Tennessee Baptist and Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

Revitalize Through Ministry: Sorah

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Doug Mitchell, right, pastor, Midland Baptist Church, Bell Buckle, speaks during a breakout session of the church revitalization conference. Listening are, from left, Mark Ellison, student minister, Harpeth Heights Baptist Church, Bellevue (metropolitan Nashville); Eugene Norris, pastor, Range Hills Baptist Church, Memphis; and Joe Sorah of the Tennessee Baptist Convention staff.

Doug Mitchell, right, pastor, Midland Baptist Church, Bell Buckle, speaks during a breakout session of the church revitalization conference. Listening are, from left, Mark Ellison, student minister, Harpeth Heights Baptist Church, Bellevue (metropolitan Nashville); Eugene Norris, pastor, Range Hills Baptist Church, Memphis; and Joe Sorah of the Tennessee Baptist Convention staff.

HERMITAGE — If a person attends or serves a church in Tennessee, chances are that church is either plateaued or declining because 90 percent of churches are, said Joe Sorah, compassion ministry specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, at the Church Revitalization Conference: Giving Hope for Change. [Read more…]

Revitalize by Replanting: McMullen

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lewis McMullen

Lewis McMullen

HERMITAGE — “Just as it says in Ecclesiastes, there’s a time and a season for everything and that’s true for churches,” said Lewis McMullen, church planting specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. “That means replanting or restoring a dying congregation is needed some of the time.” [Read more…]

Yellow Creek Sees 102 Saved in Nine Days

By Baptist and Reflector

Pastor Phillip Chambers, left, and John Clardy, right, baptize Allen Bieda.

Pastor Phillip Chambers, left, and John Clardy, right, baptize Allen Bieda.

CUNNINGHAM — Yellow Creek Baptist Church members saw 102 people make salvation decisions during a nine-day period from Aug. 22-30 as a result of their various ministries.

It began on Aug. 22 as Yellow Creek hosted its Third Annual Cruisin‘ The Creek Car, Truck, Tractor, and Motorcycle Show. There were 327 vehicles entered and that many more in attendance for their chance to win door prizes including a 1986 Corvette, a 1985 Ford Mustang Convertible, a $500 Harley Davidson gift card, a $500 John Deere gift card, a $500 gift card for a new set of tires and much more. [Read more…]

Student Found What Was Missing Through BCM

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Alli McCarty, right, a member of Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, visits with a fellow student on campus. McCarty accepted Christ through the BCM ministry at Austin Peay. Her story is featured in one of the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions videos this year.

Alli McCarty, right, a member of Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, visits with a fellow student on campus. McCarty accepted Christ through the BCM ministry at Austin Peay. Her story is featured in one of the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions videos this year.

CLARKSVILLE — In her own words, Alli McCarty was just “going through life” when she realized something “was missing.”

Through the Baptist Campus Ministry program on the campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, McCarty soon discovered the missing element in her life was Jesus Christ. [Read more…]

B&R’s Dedicated Website to Launch Oct. 7

By Baptist and Reflector

BRENTWOOD — A new era in the 180-year-old Baptist and Reflector will officially launch Oct. 7.

The newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention will have a dedicated website — www.baptistandreflector.org.

B&R stories have been posted on the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s website. [Read more…]

Executive Board Adopts Budget

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Elects new officers, approves Church Support Center design

Steve Freeman, left, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield was elected chair of the TBC Executive Board for 2016 while Mike Sams, pastor of First Baptist Church, Martin, was elected chair-elect.

Steve Freeman, left, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield was elected chair of the TBC Executive Board for 2016 while Mike Sams, pastor of First Baptist Church, Martin, was elected chair-elect.

BRENTWOOD — Members of the Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention approved for recommendation to the messengers of the TBC annual meeting a budget of $34,250,000 for 2015-16. [Read more…]

Revitalization Begins at Church

Pastor Bill Blair, left, Mill Creek Baptist Church, Nashville, and his wife Jennifer visit with David Taft, pastor, First Baptist Church, Hermitage, following a breakout session of the Church Revitalization Conference.

Pastor Bill Blair, left, Mill Creek Baptist Church, Nashville, and his wife Jennifer visit with David Taft, pastor, First Baptist Church, Hermitage, following a breakout session of the Church Revitalization Conference.

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

HERMITAGE — “This is a story of coming from dying to being healthy again,” said Bill Blair at the Church Revitalization Conference: Giving Hope for Change of his journey.

Blair was referring to his experience with revitalization as pastor of Mill Creek Baptist Church, Nashville. The conference was held last week at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church by the Tennessee Baptist Convention in partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources and Nashville Baptist Association. [Read more…]

Partnership Blessed Tennessee

Bill Wortham, left, and Terry Kirby, center, pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown, worked with Pastor Jeff Cahill of Valley Community Church in Miles City to repair fences for local ranchers. The ministry enabled Cahill to build relationships with the ranchers, many of whom are now involved with the church or attend a home Bible study.

Bill Wortham, left, and Terry Kirby, center, pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown, worked with Pastor Jeff Cahill of Valley Community Church in Miles City to repair fences for local ranchers. The ministry enabled Cahill to build relationships with the ranchers, many of whom are now involved with the church or attend a home Bible study.

BRENTWOOD — While Montana Baptists maintain they have been blessed by the partnership between the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Montana Southern Baptist Convention, it has not been a one-way street.

Tennessee Baptists agree that they, too, have been blessed by the relationships they have made in Montana since the partnership began in 2006. It will officially end Dec. 31, but many churches plan to continue the relationships they have built.

Terry Kirby, senior pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown, observed that “partnerships are not about projects, but about relationships with people serving Jesus Christ.” [Read more…]

Revitalization = Willingness to Change

TBC Executive Director Randy C. Davis visits with Mark Dance, center, of LifeWay Christian Resources, and Bill Henard, right, a pastor from Lexington, Ky. The three men were on the program of last week’s church revitalization conference held at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church, Hermitage.

TBC Executive Director Randy C. Davis visits with Mark Dance, center, of LifeWay Christian Resources, and Bill Henard, right, a
pastor from Lexington, Ky. The three men were on the program of last week’s church revitalization conference held at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church, Hermitage.

By Lonnie Wilkey and Connie Bushey
Baptist and Reflector

HERMITAGE — Church revitalization requires change.

Though it was said in different ways, that was the general theme echoed several times last week during the Church Revitalization Conference: Giving Hope for Change, held at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church.

The conference, which included messages and breakout sessions on different aspects of CR was sponsored by the Tennessee Baptist Convention in partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources and Nashville Baptist Association. [Read more…]

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