Pastor Profile: Bob Cook

Book Cook
The Church at Grace Park
gracepark.org

I was born in Springfield, TN, April, 1946, into the home of a Baptist minister and wife. I grew up with two sisters, one sister a year older...the other one a year younger. I gave my heart and life to Jesus when I was six years old, and totally surrendered my life to Jesus at the age 16, the summer before my junior year of high school.

The next year, I surrendered to vocational Christian ministry. I began college pursuing music and continued to do so, until my junior year when God called me to preach. I graduated from Tennessee Temple College in 1969 and from Temple Theological Seminary in 1972 with my M. Div. and M.R.E.

Upon finishing seminary, I pastored my home church, Tabernacle Baptist Church.  I have now pastored Tabernacle's mission church for 47 years, The Church at Grace Park. In 1981, Grace Park became affiliated with the Nashville Baptist Association and the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2002, the church founded and opened the Christian Community School which continues to this day with approximately about 375 students.

What is your favorite local Nashville restaurant? 
Wanda and I are simple salad lovers...we like Cheesecake Factory and Rafferty's.

How would you spend a day off with no ministry responsibilities? 
Either working around the house...or reading.

What Bible verse or passage is particularly meaningful to you right now? 
I am more of a 'book' guy than a 'passage' guy...the Book of Colossians has been a rich study in recent weeks.

Is there a quote that has stuck with you and influenced the way you have thought or behaved? 
We should begin every day looking at life and the world (and our relationship with it) through the gospel window. Four words shape my faith: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration...thus everyday, I am called to live in a "redeem and restore" posture with this world.

What is one exciting thing God is doing in your church right now? 
We have divided our congregation into "Summer Squads" through Labor Day Weekend. Our theme is: "Summer Fun in the Son," and every squad member is challenged to focus on 7 areas: Pray, Attend, Serve, Give, Huddle, Invite, and Share!

Many special fellowship activities and outreach events have been planned. It continues to be a great summer!!!

 This article originally appeared in the August 2023 edition of the Baptist Beacon. To see your pastor featured in an upcoming issue, please contact adarnell@nashvillebaptists.com.

2023 Associational Bible Drill

Associational Bible Drill

The 2023 Nashville Baptist Association Bible Drill was held at Tulip Grove Baptist Church on April 16. There were 33 participants from 4 churches in the Children’s Drill, 3 students from 2 churches in the Youth Drilll, and 2 kids from one church in the High School Drill. Those listed moved on to compete in the state-level drill on April 29.

Youth

Tulip Grove
   Ethan Bentschneider
   Lauren Briggs
Molly Hacker

High School

Parkway
   Jay Schremmer
    Mario Espino

Children

Tulip Grove
   Colton Michael Fisher
   Ana Bentschneider
   Wren Southerland
   Madison Echols
   RosieBoswell 

Brentwood
   Wyatt Caldwell
   Willa Claire Clark
   Tatum Forrester
   Clay Greenman
   Kathryn Vaught
   Arye Parker
   Vivian Smith
   Huxton Suggs
   Kylie Taylor

Nashville First
   Tatum Rodriguez
   Charli Nabakowski
   Cecily Pope
   Claire Pope
   June Rodriguez
   Curtis Pope 

Parkway
   Sally Elias
   Charlie Mundy
   Axel Elias
   Harper Castleberry
   Olivia Rigsby
   Eli Dean

Church Growth Training Workshop

2023 is upon us and many churches and church plants have plateaued and declined but are planning for a strong start in the new year. Is that you and your church?

In Tennessee and across the globe, churches are in a transformational phase. In this phase, some church planters and pastors are planning relaunches and other are deciding whether to bury church functions and programs that are no longer relevant for different reasons. 

Would you like to have the needed resources, practical tools and feedback to get your church leadership and members on mission? Are you ready to find and hit the “sweet spot” for your church's growth?

The Nashville Baptist Association is here to walk alongside you and your leadership with more than lectures and books. Our Church Growth Training Workshop is hands on interaction with tools and feedback to increase the capacity for ongoing Kingdom growth and development through: 

-Evangelism Strategies
-MissionInsite (Community Demographics)
-Discipleship and Leadership Strategies
-Stewardship Strategies
-Church Health: Vision, Mission, Core Values
-Digital Technology (social media) 

During this workshop you will connect with other church leaders and church planters, along with experienced practitioners, that will unlock your church potential through practical applications. You will come away with a transportation system to move your dreams, ideas, and church along in its context. 

For more information, contact:
Dwayne Lewis
Church Planting Strategist
Nashville Baptist Association
Office: 615.259.3034
Cell: 615.519.2222
Email: dlewis@nashvillebaptists.com

For registration, visit the event page here.

Church Planting: Marketing is Communication

2023 is upon us and I have a question.

As a church planter, what are your plans to start 2023? How you start this coming year will shape your ministry, leadership teams, board, lay leaders and congregation. It will also prepare your heart for broken, and hurting people in your community and across Tennessee.

Are you settling to be an average church--to have average attendance, average worship and average giving? I hope not, because God has a plan!

Let’s look beyond being average in 2023. Remember the impact of your ministry is in God and His Word. You must rely on God! In Matthew 16:19, Jesus makes a declaration to Peter concerning the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. I typically use the KJV or HCSB, but for this one let’s look at the Message version.  Matthew 16:19, “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

In 2023, there is a need to have marketing in your budget. In this digital world, a lack of marketing can be a barrier to the advancing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Marketing your church is a tool that helps with engaging, branding, and expanding the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world.  All types of business use marketing to promote their products and services. They do what is necessary to get their products to the consumer.  In fact, while traveling each day, advertisements appear everywhere, from billboards to even standard yard signs. Marketing is a way to share a message.

Marketing can help the church to fulfill the mission of the Great Commission. Marketing is kingdom communication that makes your church plant visible to your community and the masses at large. When planting a church or having an internal church reset, keep in mind that marketing is outreach and goes beyond simple good intentions. Marketing the Gospel connects a diverse group of people to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the church.

Marketing is a valuable process because it requires effort, introspection, hard work, planning, commitment, and engagement from your marketing team. It helps your team to begin the visioning process which ignites an energetic fire that can propel your church forward.

As we enter into 2023, let’s take the responsibility to disciple the world as the Great Commission has directed. Marketing creates opportunities to reach people creatively and uniquely in spaces that aren’t typically reached using traditional church methodology. Marketing creates more than name recognition, it creates momentum.

Here are a few ways to maximize your presence:

Know your target audience
Know the messaging you want to convey
Know your brand (focus, mission, core values)
Identify your church culture or vibe
Plug into community events
Connect with a community center or school
Participate in community flea markets (setup a table, be creative and not churchy)
Have short and long term goals
Keep your website updated
Build a social media engagement team

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Dwayne Lewis, Church Planting Strategist
Cell: (615) 519-2222
Office: (615) 259-3034

Church Plant Spotlight: Redemption Fellowship

Redemption Fellowship is a church plant in Ashland City, TN. There was a vision and desire birthed in First Baptist Church, Joelton to plant a church in this growing community just outside of Nashville. After much prayer, they called Patrick Williams, his wife Allison, and their three daughters, Naomi, Elizabeth, and Lydia to come and lead in this mission. The Williamses were living in Missoula, MT where they owned a small business and were serving the Lord with Grace Gospel Church. First Baptist Joelton called Patrick to plant in Ashland City after sending missions teams to help with their efforts in Missoula. After months of prayer, meetings, and vision trips, The Williamses answered the call to begin a new work in Ashland City.

Redemption Fellowship’s first worship service at Hampton Inn Ashland City.

Redemption Fellowship has been meeting since April 24, 2022. They hold a Bible Study every Sunday evening at 5:00pm at the Hampton Inn in Ashland City. Their meeting address is 1609 Hwy 12 S. Ashland City, TN 37015. They are seeing the Lord open doors to the hearts of the people of Cheatham County and they are beginning to gain some traction. Just a month after they began meeting, they were able to witness the Lord save a man at their Bible Study. He was baptized two weeks later during First Baptist Joelton’s Sunday morning Service. It was exciting to see the Lord work in that way, and Redemption Fellowship is striving to see this happen more and more.

Since April of 2022, Redemption Fellowship has taken every opportunity to be in the community to share the gospel. They have been door to door handing out information, they led a Kid's Day Camp at one of the apartment complexes, they set up a booth at the County Fair, and just recently, they put on a Live Nativity with petting zoo and children’s activities on the Cheatham County Courthouse lawn.

Redemption Fellowship plans to officially launch as a church on January 8, 2023. In preparation for this, they have been holding a Preview Service once a month since October. Patrick’s vision for this church is that it would be a light to the lost, a home to the unchurched, and a partner to other community churches. Cheatham County is growing quickly and Ashland City is seeing new people every day, so having a church that is active in reaching them with the gospel is most important.

You can contact Patrick by calling First Baptist Joelton at (615) 867-0527 or by email at pwilliams@fbcjoelton.org. You can check them out on the web at www.RedemptionAC.org.

Dwayne Lewis, Church Planting Strategist

2022 Christmas Banquet for International Pastors and their Wives

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:1-2

On Saturday, December 10, we had our second annual Ethnic pastors and wives Christmas Banquet. Bob Cook, pastor of the Church at Grace Park, helped sponsor and provide catering for the event. We had a fun and festive evening celebrating the birth of the Savior of the world, complete with gift-giving and prayers for the nations.

We celebrated the arrival of Oscar and Miriam Aguilar. Oscar is the pastor emeritus of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida that continues to meet in East Nashville. Oscar, as many of you know, suffered a stroke this past January, and it was no small miracle that he was able to be at this event and walk up the stairs of the associational office after being confined to a wheelchair for most of the year. Miriam gave testimony to how grateful they were to the association and to individual churches that have loved and helped their family in this difficult period. Please keep the Aguilars in your prayers.

Pastor Zhang of the Nashville Chinese Baptist Church was in attendance with his wife. Pastor Joshua, as he is known by many, gave an inspirational update from his church. Although it is the only Chinese Baptist church in Nashville, they continue to multiply. He shared his heart and vision to try to reach the nearly 20,000 Chinese speakers in Nashville. Their church has an open position for a youth minister who desires to minister in English but in a cross-cultural environment within Nashville. Write me if you know anyone interested.

David and Hom Soukasene were also at the party. David used to pastor a Laotian church that was based in Nashville, as they are from Loas in Southesast Asia, but God has really given them a heart to lead an international church that reaches out to the refugee community in Smyrna and Antioch areas. They also minister to many MTSU students.

These are just a few of the pastors and wives that were at the banquet that represent the nations who have gathered in and around Nashville. Both Bob Cook and my family were deeply blessed by giving these ministers a memorable evening. My question is this, which churches in Nashville wish to share in this blessing next year?

Brett Boesch, International Ministry Strategist

Pastor Profile: Nik Lingle

Nik Lingle
Westwood Baptist Church
westwoodnashville.org 

Nik Lingle is the Senior Pastor at Westwood. He and his wife Stacy are both from the Midwest, but now love the warmer weather of the southeast. Nik graduated from Bible college in Wisconsin and received his M.Div. at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed an internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and then served as an assistant pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Raleigh, NC for ten years before coming to Westwood. Nik and Stacy have two daughters, Olivia and Meredith.

What is your favorite local Nashville restaurant?
Honey Fire BBQ

How would you spend a day off with no ministry responsibilities?
Hiking at Percy Warner

What Bible verse or passage is particularly meaningful to you right now?
Colossians 1:28-29 - This is the central purpose of gospel ministry. This keeps me centered in pastoral ministry in the midst of lots of things happening in the church - to see Christ formed in people is the goal of public preaching and interpersonal ministry. 

Is there a quote that has stuck with you and influenced the way you have thought or behaved?
“The Word cannot pass with power from us unless it dwells with power in us.” - John Owen

What is one exciting thing God is doing in your church right now?
There are a number of people coming who are hungry to hear the Word preached. They have an appetite for hearing, growing and understanding the word. And there is a unity  around that appetite.  

Report: Strategic Launch Meeting

On Wednesday, October 19, approximately 90 pastors and church leaders gathered together for the Nashville Baptist Association Strategic Launch Meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to speak more specifically about how the association can work together to accomplish its four strategic focus areas:

• Focus Area 1: Connections
  Bringing together leaders, resources, and missional strategies in partnership between churches

• Focus Area 2: Leaders
  Caring for our pastors and ministry staff members

• Focus Area 3: Planting
  Assisting in birthing new churches around our city

• Focus Area 4: Revitalization
  Helping existing churches navigate their journey forward

Based on these priorities, the association will engage in a number of different ministry opportunities together in the next year. Beginning in January, we will be launching several monthly pastor meetings in and around Nashville with the aim of giving pastors a regular opportunity to build relationships of care and support.

We will also be starting a series of monthly peer learning webinars in which a different pastor each month will present a practical, ministry-minded topic and provide a tangible tool for implementing these practices in local churches.

We will also have the opportunity for churches to come together to help revitalize congregations in Nashville. These churches will share resources, expertise, and personnel with congregations in need.

We are excited to help to facilitate these opportunities for ministry in the coming year. If you were not able to make it to the meeting and would like more information about any of these initiatives, please contact Michael Kelley.

Michael Kelley, Executive Director

New Season Church Prepares for Christmas

You may think it’s a little early to start thinking about Christmas. For the members of New Season Church, preparation for the season began in September at the NBA Toy Store training.

As you may recall from September’s Beacon newsletter, the NBA seeks to see the ministry of the Christmas Toy Store multiplied into local churches in neighborhoods all over our area. New Season is putting in the work to see this multiplication begin in Bordeaux, and they need our help!

New Season Church is preparing to serve not only their congregation and their neighborhood, but also many of the clients referred to the NBA by government agencies.

If you would be willing to volunteer for this ministry leading up to the Christmas season, please contact the church at (615) 454-4515.

Donations can be dropped off at Nashville Baptist Association (420 Main St, Nashville 37206) on Mondays-Thursdays between 9am and 3pm or on Fridays between 9am and 11am.

Suggested Gift Items
(New items Only Please!)

Stocking Stuffers (for all ages)
Balloons, Stickers, Crayons
Small Safe Toys, Puzzles
School Supplies, Small Games
Family Gifts
Christmas Decorations
Christmas Trees
Home goods for bed, bath
Clothing
Jewelry & Cosmetics
Stationary
Dental & Hair Care items

Other Needs
Trash Bags - (30 Gallon Heavy Duty)

Cash Donations
to purchase items for this Toy Store
(payable to: New Season Church)

Infants 0-3
Safe Toys
Diapers
Linens
Soap & Powder
New Clothing Items

Boys & Girls 4-11 yrs.
Toys
Games, Books
Art Supplies
Sports Equipment
Clothing: Jeans, Socks & Underwear, Sweatshirts

Teens - 12 and up
Jewelry & Watches
Games & Crafts
CD Players/Electronics
Clothing: Jeans, Socks & Underwear, Sweatshirts