News

SWEAT, TEARS AND ‘A LOT OF JESUS’

Tennessee volunteers show love of Christ through disaster relief By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.  — The calendar may have rolled into October, but the temperatures on the coast of North Carolina screamed July and August. The heat didn’t matter, however, to the numerous Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers who trekked to various locations throughout coastal North Carolina. The trip brought tears, sweat and “a

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DAVIS ENCOURAGES TENNESSEE BAPTISTS TO JOIN DAY OF PRAYER

From Baptist & Reflector, Baptist Press reports NASHVILLE — Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, is among numerous state leaders and executive directors who have embraced Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear’s call for a national day of fasting and prayer for the presidential search committees at five SBC entities. Greear has designated Oct. 8 for the day of prayer.

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ANNIE ARMSTRONG EASTER OFFERING TOPS $61 MILLION

By Brandon Elrod Baptist Press NEW YORK — Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), announced to trustees during their meeting that the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions broke the $60 million mark for the first time ever in 2018, with Southern Baptists giving $61.1 million.

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UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT UP AT UNION

Union University News Office JACKSON — Traditional undergraduate enrollment for the fall semester at Union University is up 2.2 percent, the first increase in fall-to-fall enrollment in this category since 2010. The number of new students at Union increased from 401 in 2017 to 450 this year, a 12.2 percent increase. Non-traditional enrollment is up 1.1 percent in headcount, but the number of student credit hours is 1,409 more than

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NO DEBT LEADS TO MORE MINISTRIES

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] UNION CITY — The math is very simple at Second Baptist Church in Union City: no debt = more resources for missions. For the first time in 15 years, Second Baptist Church is learning to live debt free, said Pastor Justin Hiens. In 2003, Second Baptist began a relocation process that would eventually cost the church over $12 million. Hiens joined the

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SURVEY REVEALS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF SBC MINISTERS DON’T HAVE A WILL

Tennessee Baptist Foundation will assist ministers, laity with estate plans By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] FRANKLIN — The results of a recent survey about estate planning, contracted by the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Foundation, are disappointing but not surprising, said Bill Gruenewald, president of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation. The survey, conducted by LifeWay Research, revealed that more than half of Southern Baptist pastors do not have a will,

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OFFICIALLY SPEAKING

Pastor of West End Baptist Church uses his hobby — officiating football — as an extension of his ministry By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector [email protected] COLUMBIA — Like so many others in Tennessee, Rick Elsey spends his Friday nights in the fall going to high school football games. But Elsey, pastor at West End Baptist Church in Columbia, doesn’t go to the games just to observe. He’s actually a

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VOLUNTEERS TRANSFORM BCM AT UT-CHATTANOOGA

Baptist and Reflector CHATTANOOGA — A group of Tennessee Baptist volunteers worked hard over the summer months to help transform the Baptist Collegiate Ministry building at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Mark LeMay, properties management specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and a five-member team from Red Bank Baptist Church in Chattanooga tore out a 25-ton fireplace that was hindering the work of the BCM due to poor space allocation,

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OFFICIALLY SPEAKING

Pastor of West End Baptist Church uses his hobby — officiating football — as an extension of his ministry By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector

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