GRATITUDE FELT BY MULTIPLE GENERATIONS

‘Christmas checks’ a testament of WMU’s lifetime missions commitment By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN  — The big, yellow folder that Tennessee WMU executive director Vickie Anderson keeps in her drawer is just about to burst. The folder is filled with thank you cards and letters that Anderson has received from retired IMB missionaries […]

IMB’S PLATT: WHEN WE PRAY, GOD WORKS

EDITOR’S NOTE: This year’s Week of Prayer for International Missions in the Southern Baptist Convention was Dec. 3-10 with the theme verse taken from 2 Corinthians 5:14 (HCSB) “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died.” The verse undergirds the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering […]

FIRST-PERSON: CHRISTMAS ACTS OF KINDNESS

By Anthony Jordan Exec. Dir., Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma OKLAHOMA CITY (BP) — While we have been seeing Christmas advertisements for weeks, the Christmas season officially began with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. The focus of Christmas for most Americans, as you are well aware, has nothing to do with Jesus’ […]

MISSIONARY REFLECTS ON CAREER, CP, LMCO

By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector KNOXVILLE — As he nears his retirement after spending much of his adult life serving God in Africa, John McPherson has an interesting take on his career as a missionary. “I don’t think what I have done should be seen as a sacrifice,” said McPherson. “Doing what you love […]

GUATEMALA PARTNERSHIP OFF TO GOOD START

By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector HENDERSONVILLE — The Tennessee Baptist Convention’s partnership with the Guatemala Baptist Convention is off to a strong start. And Garry Eudy, the ministry’s field coordinator, believes it will only get stronger in the years ahead. “We can’t see this partnership ending in the foreseeable future because of the way […]

PLATT, IMB WELCOME 32 NEW MISSIONARIES

Baptist Press RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — As a preschooler in Mission Friends, new Southern Baptist missionary Amy Jones learned about God’s desire to gather people from every nation, tribe, people group and language by His grace and for His is glory. “It became real when my mother returned from England with stories and a tea […]

AAEO GIFTS SET RECORD

Baptist and Reflector ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Kevin Ezell announced Oct. 19 to the North American Mission Board staff that the 2017 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering totaled an all-time high: $59,648,377. The offering for North American missions beat the previous 2007 high by $185,096. “We are grateful for every dime we get from Southern Baptists,” said […]

PASTORS SEE SPIRITUAL DARKNESS IN ITALY

Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — A team of African-American pastors from Tennessee recently discovered firsthand that spiritual darkness in Italy is real, said Willie McLaurin, special assistant to the executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

PASTOR KEEPS CHURCH INFORMED VIA WEBSITE

By David Dawson Baptist and Reflector CLEVELAND — Matt Ward, pastor of West Cleveland Baptist Church, was briefly out of sight. But he made sure he wasn’t out of mind. Ward recently returned from a week-long stay in storm-ravaged Houston, where he served as the team leader for one of the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief […]

MONTREAL — A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE?

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector Larry Robertson, pastor of Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville and a former Tennessee Baptist Convention president, has been a good friend since he served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (then Executive Board) as director of evangelism more than 15 years ago. He is an […]