Program during the 2016 convention year. They actually became the first TBC church to give $1 million over a 12-month period […]
July 12, 2017
Editor’s Note: You can listen to Kim McCroskey discuss the fire that destroyed Roaring Fork Baptist Church last November and the current rebuilding process during Episode 10 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector GATLINBURG — Fire may have destroyed the buildings […]
July 12, 2017
Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN – David Dawson has joined the Communications Team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board as communications specialist, effective July 11. Dawson formerly served as assistant athletics communications director at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and as sports editor of the Rome News-Tribune in Rome, Ga. He is a graduate of Berry College […]
June 30, 2017
By Chad Freeman Baptist and Reflector TRENTON — During the height of the Jesus Movement in 1972, 15-year-old Randy Pool, witnessed an explosion of students coming to faith in Christ. Students from all over the country flocked to Dallas, Texas’ Cotton Bowl stadium. Many students Pool personally knew from his hometown in Millington also attended […]