Nashville Hope Packs

This Christmas Season, the NBA Toy Store, TN WMU, and members of many of our churches came together to provide pillowcases with toys, goodies, Bibles, and the story of Jesus to over 100 children in the Parkwood Villa Apartment complex.

Over 150 pillowcases were packed and distributed by members of NBA churches. The NBA WMU would like to thank all who contributed., including: NBA Churches (Bell Road, Brook Hollow, Covenant-Brentwood, Dickerson Road, Hickory Hollow, Hope, New Season, Tulip Grove, and more), NBA Christmas Toy Store, TN WMU, and individuals from outside the NBA.

 In the gallery below:
1. Items collected at Hope Church
2. Items are sorted
3. A volunteer cuts out tags to mark the pillowcases
4. Volunteers pack the pillowcases
5. More volunteers prepare to distribute pillowcases
6. A mother brings her children to receive pillowcases
7. Children from the apartment complex with their pillowcases

Pictures courtesy of:
Cynthia Scott and Alexis Lewis

Ethnos

Last weekend my wife and I took down the Christmas decorations and dragged the tree out to the street.  We took down the ornaments with the special plates and cups and wrapped up all the lights. We packed them away in boxes and bins to be forgotten about for ten more months. But I do not think I will ever forget the special visitation of thirty-five Zo people singing Christmas carols in my living room this past Christmas. 

The Zo, or Zomi are a Burmese people group. They are originally from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, and now a few thousand call Nashville their home. Pastor Suan of the Zomi Evangelical Church wanted to make sure that we were going be home when his church came a caroling. We were a bit surprised and then delighted when his whole church filed their way into our living room and sang carols to us in English, Spanish and Zomi.

I was asked to preach on Christmas Eve. We met at one of their houses and I was soon seated to a great feast of Zomi food: whole chickens, cubed pork, Lo Mein and a rather tasty pink sour soup. I taught from the first chapter of Matthew, about the birth of a king. This long-awaited king, born in the humblest of circumstances was honored by the wisest from the East. This king would spend his first few years as a refugee in Egypt fleeing from a usurper to the throne.

· Pray for the Zomi church in Nashville, although small in number, they are great in their joy of the Lord.

· Pray for pastor Oscar Aguilar, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida. He suffered a stroke last month and is still in recovery.

· Pray for an Afghan Christian, who is fleeing persecution from his own family and is looking for a church to serve as an evangelist.

Do not hesitate to call or write to me about any of these prayer requests or a desire to serve the ethnic churches in the Nashville area.

Blessings,

Brett Boesch, International Ministry Strategist
bboesch@nashvillebaptists.com

Adapting

Happy New Year! I pray that your new year started off well and that you are excited about the vision that God has given you for 2022. This year started off with a couple inches of snow and a resurgence of Covid-19, Delta and Omicron. Churches of all sizes are once again having to navigate another year of reimagining, rewiring and regrouping their church programming and services. 

Adapting is nothing new at this point because many churches have been operating with a decentralized model due to the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020. As much as we love the gathering with our parishioners inside the bricks and mortar, we know that we must embrace the technology of digital spaces. This new Omicron outbreak has caused many churches to regroup and utilize digitals tools to stay in touch with their communities. 

Looking ahead, we must realize that many things have become different and these times are continuing to be challenging. However, we must always keep in the forefront of our minds that the most important foundation the church has is Christ Jesus. People still need what your church has to offer - from Bible studies and small groups, to Sunday worship. Adapt and keep moving! God is opening doors for your church to thrive online. Don’t shortcut this opportunity to adapt and maximize the virtual platforms God is giving the church to reach the sick, shut-in and unreached people groups. 

In closing, remember that we must adapt because the church belongs to God. Matthew 16: 18 states:

 “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Whether you must set out on the Great Commission virtually, in-person or using some form of hybrid method, with Christ on your side, your church will accomplish the vision. 

Happy New Year, 

Dwayne Lewis
Church Planting Strategist

Encouragement from Dr. Ray Miller

Seek Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7, NIV).

Like many of you, I watched with shock as protestors (a legal right that ought to be celebrated) turned to a mob, which then turned to insurrection at our Capitol building yesterday. I was at home eating lunch when the protestors breached the Capitol building itself. As the events turned uglier and scarier, I walked down the hill to the church office and let everyone in the office know what was happening. We immediately prayed together, as I am sure many of you did while you watched the events unfold.

As I process this, I find myself with multiple feelings and thoughts. I am at a loss for words at the attack on our democracy. I am heartbroken over the loss of life at the Capitol. I am angry that much of what was done yesterday was done in the name of Jesus.

It strikes me odd that these events happened on January 6th. If any of you know much about church tradition, you might know that January 6this “Epiphany,” or the day that the church recognizes the Magi’s journey to find the young boy Jesus. They, of course, went to the place of power – King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem – to seek the young king. Only, the King of kings was not there. Jesus was in a humble home in Bethlehem, being raised by young, faithful, and righteous parents. A few years later that humble king would come back to Jerusalem, not as a military hero, but as a servant. He would be crucified by a mob on behalf of their (and our) sins. Yet the power of God, the true power in the world, would raise Him on the third day.

Herod and Jesus represent two vastly different approaches to power: one temporal and the other eternal. We do not have to wait for the eternal, as the Kingdom of God has come near to us. Jesus actually spoke a lot about power, asking His disciples not to “Lord it over as the Gentiles (read Romans) do.” Instead, Jesus approached power with sacrificial love, truth-telling, mercy, and justice. He calls His disciples to follow His lead to be a people who are forgiving and reconciling.

As I read the rest of the New Testament, the church is described as a holy community, a loving community, and a reconciling community. In our world and to our neighbors, that is the role we must reclaim. We are declared holy and set apart by God (that’s what holiness means – set apart). What are we set apart for? We are set apart to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. We are set apart to partner with God in reconciling the world. This is difficult, slow, creative work that is done through the power, love, and joy of the Holy Spirit.

So how do we respond? Love your neighbor. Seek truth and justice. Love mercy, and walk humbly with Jesus.

Dr. Ray Miller, Pastor of Creivewood Baptist Church

Our Response to Racial Injustice

We are living in challenging and uncertain times all across the country. Often, it is during these tough times that our vulnerabilities as a people become apparent. It is times like this that we must unify under the banner of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We want you to know that we stand for justice and fair treatment to for all people. Jesus declared in Luke 4:18-19;

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
As we stand hand in hand with all of our brothers and sisters, God tells us in Matthew 5:16;

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We can’t ignore that there are issues in our society that do not reflect our Christian mandate, so we must pray and seek the counsel of God. God is listening to the cries of his people, 2 Chronicles 7:14;

“If my people, who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God is still awake and at work, so stay the course and remember Isaiah 1:17;

“Learn to do what is good.

Pursue justice.

Correct the oppressor.

Defend the rights of the fatherless.

Plead the case of the widow.”

We must come together and cultivate love, hope, and peace.

The Nashville Baptist Association Board

Scott Patty, Grace Community Church

Nathan Parker, Woodmont

Pam Frejosky, Charlotte Road

Kent Shingleton, Hope Fellowship

Duffy Betterton, Redeemer Church

Steve Durham, Sunset Hills

Jeff Mims, Judson

John Rollins, Simeon

John Gardner, Clearview

The Nashville Baptist Association Staff

Rusty Sumrall

Dwayne Lewis

JoAnn Howard

Alyssa Krebs

Unconventional Church

The current coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire world and has not excluded the church or faith-leaders. I am reminded of the scripture in Matthew 16 where Peter affirms his knowledge of the identity of who Jesus Christ was then Jesus responds to Peter with the declaration that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:15-19). Today, we must stand on this declaration to the church. Know that amid this deadly coronavirus, it will not prevail against the effectiveness of the church!

Historically, the church has met inside its brick and mortar on Sunday mornings, evenings and for midweek bible studies. However, now things have shifted and our gatherings are not the same. We cannot gather, worship, shake hands, hug, or be the typical Christian shepherds to our parishioners that we may be accustomed to. This crisis has caused pastors to deviate from normality to re-imagine how to do church, administer communion, pay church bills and stay connected to members. 

This shift came unexpectedly first in March with the tornado and now with COVID-19. These are the most challenging and uncertain days so far in this 21st century to be a pastor. This has taken us into a new reality of missional identity of technical evangelism which leads to a “Unconventional Church” model. 

Let’s look at the word unconventional: not bound by or in accordance with convention: being out of the ordinary, not traditional or usual, deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices, not bound by traditional ways or beliefs (1).

This unconventional church model has become a norm because most churches are not allowed to meet with more than 10 people in the brick and mortar buildings. The new normal is gathering via; Zoom, conference calls, robo calls, Video boost, drive-In church, watch parties, Facebook live, livestream, Instagram, webinars, and more. This unconventional adjustment has given pastors new titles like director, stagehand, producer, and editor in order to stay connected with members. 

As pastors we are looking forward to regathering in our churches when the “Safer at Home” band is lifted. Meeting in the church has a special place in our hearts and Sunday routines, as we faithfully study to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I am encouraged by the scripture Isaiah 43:19 (ESV) “19 Behold, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Despite this new virus, God has not forgotten about His church. Keep in mind, God is doing a new thing, because to everything there is a season (Eccl.3:1) and we must understand that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9), according to the word of God.

As pastors continue to embrace this newness during this pandemic, below are a few things to keep you in rhythm with this new reality.

1. Create flyers that gives information of your church like:

• Methods to give

• Ways to stay connected to the church (website, fb page, twitter, Instagram)

• Your Church address, phone number, email

• A Picture on flyer with pastor, building (family, spouse if possible) This creates the relational family perspective

• Small group and other youth, children, senior activities 

• Any links to your church’s ministries

2. Develop and build a FB Live/Social Media “Comment Team.”

• This team will be active when you go live and will respond to all comments made during your broadcast.

• This team keeps the viewers engaged and creates a desire to stay connected 

3. Take the time at the end of your FB Live and let your viewers know you would love to stay connected with them and their family. Give them ways to do that.

4. Make Robo calls to your members (Call-em-All.com)

Be encouraged pastors because God’s word says in Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)  “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

The use of all these different technological resources may be awkward in the beginning. However, be assured that they will prove to be essential during this time. Know that with continued usage, you will adapt and your congregation will continue to thrive.

Dwayne Lewis

Church Planting Strategist

Nashville Baptist Association

Cell 615.519.2222

Office 615.259.3034

Boots on the Ground

March 2-3, 2020 a EF-3 tornado touched down in Nashville and Wilson County in the middle of the night. This overnight disaster left hundreds of people with damaged or destroyed homes, business, churches, and schools. The NBA office received extensive damage as the roof was torn off and everything on the top floor has to be replaced. There was also extensive water damage to the building.  In the midst of working through those issues, our Executive Director Rusty Sumrall made calls to our NBA churches and Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief to get volunteers and responders into our communities. 

This was the clarion call to have boots on the ground to assist families and other responders in the north Nashville community.  The NBA churches showed up! New Season Church one of the NBA churches was used as the communication hub for donations and volunteers. In addition, the NBA shower trailer was housed there. The NBA requested a feeding unit from TN Disaster Relief.  The Texas Baptist Disaster Relief sent a feeding unit to Nashville to serve hot meals. They arrived and parked their trailers and truck at the New Season location. 

According to dictionary.cambridge.org, “boots on the ground” means people who are physically present in a place doing the work to achieve something. In having boots on the ground we were able to engage with families, individuals, business owners, teachers, and pastors to meet their specific needs. One thing for sure we know God called us to is to Go! (Matthew 28:19). 

Upon us going, Isaiah 58:12 (HCSB) became a reality. And it reads, “some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.” 

In the aftermath of this severe storm and tornado, this is where God gave us the opportunity to share Christ and bring help and hope. New Season Church, Sylvia Baptist Church, First Baptist Joelton, 24 Church, Hope Church, On The Go Ministries, New Life Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, Judson Baptist, WMU, Nashville Baptist staff, were boots on the ground. These churches put together over 2,000 personal care bags, 2,000 snack bags, 1,500 cleaning supplies boxes. All of these boxes were hand delivered to people in the community. Over 5,000 bottles of water were handed out. In the midst of this tragedy with boots on the ground, there were three (3) people that were led to Jesus Christ and one (1) was baptized at New Season Church on Saturday March 21, 2020. The other two will be baptized over the next couple of weeks. We had teams of people dispatched removing trees that were blocking streets, cutting trees that had smashed on homes, removing debris and piling branches, etc. for pickup.  

The eight-man team that came up from Texas with the Texas Baptist Disaster Relief, prepared 4,200 hot meals that were served in the community and to anyone that wanted food. These men served lunches and dinners that were set up in the community and each night we drove around the community and handed out those hot meals. One afternoon we took three hundred hot meals to Pearl Cohn High School and fed teachers and students. These men joined us on a couple of the night excursions serving food and praying with hundreds of people. 

Partners:

We also had Sudden Impact bring their mobile grill and they grilled 400 hotdogs. Frito Lay donated 500 bags of chips and Little Debbie cakes partnered with us and donated 500 assorted cookies. We served 400 hotdogs, chips, cookies and drinks to students and teachers at the school and apartment complex in Mt. Juliet, TN. Thank you Gideon’s Army and their director Deidre Childress, Trial By Fire Track Team, Dave Walker Ministries and HighMark Holdings four your donations through New Season Church.

On behalf of the Nashville Baptist Association, I want to say thank you to each of you for clearing the way to make communities livable again! 

Sincerely, 

Dwayne Lewis

Church Planting Specialist

615.519.2222 Cell

615.259.3034 Office

"Wednesday Is Still Church Night"

I often have pastors ask what churches are doing on Wednesday night. Here is some research from Lifeway on what is happening in churches on Wednesday nights.

According to this research it looks like most of our Baptist churches are still meeting on Wednesday nights. If you have a Wednesday night service I pray that God is using all the activities to strengthen your church and your outreach to your mission field. God bless each of you as you follow God’s leadership at your church to have the most effective ministry possible.

Rusty Sumrall

Executive Director

Nashville Baptist Association

615-419-1944

Maximize Your Ministry

As we have crossed over into the year of 2020, let me say Happy New Year! This is the year to bring clarity to your church vision and mission in preparation of having an extraordinary year. I suggest you have a strategic plan, determination and spiritual tenacity to maximize your ministry and expand the kingdom of God.

In order to maximize your ministry, you need to keep everything in its proper perspective. God first! (Matthew 6:33) The Word of God is filled with verses that keep us grounded knowing God’s power is at work through us. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” Finally, Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “May the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.”

It is time to maximize your ministry! “Maximize” according to Merriam-Webster: to make the most of, to increase (something) as much as possible, to use (something) in a way that will get the best result.

Now let’s look at Antonyms of maximize according to Merriam-Webster Thesaurus: minimize, decrease, diminish, subtract (from).

Peter penned in 2 Peter 1:3, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. John 4:34, KJV: "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." It is here Jesus is making it clear that He was following the call of His father and was going to maximize His ministry.

Let me paraphrase Galatians 6:9, we are not to grow weary in well doing, because we will reap if we faint not. We are called to maximize our resources and do ministry under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and the grace and power of our Omnipotent God. The Apostle Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them (He maximized his ministry efforts.) – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). 

In conclusion, we need to appreciate that God loves to maximize ministry beyond our imagination: Ephesians 3:20-21 (AMP) “Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Maximize Your Ministry,

Dwayne Lewis

Church Planting Strategist

dlewis@nashvillebaptists.com

A man will maximize what he loves. –D. Lewis