GRATITUDE FOR YOUR GOLDEN GIVING

Thank you, Tennessee Baptists.

In some ways, that seems inadequate to express the depth of my gratitude, but please know I mean it with all sincerity. What the Lord has done through Tennessee Baptists — you — over the past 15 years in terms of Golden Offering missions giving is nothing short of phenomenal. Let’s take a look.

Fifteen years ago, Tennessee Baptists gave $1.5 million through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions (GOTM), and last year, you gave $3.1 million, including Golden Opportunities giving. That’s an incredible increase in giving. You doubled your giving! That is mind-blowing.

We’ve been saying for a decade that, any way you slice it, Tennessee is a mission field. You’ve not only heard that message, but you’ve also rallied to it to seek, save, and serve our state. Because you gave so generously, we have more. More churches are being planted in our state. More people are being served through compassion ministry and disaster relief. More resources are available to reach college students on campuses across our state through Baptist Collegiate Ministries. More churches are being revitalized.

The all-important bottom line is not financial, although that is important. The most important bottom line is that more people are hearing the gospel and responding through the ministries supported by GOTM.

For instance, because you gave, Tennessee Baptists have placed an increasing number of ultrasound machines at crisis pregnancy centers across the state. We’ve repeatedly heard of a desperate mother who entered a center intending to terminate a pregnancy but saw her baby’s heartbeat, was supported by those at the center, and decided to keep her baby.

Because you gave, we’ve been able to issue grants to help defray adoption costs for Tennessee Baptist Convention families seeking to provide godly homes to some of the more than 9,000 children in Tennessee’s foster care system.

Golden Offering funds have supported Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) and its efforts to help thousands of our East Tennessee neighbors recover and rebuild from Hurricane Helene.

The news cycle came and went long ago, but not for the people whose homes, lives, and livelihoods were swept away by raging floods. And not for TBDR. We mean what we say: TBDR arrives when disaster hits and leaves when the job is finished. Golden Offering makes that possible.

One last story of the countless stories I could tell: Because you gave, Golden Offering funds are providing Bibles, discipleship materials, and other resources for incarcerated boys at a prison in East Tennessee. Through that ministry and those resources, more than 250 boys have been saved, baptized, and set on the road to discipleship over the past 10 years.

As you can see, money literally translates to ministry. But it is overwhelming to consider that we are unable to ascribe the value of our investment to the incalculable return of its eternal impact. That’s why I’m excited to see what Tennessee Baptists contribute to the 2025-2026 GOTM giving campaign. We have big goals this year, with a statewide goal of $2.7 million and a challenge goal of $3 million.

Those figures seem daunting, but Tennessee Baptists constantly rise to the occasion, so I won’t be surprised to see us meet those goals. As we launch into another year of serving the people of our state, I have just one thing to say in advance of your generosity, and I mean it with all sincerity.

Thank you, Tennessee Baptists.

It truly is a joy to be with you on this journey. B&R