Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
September 2, 2019
By Todd E. Brady Vice president for university ministries, Union University, Jackson We celebrated our nation’s 243rd birthday in July, and now we celebrate those who have worked to build our nation into what it is. While Labor Day may conjure good feelings of time off and laid back gatherings with friends and family at […]
September 1, 2019
By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern MEMPHIS — Level Up Church, Memphis, like many churches, was started to reach the unreached in a region. However, pastor Jacob McAnally had a vision for more than just the city of Memphis. He had a vision for gamers. McAnally said God gave him the vision for the […]
August 31, 2019
By Karen Willoughby Baptist Press ARRINGTON — “We have a choir. We have an organ and piano,” pastor Reed Buntin said. “We’re just your traditional Southern Baptist church.” For Triune Baptist Church, “traditional” also includes a missions mindset rooted in the Cooperative Program and discipleship rooted in Sunday School. Located amid rolling hills and gated […]
August 30, 2019
Baptist and Reflector MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have been placed on alert status for possible deployment to Florida in response to Hurricane Dorian. As of Aug. 29, Hurricane Dorian was a Category 1 storm but is on course to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm if it makes landfall on […]
August 28, 2019
If you have read the Baptist and Reflector regularly over the past few weeks, you have seen the name Ashley Perham quite often. Ashley is a student at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro who served as an intern for the paper this summer. Though she received college credit for the experience, the B&R was […]
August 28, 2019
Missions specialist Kim Margrave served with Tennessee Baptist Mission Board for 22 years By Ashley Perham Baptist & Reflector intern FRANKLIN — In the past 22 years, Tennessee Baptists have been able to partner in missions with ministries in more than 20 states and countries due largely to the work of Kim Margrave, the “Lottie […]
August 28, 2019
By Sarah Goff Union news office JACKSON — For Union alumni couple Ben and Juliana Wilson, 2019 has been a year of unexpected opportunities, from Ben competing on the “American Ninja Warrior” TV show to Juliana winning the Mrs. Tennessee United States crown and earning a top 10 finish in the recent 2019 Mrs. United […]
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 […]