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‘GOSPEL ABOVE ALL’ DRIVES DIVERSITY, UNITY, MISSIONS, ABUSE PREVENTION

June 10, 2020

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press DURHAM, N.C. — Promoting diversity, unity, missions and sex abuse prevention are goals the Southern Baptist Convention must continue to pursue in order to put the “Gospel Above All,” SBC president J.D. Greear said in his 2020 presidential address on June 9. Speaking from his office at The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., in a virtual format after the 2020 SBC Annual Meeting was canceled

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS GATHER TO VIRTUALLY CELEBRATE SENDING 61 MISSIONARIES

June 10, 2020

By Caroline Anderson IMB writer On June 9, the International Mission Board commissioned 61 missionaries in a virtual Sending Celebration. The missionaries represent churches in 15 states and will be serving in all nine of the IMB’s affinities. Sending Celebrations provide a forum for Southern Baptists to commission new missionaries and hear their call to missions. IMB trustees voted on and approved 59 of the missionaries this spring in a

MISSISSIPPI PASTOR FINDS CAR KEYED WITH RACIAL SLUR

June 10, 2020

By Tess Schoonhoven Baptist Press CLINTON, Miss. — Tiki Broome, interim student pastor at First Baptist Church of Yazoo City, Miss., woke up on the morning of June 2 to find a racial slur keyed into the side of his car. Broome, who said he had been outspoken about racial injustice, had recently received some backlash via social media. But the defacement of his car, he told Jackson, Miss., television

VBS HAS NEW FORMAT, SAME FOCUS

June 10, 2020

Rather than canceling VBS, many churches change methods By David Dawson [email protected] FRANKLIN — With a mixture of determination, imagination and inspiration, many churches in Tennessee are finding ways to host Vacation Bible School this year. Despite the challenging circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, many VBS leaders have elected to move forward, even if it means changing the traditional format and veering away from their tried-and-true formulas of the

‘VIRTUAL VBS’ ALLOWS CHURCHES TO SAFELY CONNECT

June 10, 2020

By Ashley Perham Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Confetti poppers, bulldozers and science experiments are just three of the ways Tennessee Baptist churches are engaging children involved in virtual Vacation Bible Schools this summer. Rather than calling off this annual summer outreach event due to concerns about COVID-19, many Tennessee Baptist churches are hosting some form of VBS online. All eight campuses of Brentwood Baptist Church are participating in a

TENNESCENE: JUN. 10

June 9, 2020

EVENTS The Janet Bearden Welcome Center at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center will be dedicated July 25 at 2 p.m. There will be a brief dedication of the new facility, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The welcome center honors Janet Bearden who served at Linden Valley many years with her husband, Tim Bearden, former senior manager of the conference centers. She died of cancer in 2013. An open house will

TBC CHURCHES GIVEN ACCESS TO NEW RESEARCH TOOL

June 8, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board has partnered with a Memphis-based company to provide digital surveys geared toward helping churches stay connected with their communities. Gloo is a digital business platform that has been utilized by several Southern Baptist ministries such as the North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders. Gloo is also in conversations with LifeWay Christian Resources to determine

TENNESSEANS REFLECT ON END OF WORLD CHANGERS

June 3, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] FRANKLIN — Though World Changers began as a program of the former Southern Baptist Convention Brotherhood Commission, it made a lasting impact on Tennesseans who both participated in the hands-on missions ministry and those who benefited from the work of countless teenagers and sponsors.

HOUSEPARENTS, TBCH MOVE ON IN ‘NOTHING IS NORMAL’ WORLD

June 3, 2020

By Shawn Hendricks Contributing writer, B&R BRENTWOOD — When it comes to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic while houseparenting four elementary kids and their 15-year-old daughter, Nathan and Laura Mankin have become firm believers in a daily routine. Or, what they have humorously referred to as the “apocalypse schedule.” “We’ve had to adjust it like six times,” Nathan said with a laugh in a phone interview with the Baptist and

NAVIGATING A NIGHTMARE

June 2, 2020

Clarksvillian leads efforts to raise Alzheimer’s awareness By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] CLARKSVILLE — Beverly Blackard knows all too well the devastation caused by Alzheimer’s disease. She has watched the disease slowly “take” her husband Jack from her for the past six years. He is now in the late second stage and early beginning of stage three of Alzheimer’s. “The man who loved and cherished me all these years is the

News

‘GOSPEL ABOVE ALL’ DRIVES DIVERSITY, UNITY, MISSIONS, ABUSE PREVENTION

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS GATHER TO VIRTUALLY CELEBRATE SENDING 61 MISSIONARIES