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FROM THE STATES: Boswell, Lino join SBTC staff; Longtime Tennessee children’s home leaders dies


Boswell, Lino join SBTC staff as consultants

By Southern Baptist TEXAN Staff

GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) – Matt Boswell, pastor of The Trails Church in Celina, Texas, and Nathan Lino, pastor of First Baptist Church of Forney, Texas, have joined the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as consultants.

Boswell will serve as a worship consultant in the Church Health & Leadership Department. His duties will include establishing and developing a young worship pastors’ network where leaders will not only meet with one another on occasion, but be encouraged, resourced and coached in their respective churches and ministries.

He is the founding pastor of The Trails Church, has been involved in church planting and pastoral ministry since 1998 and is an author and hymn writer. Boswell served as worship leader for the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, Calif., earlier this month.

“I am so encouraged by what the Lord is doing around the state of Texas within the SBTC,” Boswell said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our churches as they pursue God-centered, disciple-making, mission-advancing corporate worship services.”

Lino will serve as a ministry consultant in the Missional Ministries department. Among other duties, he will host periodic Zoom meetings to assist pastors, provide evangelism support and training for pastors and help pastors learn how to lead corporate prayer meetings as requested. He will also stand ready to assist pastors and churches in implementing a global missions strategy. Lino, the founding pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church, recently answered a call to serve as senior pastor at FBC Forney.

“I’m excited to serve as a consultant to pastors with the SBTC. Coaching and mentoring pastors and their wives is a passion of both my wife, Nicole, and I,” Lino said. “We’ve been coaching pastor couples for the last few years as the Lord has opened doors for doing so. Now 20 years into pastoring, we want mentoring future generations of pastors and their wives to be a major priority during the rest of our ministry.”


Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home president remember as ‘tremendous leader’

By Baptist and Reflector Staff

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) – Bryant Millsaps, who became synonymous with Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes (TBCH) during his nearly two-decade tenure with the ministry, passed away June 13 after battling Alzheimer’s Disease.

“The Tennessee Baptist Convention has lost a giant servant of the kingdom,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Millsaps served on staff with Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes for 18 years, including a 15-year tenure as president and treasurer. He retired from that position in 2015.

“Dr. Millsaps was a tremendous leader who poured himself into serving Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes,” Davis said. “He was an encourager to me personally. He will be missed as a friend.”

Millsaps joined the TBCH staff in 1998 as assistant to then-president/treasurer Gerald Stow. He was selected as Stow’s successor and began his service as president and treasurer in 2000.

Greg McCoy, current president of TBCH, said Millsaps was a constant source of encouragement for those associated with the ministry.

“When he asked me to start serving on the board of trustees for TBCH, back in 2000, I could have never imagined the impact that he would end up having on my life,” McCoy said. “He was such a positive influence on me, and certainly, he is a large part of why I am at TBCH.”

McCoy served alongside Millsaps for one year before Millsaps retired in 2015. “That time with him was invaluable for me,” McCoy said.

Millsaps’ legacy with TBCH includes a passionate stance on the organization’s allotted percentage of Cooperative Program dollars. He developed and initiated a campaign called “A nickel for the children” that raised awareness and funding for TBCH.

“We never quite made it to the nickel,” McCoy said, “but his valiant efforts led us to a better place financially. We are now at four cents on the dollar – and that represents significant ministry to children. Thanks in large part to what he did, we are now in a really great position with Tennessee Baptists and our ministry partners.”

Before joining TBCH, Millsaps served in the House of Representatives as chief clerk, assistant chief clerk and assistant to the speaker.

McCoy noted that Millsaps maintained a humble and compassionate disposition.

“Dr. Millsaps carried an aura, I guess you could say, in terms of his presence and the respect that others had for him,” McCoy said. “And yet, he was such a gentle person, tenderhearted, and he loved our ministry. He loved making a difference in the lives of kids. …

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