Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
February 19, 2024
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist & ReflectorBUTLER — In upper East Tennessee, pastor Don Winters of Sugar Grove Baptist Church in Butler is lovingly referred to by some family and friends as the “crazy preacher who swam the ice mile” or “the Watauga Lake lunatic.” Winters takes it in stride but he has the last […]
February 15, 2024
By Baptist and ReflectorKNOXVILLE — Dana Fachman, pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in Knoxville retired Dec. 24, 2023, after 35 years of service to the church and the community. Before that, he served at Leawood Baptist church in Memphis for 10-and-a-half years, for a total ministry tenure 45 years. Fachman began his ministry at […]
February 13, 2024
By Baptist and ReflectorPIGEON FORGE — For more than 35 years Joy Clay-Corby has been a fixture as a ministry assistant with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention). Clay-Corby has seen a lot of history over her three-and-a-half decades. She has served under four executive directors — Tom […]
February 12, 2024
By Lonnie WilkeyEditor, Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Longtime Tennessee Baptist Claude King will forever be intertwined with Henry Blackaby. Though Blackaby perhaps is best known for Experiencing God, the original version was co-authored by King, then an employee of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Christian Resources). King, now retired from Lifeway but […]
February 12, 2024
By David DawsonCommunications specialist, TBMBBELLS — Chris Garner had everything mapped out in his mind: He was going to move to West Tennessee to plant a church that would be part of the BlueOval Initiative. Turns out, he was only half right. Yes, God opened the door for Garner and his family to move to […]
February 8, 2024
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $3,868,359 through the Cooperative Program in January. For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given $9,302,057 through the CP giving channel. After one-quarter of the fiscal year, gifts are $25,910 or 0.3 percent behind the amount given at the same time last year, but are $552,057 or 6.31 percent […]
February 8, 2024
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist & ReflectorPIGEON FORGE — As bivocational ministry specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, Roger Britton understands the unique challenge of serving as a pastor and holding down a job. Britton has been a bivocational minister nearly 45 years, including the last 27 as pastor of Whites Creek Baptist Church […]
February 6, 2024
By Lonnie WilkeyEditor, Baptist & ReflectorHARROGATE — Pump Springs Baptist Church has a mission field that is less than five minutes from the church — Lincoln Memorial University, a four-year, private liberal arts university. While LMU is not a large university (an undergraduate enrollment of 1,560 students in the fall of 2022, according to U.S. […]
February 5, 2024
By Lonnie WilkeyEditor, Baptist & ReflectorFRANKLIN — Bill Gruenewald, president-treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation since 2014, has announced his plans to retire on Oct. 31. Gruenewald informed TBF trustees of his intentions at their December board meeting. If needed, he said he would remain “a few months longer” in order to ease the transition. […]
January 29, 2024
By Stephen R. ClarkThe Baptist PaperSPRINGFIELD — Her favorite color is purple, she loves animals, is a fourth grader at South Haven Christian School, and some of her favorite books are the Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series. She loves going to church at Hopewell Baptist Church in Springfield, Tennessee, to see her friends and learn about […]
January 25, 2024
By David DawsonCommunications specialist, TBMBMEMPHIS — During the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. was quoted as famously saying that “11 a.m. on Sunday mornings was the most segregated hour of American life.” Roughly 60 years later, King’s statement continues to ring true in many cases. And yet something recently took place in Memphis […]
January 24, 2024
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Ten Acts 2:17 workgroups have been named (see full lists below) and have begun working on their assigned tasks. Tennessee Baptist Convention messengers at last year’s annual meeting in Chattanooga overwhelmingly adopted vision and priority statements that will ultimately lead to every Tennessean hearing the gospel. […]
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