Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
August 27, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern NASHVILLE — As a boy, Jon Visser had dreamed of playing professional baseball. He got his opportunity in the early 2000s in the Texas-Louisiana League, now called the Central League. But while he was traveling through Texas, God gave him a different dream. “While I was traveling around […]
August 26, 2019
By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector ddawson@tnbaptist.org FRANKLIN — The oversized check was just a prop. The significance of the moment, however, was very real. During a recent ceremony at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s Church Support Center in Franklin, TBMB president and executive director Randy C. Davis presented a Goliath-sized check to Augie Boto […]
August 24, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Baptist Church, Brownsville, has had only two pastors in the last 60 years: H. K. Sorrell and Bob Connerley, who is celebrating 30 years at the church at the end of the month. “I don’t know how much that says about him and me, but […]
August 23, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist and Reflector intern KNOXVILLE — Hope Fellowship, Knoxville, started in 2016 as a church plant from Shoreline Church, Knoxville, with a vision to be a Christ-centered, multi-ethnic and generational church, saved by Jesus and changed by Jesus, according to Dominique Lee, pastor of Hope Fellowship. At the same time, Centerpointe Church, […]
August 22, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern PINSON — Approximately 75-80 percent of churches are stagnant or in decline, and as many as 10 percent of Southern Baptist churches may cease to exist in the next 10 years unless fundamental changes are made, according to Steve Holt, church services director for the Tennessee Baptist Mission […]
August 22, 2019
By Timothy Cockes Baptist Press intern LEXINGTON — Tommy Bowden, former college football coach at Clemson University, recently spoke to hundreds of Tennessee high school football students about the importance of making good decisions in life. Bowden said he wanted to emphasize for the more than 700 players, representing more than five counties and 12 […]
August 21, 2019
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector lwilkey@tnbaptist.org SPEEDWELL — A rural medical clinic, supported in part by local Christians, many of whom are members of Baptist churches, is trying to make a difference in one of the state’s poorest counties in Appalachia. Claiborne County in northeast Tennessee, bordering the Kentucky state line, is impacted […]
August 20, 2019
Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches contributed $3,130,467 through the Cooperative Program in July. The July gifts brought the year-to-date total to $26,127,112. The amount is $97,667 or 0.4 percent over the amount given over the same time frame last year. With three months to go in the 2018-19 fiscal year, gifts […]
August 20, 2019
Construction crews recently installed a 17-foot high cross in Hadley Circle on the campus of Union University, Jackson. The concrete cross was made possible from donations through Leadership Union, a cohort of faculty and staff who are selected to serve by Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver. Leadership Union member Nancy Cherry said the cross […]
August 15, 2019
Rural Wayne County church relies on faith to sponsor camp By Lonnie Wilkey lwilkey@tnbaptist.org LINDEN — On paper, it doesn’t seem possible that a small country church that averages about 40 people on Sunday could sponsor a youth camp (at no cost) for about 50 people. And, members of Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church in […]
August 14, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern MEMPHIS — City Reach provides an opportunity for churches to partner with each other no matter their size. Last month in City Reach Memphis, a 60-attendee church plant from Murfreesboro helped a 60-year-old church in the heart of Memphis. That same week, a large missions-minded church from Franklin […]
August 13, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist and Reflector intern WARSAW, N.C. — The Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions makes it possible for Tennessee Baptists to pass the torch of service down to the next generation through intergenerational missions. “For almost three years now, Tennessee Disaster Relief and The Baptist Collegiate Ministries in Tennessee have begun to work […]