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COMMUNICATION WITH CHURCH MEMBERS CRITICAL DURING PANDEMIC

March 18, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] FRANKLIN — Churches across Tennessee are ramping up efforts to communicate with their members in a myriad of ways they never have before, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Churches are employing e-mails, phone calls, Facebook and other social media platforms, and church websites to communicate on a mass scale in order to offer encouragement and provide information. Chuck Workman, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, Nashville, has

CCM ARTIST SANDI PATTY REVEALS POSITIVE COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS

March 18, 2020

By Tess Schoonhoven Baptist Press OKLAHOMA CITY — Gospel singer Sandi Patty announced through Facebook on March 17 she has tested positive for COVID-19. The Grammy-winning artist told fans she is self-quarantining with her husband at their home in Oklahoma. Patty explained in the video that she had not felt well in the past few weeks and had been traveling for various events, coming home the weekend of March 7. Patty

RELIEF AND RECOVERY

March 18, 2020

Baptists jump into action to help those in need across the state

LIVESTREAMING SERVICES HASN’T BEEN AN OPTION FOR MANY CHURCHES

March 17, 2020

By Aaron Earls LifeWay Christian Resources NASHVILLE — The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for groups during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak recommended no gatherings of more than 50 people for eight weeks. As churches scramble to make decisions on how to move forward, new research finds many congregations are not prepared to shift their services online. A study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research conducted last fall found

CHURCHES RESPOND TO NEEDS IN COVID-19 CRISIS

March 17, 2020

By Tess Schoonhoven Baptist Press NASHVILLE — The needs of communities around the U.S. have been growing in midst of the COVID-19 global crisis. With many families unable to maintain proper childcare in light of schools shutting down, college students without a place to live and insecure communities without essential household items, churches are stepping in to bring practical aid. Green Hill Church in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., has jumped in

PANDEMIC PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY TO ‘THRIVE ON OUR MISSION’

March 17, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] FRANKLIN — As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Christians can draw encouragement from Scripture and the history of the church, said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. In comments March 16 to a group of pastors across the state via a conference call and later to TBMB staff, Davis said the church has always faced “the most difficult

COVID-19 IMPACTS SUNDAY SERVICES IN TENNESSEE, ACROSS U.S.

March 15, 2020

Baptist and Reflector staff, Baptist Press NASHVILLE — In an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), many churches across Tennessee encouraged members to stay home Sunday and watch online worship services. The Fellowship at Two Rivers, Nashville, was among the churches in Tennessee who elected to use that option. An email from the Fellowship’s elders was sent during the week, informing members: “We have made the hard

CARSON-NEWMAN, UNION MOVE CLASSES ONLINE

March 13, 2020

Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — Union University and Carson-Newman University addressed the coronavirus pandemic with their respective campus communities on March 12. Union University in Jackson informed students, faculty and staff that it would move full semester classes on March 16 to an online or alternate delivery format. In a letter to the Union University community, university president Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said, “While there have been no confirmed cases

GREEAR, FLOYD, ENTITY HEADS ISSUE CALL FOR DAY OF PRAYER

March 13, 2020

Baptist Press staff NASHVILLE — Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear and the SBC Great Commission Council (GCC) are calling all Southern Baptists throughout more than 47,500 churches “to commit to a dedicated time of prayer this Sunday, March 15, 2020.” In response to the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to be a global pandemic, Greear and the GCC, which is composed of the heads of the

GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

March 13, 2020

Churches in Holston Baptist Association able to utilize a drone for many ministry purposes By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector [email protected] JOHNSON CITY — The Holston Baptist Association now has an eye in the sky, and it’s helping the association’s churches in a wide variety of ways. Over the past several months, the churches in the Holston association have been using a drone — a small, remote-controlled “aircraft” that captures

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COMMUNICATION WITH CHURCH MEMBERS CRITICAL DURING PANDEMIC