Tennessee Baptist and Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

‘BOXES OF BLESSINGS’ FEED HUNGRY VENEZUELANS

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Maria Luisa Chun and Phil Holmes place Bibles in boxes of food that are being provided by churches in Loudon County Baptist Association to hungry Venezuelans.

LENOIR CITY — Listen to reports of world news and you will hear of the struggles faced by people in Venezuela, a country rocked by political turmoil and chaos.

Venezuelans are dying of hunger due to a severe food crisis in the country. Statistics reveal that 80 percent of the residents live in poverty and that many people only eat once or twice a day and do not have access to basic hygiene items such as soap, shampoo, tooth paste and brushes, toilet paper, to name a few.

Maria Luisa Chun has firsthand knowledge of the situation. Though she is now a pastor’s wife living in Loudon County, most of her family remains in Venezuela. She knows that many of her family and friends have gone mostly without food in recent months. [Read more…]

TENNESSEE DR TEAMS ON ALERT FOR HURRICANE

Baptist and Reflector

Photo: Texas National Guard

MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief is monitoring Hurricane Harvey closely.

As of Monday, Aug. 28, the Tennessee Baptist DR feeding unit was still on alert status while response/recovery units are on standby, said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Alert status means there’s a good likelihood the feeding unit will be called out quickly while it’s more of a “wait and see” scenario for the response/recovery units, Jones said. [Read more…]

HARVEY RESPONSE BEGINS AMID WIDESPREAD DAMAGE

Baptist Press

A Texas Baptist Men mobile kitchen team moved with Texas task force operations from city to city, serving breakfast as they conducted rescue operations. This photo shows the team serving breakfast at 5:30 in the morning just before they packed up and traveled to Rosenburg at 8:55.
-Photo courtesy of TBM’s Facebook page

HOUSTON (BP) — As of Monday morning, news outlets reported that Hurricane Harvey had already dropped 11 trillion gallons of rain over south Texas. More than 300,000 customers were without power. Officials have declared 62 counties disaster areas as the initial destruction caused by 132 mph wind gusts has been showered with unprecedented levels of rainfall.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) expected some of the hardest-hit regions to be accessible only to search and rescue teams.

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief (SBTC DR) teams reported they were still in a holding pattern as flooding closed numerous roads. Many of the rivers had not yet crested to their expected flood levels. As that happens, the number of road closings is expected to go up, making it even more difficult to send recovery units. [Read more…]

MEMPHIS NATIVE PLANTS LIFE IN DENVER

Editor’s Note: You can listen to Chris Phillips discuss church planting in Denver during Episode 12 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. That podcast can be found here.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

PHOENIX — After spending his entire life in Tennessee, most of it in Memphis where he was born and raised, Chris Phillips is adjusting to life as a church planter in Denver.

Phillips also is learning firsthand what it’s like to come from a church (Bellevue Baptist in Cordova) with plenty of resources to a new church (Journey Point Fellowship) where he and his family are the only resources. [Read more…]

FORMER SBC ENTITY STAFF HOLDS REUNION

Special to B&R

Former Brotherhood Commission president James D. “Jim” Williams motions to the audience during his remarks to staff, trustees and friends July 29.
-Photo by Bill Bangham

MEMPHIS — More than 60 former staff members, trustees, and volunteers of the Brotherhood Commission gathered July 29 for a reunion. 2017 marks 20 years since the demise of the Southern Baptist Convention agency.

Some of the attendees came from as far as Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia for the event, which was a celebration of the ministry of the organization, which made Memphis its home for 59 of its 94-years of existence. In 1997, it was folded into other entities of the SBC, and disbanded. Most of its functions and ministries went to the newly formed North American Mission Board (NAMB). [Read more…]

LINDEN VALLEY HAD LIFELONG IMPACT ON 5-YEAR-OLD

By Courtney Shaw
Summer Intern, Linden Valley

Melissa Russell, center, attended Journey Weekend Camp earlier this year as a sponsor with her daughter, Brianna, right, and Nikki Anspach.

LINDEN  — Most campers do not have the opportunity to attend Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center at the age of 5.

Melissa Russell did and it has had an impact on her life ever since.

When Russell was 5 years old, her mother taught Mission Friends at Northside Baptist Church in Columbia. One night the lesson focused on missions in China and her mother served Chinese food, a first for the 5-year-old. “We had never had that. It was weird spaghetti,” she recalled. [Read more…]

5 ENCOURAGEMENTS FOR SHORT-TERM SUMMER MISSION TEAMS

Baptist Press

IMB photo

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Summers provide great opportunities for short-term mission teams to serve the cause of Christ around the globe.

At the same time, missionaries in cross-cultural settings are anticipating the arrival of those teams — a process that can bring joy and excitement, but sometimes fear. Short-term summer mission teams can provide much needed help for missionaries, but for both the missionary team and the volunteer team to profit, each side needs to prepare well. [Read more…]

IMB TRUSTEES APPOINT 31 MISSIONARIES

Baptist Press

PHOENIX — Through Southern Baptists’ “faithful, generous and consistent giving” of more than $98 million to the Cooperative Program and approximately $153 million to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, the International Mission Board has reached financial stability, IMB President David Platt told the entity’s trustees June 12.

“That’s breathtaking: over $250 million given from Southern Baptist churches for the spread of the gospel among the nations,” Platt said. “And as a result of that giving, I am glad to report to trustees and the broader SBC that IMB is standing on firm financial ground.” [Read more…]

TRUSTEES: IMB NOW ON FIRM GROUND, PLATT REPORTS

Baptist Press

Jay Wolf, International Mission Board trustee, front center, takes notes as IMB President David Platt addresses the trustees at a meeting June 12 at the Phoenix Convention Center.
-Photo by Matt Jones

PHOENIX (BP) — Through Southern Baptists’ “faithful, generous and consistent giving” of more than $98 million to the Cooperative Program and approximately $153 million to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, the International Mission Board has reached financially stability, IMB President David Platt told the entity’s trustees June 12.

“That’s breathtaking: over $250 million given from Southern Baptist churches for the spread of the Gospel among the nations,” Platt said. “And as a result of that giving, I am glad to report to trustees and the broader SBC that IMB is standing on firm financial ground.”

In addition to the financial update, IMB trustees approved the appointment of 31 missionaries; recognized 10 trustees as they completed their terms; and elected 2017-2018 officers during their meeting held in conjunction with the June 13-14 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix. [Read more…]

MINISTRY IN COLUMBIA GIVES HOPE TO WOMEN

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Betty Clot gets a hug from Kathy Henson, a resident of The Discipleship House in Mount Pleasant.

MOUNT PLEASANT — After serving in the ministry for 35 years, including 26 as a pastor, Walt Clot (pronounced Clo) and his wife Betty moved from Virginia to be near their children who were living in Middle Tennessee.

Instead of having hours upon hours of carefree time the Clots soon embarked in a ministry that would have them working nonstop and provide only three weeks of a vacation longer than five days in a 12-year span. [Read more…]

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