COOKEVILLE — The story of Paul Stouder is one that comes full circle through the Tennessee Tech Baptist Collegiate Ministry, said Ben Maddox, Tech BCM minister. As a freshman, Stouder visited the BCM for an outdoor worship service. He thought it would be a way to blend into the crowd while still learning about Christianity. After that service, Stouder found community with other students who connected him with Stevens Street

CARRIE, Ky. — Dwayne Slone summed up the feelings of many homeowners in Carrie, Ky., about the disaster relief teams from Tennessee who have provided flood recovery assistance since torrential floods struck the area in late July. “They were God-sent,” he said. Slone’s home is one of more than 150-plus homes that have received help or are still awaiting teams to clean out their homes which were affected by the

NEWPORT — According to recent findings from Lifeway Research, of all the mental challenges faced by pastors, stress tops the list (see article in Aug. 3 issue of the Baptist and Reflector). Joe Sorah, harvest field ministry team leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said pastors talk about the stress they are under, but he does not hear many people talk about solutions. “Ministry is all encompassing,” Sorah observed.

HAYWOOD — “There’s not much between Jackson and Memphis, but there’s about to be.” That observation was from Danny Sinquefield, coordinator of the Blue Oval City Partnership with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, who emphasized that thousands of people will soon be moving to the area. By 2025, Ford Motor Company is planning to open Blue Oval City, a 3,600-acre campus in Haywood County. The campus will create over 5,000

BROWNSVILLE — When two older gentlemen decided to open an abandoned country store (formerly the J.B. Warren & Son Grocery) and turn it into a community restaurant in July of 2021, a few people were surprised.  After all, Turk Warren at age 98, and Ray Ellington, age 86 and a  member of Woodland Baptist Church in Haywood County had never owned or managed a restaurant.  However, this didn’t stop these

SPRINGFIELD — It was only a minor change, but it had a major impact at Springfield Baptist Church.  When the church hosted Vacation Bible School several weeks ago, pastor David Evans and the church leaders tweaked the program: They set up a system that allowed the teachers — instead of Evans — to talk directly to the children who had shown interest in making a profession of faith.  In several