Church Hill pastor Gary Gerhardt retiring after 38 years of ministry By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] CHURCH HILL — Members of First Baptist Church, Church Hill, have heard their pastor Gary Gerhardt reference “the dash” for 38 years. The “dash,” according to Gerhardt is the period of time represented by the dash on a tombstone between a person’s date of birth and death. In other words, the

By David Dawson [email protected] FRANKLIN — In addition to creating smiles on Christmas morning, the true impact of the Christmas Backpacks ministry often extends well beyond Dec. 25.  In some cases, in fact, the impact literally lasts for eternity.  Since its inception, the ministry — which provides backpacks filled with toys, clothes and other items to children in low-income families — has served as a gateway for children to come

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] DELLROSE — Like many churches throughout Tennessee, Wheelerton Baptist Church in Giles County was hit hard by COVID-19 last year. Just the year before, the church, with the assistance of deacon Keith Bennett and others, guided the church through a construction project that doubled the size of Wheelerton’s facilities. For the most part, the church did not get to enjoy the new

By Ann Lovell Baptist Press BRENTWOOD — In 2020, Deaf people numbered nearly 70 million people around the world. Of those, 1,444 Deaf people die every day without Christ, according to IMB’s 2020 Annual Statistical Report. Most Deaf people around the world have none of the Bible in their heart sign language. Those numbers should concern any Great Commission Christian, IMB President Paul Chitwood told those at a June 15 gathering

By Aaron Wilson Writer for Lifeway Christian Resources  Last week I spent five days serving as a chaperone with my church at Lifeway’s CentriKid camp (held at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in Linden). It was my 10-year-old twins’ first experience at camp and one of my first times back since I proposed to my wife at a Lifeway camp around 16 years ago. Leading up to this year’s camp, I