News

LOTTIE MOON CHRISTMAS OFFERING REACHES CUMULATIVE $5 BILLION

By Myriah Snyder IMB news office RICHMOND — International Mission Board leaders are celebrating a monumental milestone in Southern Baptist life: On March 31, 2021, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering surpassed $5 billion total gifts since collection to send missionaries to China began in 1888.  The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is an annual offering collected by believers around the world to support international missions. The offering is unique because 100

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BAPTIST AND REFLECTOR EARNS NATIONAL AWARDS

Baptist and Reflector  FRANKLIN — The Baptist and Reflector, one of the nation’s longest continuously published newspapers, was awarded second place in the “Best Overall Publication: Newspaper” category by the Baptist Communicators Association (BCA) at the organization’s annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards on April 21.  The B&R also captured four additional national awards — including second place for best series or package — during the BCA’s annual awards ceremony, which

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NEW INITIATIVE ENGAGES, UPHOLDS SMALLEST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCHES

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Joe Wright expresses a heart for the “smallest of these,” churches numbering 75 or fewer in Sunday attendance and comprising two-thirds of Southern Baptist congregations. “The time has come for us to step up and decide that the ‘smallest of these’ is not only important but essential for the well-being of our Lord’s Kingdom work,” Wright said. “With our ‘worldly’ definition of success

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LONG HOLLOW SEES 1,000 BAPTISMS SINCE DECEMBER

By Scott Barkley Baptist Press These days at Long Hollow Baptist Church, interruptions aren’t considered bad. The plan isn’t as crucial as the response. Things flow from a position of prayer, ultimately pointing toward Christ. Structure exists, sure. There’s still an order of worship. Trained childcare workers remain ready and available. Pastor Robby Gallaty prepares and prays over his sermons. But anyone feeling led to come to the altar can

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6-YEAR-OLD INSPIRES CHURCH WITH ‘ANNIE’ GIFT

By Brandon Elrod Baptist Press CLARKSVILLE  — Pastor Larry Robertson of Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville, saw the young Maci Parker out of the corner of his eye, respectfully waiting to address her pastor. “I excused myself from my conversation and kneeled down to say, ‘hey’ to her,” Robertson said. “She held up a little change holder, and I asked what she was giving to me. She simply said, ‘Annie Armstrong.’

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POWER OF EASTER SWEEPS THROUGH PRISON

By David Dawson [email protected] TRENTON — Going to church on Easter Sunday wasn’t an option for the inmates at the Gibson County jail. So, sheriff Paul Thomas decided to bring church to the inmates.  What happened next was, as Thomas put it, “just a God thing.” And something Thomas will never forget. For several hours on the Monday night after Easter, the Gibson County correctional complex took on the feel

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SHERIFF USES ROLE TO CHANGE LIVES

By David Dawson [email protected] JACKSON — The staff at the Gibson County correctional facility knows what to expect when they see the gleam in Paul Thomas’ eye. They know that Thomas, the Gibson County Sheriff, has been thinking about something — or more accurately, praying about something — and that he’s likely got a big idea in mind.  “My staff has a real love-hate relationship with me,” joked Thomas, “because

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COURT’S PRO-LIFE RULING PRAISED; TENN. LAW BEING CONSIDERED

Baptist Press   CINCINNATI — Pro-life leaders praised a federal appeals court decision upholding an Ohio law that prohibits a doctor from knowingly performing an abortion because an unborn child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome. The full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned in a 9-7 opinion Tuesday (April 13) a preliminary injunction endorsed by its own three-judge panel against Ohio’s 2017 Down Syndrome Non-discrimination Act. The

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CHURCHES, COMMUNITY SHOW SUPPORT FOR DEPUTY/PASTOR IN LENOIR CITY

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] LENOIR CITY — As a deputy for the Loudon County Sheriff’s department and a bivocational pastor, Kenny Palmer is used to calls for people in distress. But he was not prepared for the call he received from dispatch on April 5 that his house was on fire. Though he was told his wife (Christina) and youngest son (Colten) were out of the

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PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR TENNESSEE CHAPTER OF CBN

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] DYER — Gibson County Baptist pastor Bryan Morris is spearheading an effort to begin a Tennessee chapter of the Conservative Baptist Network (CBN). Plans for the CBN were announced in February of 2020. According to a news release from the organization, CBN “is the product of a grassroots movement that developed organically in the hearts and minds of devoted Southern Baptists who

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