By Casey Watson BGR NASHVILLE — Nine-year-old Austin Billingsley wanted to “be the difference.” So, he had the slogan printed on more than 200 T-shirts, which he then sold to help people in need. In early August, Austin and his mother, Rachel Billingsley, knocked on the door of Baptist Global Response (BGR) headquarters in Nashville and presented the organization with a check for more than $2,000. He raised the entire

by Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector HENNING — In 1944 Ira Singleton faced a tough decision. The 18-year-old had joined the Army and was in basic training when he received word he had been granted a discharge. He later learned that his father and pastor had worked to get him the discharge because Singleton had been called to the ministry and had already preached his first sermon. 

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector OLD HICKORY — Though it occurred more than 30 years ago, Gerald Bontrager vividly remembers the first suicide he encountered as a church planter in Mentor, Ohio. A 15-year-old boy in the church took his own life. “It was baptism by fire,” Bontrager recalled, noting that he was 28 years old and in his first pastorate. “It was really difficult but God gave

by David Dawson Baptist and Reflector WAVERLY — Scott Brown, the pastor of First Baptist Church, Waverly, doesn’t think Christians should hide from Halloween. The members of his congregation obviously agree. Rather than avoiding the night that is traditionally linked to ghosts and goblins, First Baptist embraces it by hosting one of the largest fall festivals in the state. 

By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — It’s been more than two decades since Blake Cothran participated in a production of Judgement House. But he still vividly recalls the looks on the faces of those in the crowd.

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector MOUNTAIN CITY — Approximately 100 California Baptists, most of whom had never been to the Volunteer State, worshiped at First Baptist Church, Mountain City, on Sunday, Oct. 15. The Californians, members of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, have no direct ties to Tennessee, but they feel connected to the state through one of their pastors.