JOHNSON CITY — Retired pastor Julian E. Hodges, a member of Boones Creek Baptist Church, Johnson City, is in rare company. Not only did he turn 100 years old on Feb. 5, Hodges is one of a very small minority of Navy veterans who survived the Battle of Midway during World War II when the U.S.S. Yorktown was struck by enemy torpedoes and later sank. Hodges was one of two

JOHNSON CITY — Tennessee Baptist vocational evangelists agree they have had to be more creative than normal since the onset of COVID-19 three years ago. Leaders of the Fellowship of Tennessee Baptist Evangelists (Phil Glisson of Memphis and Skip Youngcourt of New Johnsonville, along  with Keith Cook of Springfield, president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists) met with the Baptist and Reflector to discuss the state of vocational evangelism

MEMPHIS — The swift criminal indictment of five police officers and the release of camera footage after the death of Tyre Nichols are positive steps toward transparency in policing, Southern Baptist pastor Bartholomew Orr told Baptist Press after meeting with local and federal officials. But preventing police brutality and achieving widespread reform will require a holistic approach that addresses the many facets of such evil, said Orr, senior pastor of

MURFREESBORO — Without even looking at attendance figures or reading through response surveys, Roc Collins confidently said that the 2023 State Evangelism Conference was an effective event. He based his assessment on one simple fact: “It was a great success because you could not leave the conference without being challenged in the area of evangelism and winning the lost for Jesus,” said Collins, the director of evangelism and strategic objectives

WARTBURG — At first, it might sound like a strange melding of demographics: widows and young adults. But at First Baptist Church, Wartburg, these two groups are forming friendships and kinships.  “There’s a fantastic synergy between the two groups within our church,” said FBC senior pastor Matt Ward.  The connections have emerged in prominent ways in recent weeks after a young adults Sunday School class at FBC started a ministry

NASHVILLE — Approximately five years ago, Rusty Sumrall knew his tenure as executive director of Nashville Baptist Association was nearing an end. He had recently turned 65 years old so he went to his board and asked if they wanted him to retire. Sumrall noted they told him he could remain as long as he wanted. “I asked them if we could put some money aside in our upcoming budget

MURFREESBORO — The opening session of the 2023 State Evangelism Conference featured worship, encouragement and urgency on Sunday night at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.  Operating with “Testify” as the theme, this year’s two-day conference opened with JJ Washington and Jamie Dew serving as the featured speakers during Sunday night’s session. Worship music included the Daniel Doss Band and the Old Path Quartet. 

MEMPHIS — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers responded to an unusual request from the state this week to provide support for first responders preparing for possible rioting in Memphis in the aftermath of the beating and death of Tyre Nichols.  While Disaster Relief teams are no strangers to helping people affected by natural disasters, this was the first time for Tennessee volunteers to activate for potential civil unrest, according to

Ukrainian native coordinates efforts to help war-torn country By Charles Key and Lonnie Wilkey Baptist and Reflector JEFFERSON CITY — A Carson-Newman University staffer has secured the assistance of local Baptist associations and churches in East Tennessee to aid his native country in war-torn Ukraine. The needs in Ukraine are many, said Vova Gorbenko, who fled to the United States and eventually ended up in Jefferson City where he is

FRANKLIN — Even in the face of big challenges and big changes, Baptist Collegiate Ministries continues to be effective in reaching students for Christ and helping them grow in their faith. The BCM also continues to be successful in supporting the spread of the gospel through events, service projects and giving.   Over the past six years, from 2016-2022, the BCMs in Tennessee  have helped more than 5,000 students get