LEADERS Tevis Springs Baptist Church, Madisonville, recently called Sam Baines as pastor. He was ordained June 11 by South Madisonville Baptist Church, Madisonville. Paul Ellis has been called as associate pastor of Maple Springs Baptist Church, Tellico Plains. He was ordained into the ministry on July 2. Chase Sears has been called as pastor of Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory.  He recently served as assistant professor of biblical studies

LEADERS Stacy Murphree, Baptist Collegiate Ministry specialist at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, recently celebrated her 20th anniversary as staff member with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. She is a member of Lone Oak Baptist Church, Cunningham. Hickman Baptist Church, Hickman, has called Tommy Ferguson as pastor, effective June 11. Don Mathis has been serving as interim pastor. CHURCHES Concord Baptist Church, Mohawk, will celebrate the church’s 200th anniversary

LEADERS Matthew “Matt” Ledbetter has been called as director of missions for Duck River Baptist Association, based in Tullahoma. He previously served as pastor of Creeksville Baptist Church in Conway, N.C. He has also been serving as the interim director of missions for the West Chowan Baptist Association in North Carolina. In addition to 25 years pastoral experience, he has served two terms as the second vice president of the

LEADERS Former Tennessee Baptist Mission Board staff member Bob Brown has been elected vice chairman of the trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. Brown is executive director of Lakeway Christian Schools and interim pastor of Chilhowee Hills Baptist Church, Knoxville. He and his wife, Linnie, are members of First Baptist Church, Dandridge. Danny Dixon began serving April 1 as interim pastor of Battle Creek Baptist Church, Springfield.

DEATHS John Henry Franklin, retired pastor of churches in Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee and longtime pastor of Everett Hills Baptist Church, Maryville, died March 21. He was 85. John is survived by his wife Betty, three children, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Parker “Spencer” Johnson, retired Pastor of Shepherd Baptist Church, Chattanooga and other churches in Georgia and North Carolina, died March 7. He was 78.  He was preceded

LEADERS Meadow View Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, called David Miller as interim pastor, effective March 1. Pastor Rodney Duckett, along with his wife, Michelle, celebrated their 10th anniversary on April 8 at Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Mount Juliet. This year also marks Duckett’s 20th anniversary in the ministry. During his tenure, the church has undergone many renovations and programs which have led to continual growth and outreach in the Wilson

LEADERS Lynn Valley Baptist Church, Elizabethton, recently called Tim Tapp as pastor. Doe River Baptist Church, Elizabethton, has called Cody Pierce as music minister. Michael Garland has resigned as pastor of First Baptist Church, Watauga. First Baptist Church, Fairfield Glade has called two new ministers. Barry Bouchillon will serve as minister of music. He and his wife, Nancy, are from Mississippi, where he served several churches before moving to Tennessee.

LEADERS Justin Johnson began serving in November as associational mission strategist for Sevier County Baptist Association. He joined the association’s staff in 2020 as financial administrator. After AMS Robert Nichols retired at the end of 2021, Johnson served as acting AMB until he was unanimously approved as the new AMS at the association’s annual meeting in October. Johnson also is part-time student pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Seymour. Daryl

EVENTS The Missions Get-Together, sponsored by Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, will be held March 16-18 at Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood. The event features general sessions, breakout sessions and a missions/ministry fair with more than 35 exhibitors. For more information, visit www.tnbaptist.org/mgt2023. CHURCHES Oakland Baptist Church, Springfield, will host The Mylan Hayes Family from Hudson, N.C., in concert April 1 at 6 p.m. There is no admission but a freewill offering

EDUCATION Carson-Newman University’s nursing and education online programs both rank No. 2 in Tennessee in their respective categories, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings released Jan. 24. For its 2023 Best Online Programs, U.S. News assessed schools based on a variety of objective factors, such as student engagement, faculty credentials and services and technologies. Carson-Newman’s online nursing program ranked No. 98 nationally, while its online education program ranked