By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — In Nashville all of 24 hours while his wife Donna was home in Memphis, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines had already spoken with her four times, he said, because he loves her and simply loves to hear her voice. The conversations with his wife served as an analogy to encourage Southern Baptists to talk with God and tell others about our Savior,
By Lonnie Wilkey and Chris Turner Baptist and Reflector BRENTWOOD — For the past few years, giving through the Cooperative Program has been on an upswing in Tennessee and throughout the Southern Baptist Convention. Recent developments across the Southern Baptist Convention, however, raise questions about whether the upswing in Cooperative Program giving will continue.
By Carolyn Tomlin Contributing Writer, B&R BROWNSVILLE — When the call came a few years ago from Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief to assist people who had been affected by an ice storm in Missouri, Woodland Baptist Church here responded. In the summer of 2016, the team once again loaded up trucks and equipment and headed to Louisiana to help flood victims when the mighty Mississippi River overflowed.
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector HUNTINGDON — “We had probably what everybody thought was an impossible rescue,” said Retired United States Air Force Col. Jim Harding of one of his experiences during the Vietnam War. Harding, a member of First Baptist Church, Huntingdon, and one of the top 25 most decorated veterans in U.S. history, used the event as an illustration of the importance of saving
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector SPRINGFIELD — Robertson County Baptist Association (RCBA), based here, has offered an English for Language Learners ministry for 18 years. The ELL program of RCBA, draws about 100 people weekly from Spanish-speaking countries, Iran, Egypt, Brazil, and China to Springfield Baptist Church, said Judy Hurst, member of Springfield Baptist, who is ELL director. Students attend Thursday evening classes which are offered
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector SPRINGFIELD — With only two Hispanic Baptist congregations in this area and about 10,000 Hispanic residents, opportunities abound to reach Hispanics here with the gospel, said Luis Lopez of the Robertson County Baptist Association (RCBA). Also the Hispanic population here is expected to grow 30 percent in the next five years — to 13,000, added Lopez, coordinator for Hispanic work of
Editor’s Note: You can hear Willie McLaurin discuss the growth of African-American churches during Episode 5 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. BRENTWOOD — Two events stand out in the mind of Willie McLaurin as they relate to the growth of African-American churches across both the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. The first happened in 2012 when Fred Luter,
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press CHATTANOOGA — A public school system has agreed to update employees on applicable constitutional law after a special interest group complained of a Tennessee Baptist minister’s impromptu prayer over an injured player at a high school football game. The Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE) will “provide additional training to its employees on the application of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses in public schools,”
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector GATLINBURG — Disaster relief fire response “is so different … . We can’t go door to door saying, ‘Hey, we’re here for you,’ because there are no doors,” explained Kaye Thomas of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, referring to the hundreds of homes destroyed here by fires three months ago. “But our yellow hats and blue shirts out on the mountains have
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — In Nashville all of 24 hours while his wife Donna was home in Memphis, Southern Baptist Convention President
By Lonnie Wilkey and Chris Turner Baptist and Reflector BRENTWOOD — For the past few years, giving through the Cooperative Program has been on an
By Carolyn Tomlin Contributing Writer, B&R BROWNSVILLE — When the call came a few years ago from Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief to assist people who
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector HUNTINGDON — “We had probably what everybody thought was an impossible rescue,” said Retired United States
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector SPRINGFIELD — Robertson County Baptist Association (RCBA), based here, has offered an English for Language Learners
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector SPRINGFIELD — With only two Hispanic Baptist congregations in this area and about 10,000 Hispanic residents,
Editor’s Note: You can hear Willie McLaurin discuss the growth of African-American churches during Episode 5 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press CHATTANOOGA — A public school system has agreed to update employees on applicable constitutional law after a special interest group
By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector GATLINBURG — Disaster relief fire response “is so different … . We can’t go door to