TBC Summit 2025: Advancing Together
By David Dawson/Baptist and Reflector
JACKSON, Tenn. – Summit 2025 focused on celebration, collaboration and cooperation.
The annual gathering of Tennessee Baptists was a display of unity, as messengers gathered at West Jackson Baptist Church and unanimously elected Dan Spencer as president, approved a $35 million budget, and celebrated the centennial anniversaries of three Baptist cornerstones: the Cooperative Program, Baptist Collegiate Ministry and the Baptist Faith and Message.
The annual meeting, themed “All Aboard: Advancing Together,” drew 944 registered messengers representing 418 churches. The event opened with a Sunday night worship service, continued with the Pastors’ Conference on Monday and concluded with a four-part “main session” that began Monday night and ran through Tuesday night.
Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, ran unopposed for president. He replaces outgoing president Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forrest Hills Baptist Church, who served a two-year term.
Budget approved
The Cooperative Program budget recommendation for the seventh consecutive year was $35 million. It received no proposed amendments when presented Monday night and was approved by messengers Tuesday with no dissenting votes. The budget maintains the same distribution allocations: 55 percent to TBC causes and 45 percent to SBC causes.
Officers elected
In addition to Spencer’s unanimous selection, David Evans, pastor of Springfield Baptist Church, was elected TBC vice president. For the first time, Tennessee Baptists voted for three regional vice presidents to represent each of the state’s grand regions.
Shane Johnston, of Notchey Creek Baptist Church in Madisonville, was elected East Tennessee regional vice president; Ben Cowell, pastor of Brownsville Baptist Church, was elected West Tennessee regional vice president; and Maurice Hollingsworth, pastor of Pleasant Heights Baptist Church in Columbia, was elected Middle Tennessee regional vice president.
About the new president
During Spencer’s tenure at First Baptist Sevierville, the church became one of the TBC’s leading churches in baptisms and giving through the Cooperative Program. In 2024, the church contributed $560,626 through CP, or 9.09 percent of its undesignated gifts. FBC also contributed $685,205 through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Adding together CP, LMCO, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions and associational support, FBC contributed more than $2 million to missions in 2024 and has totaled more than $22 million in missions giving during Spencer’s tenure as pastor.
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Garry Maddox, Arise and Build coordinator, thanked Tennessee Baptists for their support. The initiative, which has built and rebuilt homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, has been an ongoing effort for more than a year — but Maddox said there is still much more to do. “We still need teams,” he said.
To date, more than 552 jobs have been completed, 33,552 volunteer hours invested and more than $4.4 million contributed.
Other items presented
- A resolution was introduced to honor Bill Choate for his 40-plus years of leadership in Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Choate, who is battling cancer, was unable to attend the annual gathering.
- The annual Eagle Award — given to a Tennessee Baptist layperson who has made significant contributions in serving Tennessee Baptists — was presented to Harry Smith of Memphis.
- Messengers approved a resolution presented by Chris Garner, pastor of Holly Grove Baptist Church in Bells, honoring veterans and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Messengers approved the recommendation by the TBC Arrangements Committee for First Baptist Church, Cleveland, to be the host site for the 2029 annual meeting.
For a complete report of the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, visit BaptistandReflector.org.
BCMD Gathering: One Body, One Heart, One Mission
By Sharon Mager/BCMD
OCEAN CITY, Md. — The Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s 189th Annual Meeting, The Gathering, was held at the Ashore Oceanfront Resort & Beach Club on Nov. 10-11. The theme was unity, based on Psalm 133:1: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
Messengers approved a $6.85 million 2026 budget, including $2.81 million for Skycroft Conference Center, with a 63/37 split between BCM/D and Southern Baptist Convention ministry partners. Ministry priorities will continue to center on church strengthening, formation and health, mobilization and planting, and missional impact. The budget goal is $650,000 lower than last year. The national CP allocation remains the same.
Leaders also highlighted “The Big Five,” a slate of 2026 events designed to equip and encourage churches: the Revive Women’s Conference, the Refueled Men’s Conference, the Church Leaders Conference (CLC), the Student Leader Conference (SLC), and The Gathering.
Additional new focus areas next year include revitalization and a new seniors ministry led by Melody Knox, executive director of Maryland/Delaware WMU.
Unity
The meeting emphasized unity and celebrated what God has done in 2025 through worship, testimony, prayer and updates from BCM/D’s four ministry teams. Staff shared about men’s, women’s and student ministries, disaster relief, church multiplication, compassion and disability ministries, abuse prevention and more. (See team reports here)
State Director of Church Planting Jamie Caldwell opened the Monday session, noting that Scripture calls unity “good and pleasant” — a rare pairing in a world full of things that are good but not pleasant. “Like broccoli,” he joked. “Let’s just be honest. I’m not a fan of the broccoli. I never have been. … But I understand that it’s good for me. God says unity isn’t just good. It is good and it is well. It is pleasant.”
Referring to Psalm 133, Caldwell said, “It is good and it is pleasant when brothers dwell in unity when God’s people live together. What a beautiful promise.” But, he explained, the psalm’s “dwelling” is active and chosen. “Unity is more than proximity,” he said. “It has to be a choice that we make, a collective passion and affection that says we care enough about something bigger than all of us, that we lean into it together.” He closed the session with the first of several group prayer times.
Election of Officers
Messengers elected three new officers, all directors of missions:
- President Ron Blankenship of the Montgomery Baptist Association and interim pastor of Georgia Avenue Baptist Church
- First vice president John Mackall of the Mid-Maryland Baptist Association and pastor of CrossLife Community Church
- Second vice president Greg Kame of the Arundel Baptist Association and pastor of Glen Burnie Baptist Church
Mike Fillis, pastor of Fenwick Island Baptist Church, will continue serving as recording secretary, and his wife, Beth Fillis, serves as interim assistant recording secretary.
Executive director’s address
Executive Director Tom Stolle emphasized the theme of “One,” celebrating God’s work through the four ministry teams and Skycroft Conference Center.
He pointed to Ephesians 4:16: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (NLT)
Stolle also read 1 Corinthians 12:14: “For the body does not consist of one member but many,” (ESV), explaining that all parts of the body of Christ are essential. “We have different gifts, different talents, and different thoughts — and yet God makes us one. Isn’t that amazing?” he said.
“That’s what I see in our Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware family,” he added. “The BCM/D isn’t just staff. It’s all of us — this partnership, this family, this network of churches that God has brought together for His purposes.”
The 2026 BCM/D meeting will be Nov. 9–10, with the location to be determined.
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