Local Ministry: Getting Ahead Ministry Contacts: Emily & Jim Plemmons On April 10th, 2019, the sixth Getting Ahead Class graduated in the Chapel at First Baptist. The Getting Ahead Class is for individuals who live in poverty (defined as a lack of resources), are in...
Marc and Kim Wyatt have been CBF Field Personnel/Missionaries since 1996. First Baptist has been supporting the Wyatt’s for almost 5 years. Marc and Kim made a promise to FBC when they became partners: To teach the refugee/international hospitality ministry so that there could be a...
When I was a child, Christmas was truly a fun and magical time. Everything thrilled me from living in a decorated house, to Christmas activities at school and church, to attending Knoxville’s Fantasy of Trees, and then of course counting down the days until the big 25th of December...
P: What is your earliest recollection of church life? J: I was born a preacher’s daughter, so I was taken to church from day one. My first memory of church was when I was just under four years old. I was standing on the seat beside my mother; I can still see the lights and how they were...
Knoxville’s population increased from under 10,000 in 1880 to almost 27,000 in 1910 with the city becoming one of the South’s major wholesale and distribution centers. First Baptist’s history during the first quarter of the 20th century is rich in detail. In 1900, First...
It doesn’t take a major life change to make it possible for you to become a mentor, but it can happen that way. And when you do become one, your life changes for the better. For me, the precipitating event was something that many people – then, and recently even more so – have...
Judy Kate Manning was a little scattered and needed some time alone before everyone arrived at the church. She gathered some of the smaller gifts from the car and crossed the little bridge that connected the parking garage to a side entrance of the church. The sun warmed the cool Autumn breeze...
I’m not a big fan of change, never have been. Like a horse, if I do something twice, it’s a habit. I think it’s just human nature - and particularly ingrained in my nature - to find a measure of security and comfort in the familiar. The Church can be like that, too. After all...
I first walked into the sanctuary of First Baptist Knoxville in the fall of 1976. I had just moved to Knoxville to complete an Administrative Residency at Fort Sanders Presbyterian Hospital (as it was known then), as a requirement for my master's degree in healthcare administration. In...
Young adults don’t exist. Those who think of them as adults don’t think of them as young and those who think of them as young don’t treat them like adults. Young adults are too old to be making mistakes but not experienced enough to be given serious responsibility. It’s...