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GIFT MORE THAN TRIPLES PROPERTY AT CARSON SPRINGS

FRANKLIN — Highlands at English Mountain LLC (HEM) has donated 494.68 acres on English Mountain which adjoins the current property owned by Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport  to the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. The property currently making up Carson Springs was originally donated to Tennessee Baptists by the families of former Governor Ben Hooper and Charles Rhyne. This donation more than triples the property at Carson Springs from

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DAVIS, OTHER LEADERS ADDRESS TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT

NASHVILLE — More state legislatures have enacted laws this year to protect minors and women, as well as to ensure competitive fairness in sports, in response to the transgender rights movement. So far in 2023, the legislative effort to address issues regarding particularly children and young people who identity as a gender other than their biological sex include, according to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP): 17 new states have passed

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COPOUTS DON’T HELP COLLEGE STUDENTS

The world today seems to be increasingly messed up. When it comes to younger generations, it is easy sometimes to give up or just give in to apathy or complacency. As Baptists we are really not doing them any favors and actually may be doing great damage to both their future and our own students. Here are four things that we tell ourselves that really are not helpful. We could

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GENEROSITY: SIX WAYS TO KICK IT UP A NOTCH!

I must confess that I am a terrible online shopper. I find something that looks like a quality product only to realize later that it wasn’t, or that it didn’t work, or that I should have read more reviews.  I call it “click regret.” It’s that dreadful moment when I realize that the cloak of buyer remorse has fallen over my bank account like a sad blanket. Why did I

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WMU ENCOURAGE, CELEBRATE ‘BIVO’ MINISTERS

CHATTANOOGA — COVID-19 put a halt to many ministries across Tennessee at all levels, from the local church to the association and the state convention. Prior to COVID, Tina Williams, WMU director for Hamilton County Baptist Association, had accepted the task of bringing the women’s groups in her association together to focus on a missions endeavor they could all embrace. COVID interrupted those plans, she said. Three years later, she

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MOHAWK CHURCH CELEBRATES 200TH ANNIVERSARY

MOHAWK — Concord Baptist Church, Mohawk, celebrated its 200th anniversary on June 11. The church was organized in 1823 with 32 members.   The congregation celebrated its anniversary with 110 worshipers. The ministry of the church was highlighted during the morning service followed by dinner on the grounds.  The church members came dressed in pioneer era clothing to commemorate the bicentennial.   There was also a “Photo Memories Walk” where

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FULL CIRCLE: FROM CAMPER TO COUNSELOR

LINDEN — Mena Girgis admits that when he went to All Nations Camp for the first time, he was simply looking for a good time.  As it turns out, the Egyptian-born Girgis found something far more important — a personal relationship with the Lord.  Attending All Nations Camp with some of his friends six years ago, Girgis made a profession of faith, and his whole life changed, he said.  “Basically,

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PROVIDING HOPE, LOVE IN DESPERATE TIMES

FRANKLIN — Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said that he and the others in his travel party were determined to make the most of every minute of their recent trip to war-torn Ukraine. It certainly sounds like they succeeded.   “We didn’t have any down time,” Jones said with a little laugh. “But we never expected to. That wasn’t part of the bargain for

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OFFERING MORE THAN EVER

All Nations Camp expands to both Baptist conference centers NEWPORT – For the first time in the history of All Nations Camp, two camps were held, one at each Tennessee Baptist conference center. Two-hundred, ninety-eight children, from elementary age through high school, attended ANC at Carson Springs Baptist Conference earlier in June. Forty-three campers made salvation decisions while 21 recommitted their lives and three were called into full-time Christian service,

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‘JESUS TENT’ STILL GOING STRONG AT BONNAROO

MANCHESTER  — The Bonnaroo Music Festival is back to full capacity, and so is the Jesus Tent. Since its beginning in 2002, the Bonnaroo festival has generally attracted an estimated 80,000 to about 100,000 visitors each year to Manchester. The festival was shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19, followed by an abbreviated fall version in 2021. Last year, the event drew about 60,000, far from its normal capacity. This

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