2026 Annual Report

This year, God moved through Next Gen Ministry at Avenue South in ways our team won’t forget. Children placed their faith in Christ, families grew as disciple-makers at home, and new volunteers stepped forward to invest in the next generation. Our largest Vacation Bible School yet gave many children their first encounter with the gospel, and several responded by trusting Christ and following Him in baptism. We’re grateful for what God has done and can’t wait to see what’s next.

Lillie Tabor, a Belmont University athlete, was baptized at Avenue South this year after her brother shared the gospel with her during a season when she felt convicted about the direction of her life. Her transformation didn’t stop there: her entire family in Wisconsin came to know Christ as a result, and Lillie now hopes to become a missionary. The entire Belmont women’s soccer team came to support her baptism, and many of her teammates have kept coming back to Avenue South since.

For the first time ever, Avenue South launched Midweek discipleship this year, and the response exceeded expectations. More than 110 people gathered on average every Wednesday night, joined by about 40 children in Midweek Next Gen discipleship. What started as a new rhythm quickly became a core part of how our congregation grows in faith together. Staff have specific stories of individuals whose faith has deepened through Midweek, and we’re eager to keep building on this momentum.

Fifteen teenage students and leaders from Avenue South traveled to New Orleans this summer on a mission journey that changed how they see their own city. They shared the gospel in a new context, stepped outside their comfort zones, and came home to Nashville energized to do the same here. Our staff can share specific stories of students growing in courage and conviction through the trip. It’s a picture of what happens when students are given a chance to go.

In April, Belmont University student Anna Hienrich reached out to Avenue South with questions about baptism. As she talked through what it means to walk in faith with Christ, she knew she wanted to ask Him into her life, and she needed to be baptized before heading home for the summer. With the Avenue South building under construction, the team planned a baptism at the Fisher Center. Afterward, the whole congregation gathered outside around the fountains to celebrate Anna in worship.

Avenue South celebrated disciples multiplying disciples this year through missions. Thirty-five people took part in two mission journeys this summer, one to Guatemala and one to Toronto, stepping out to share the gospel far from home. Our staff can point to specific stories of life change from both trips, from renewed faith to bold first steps in evangelism. These journeys reflect exactly what we hope to see: ordinary believers going, serving, and inviting others into the story God is writing.

When a major ice storm hit the Harpeth Heights community, the church became the hands and feet of Jesus in a very practical way. Over two volunteer weekends, 45 volunteers helped neighbors clear storm damage, cut up fallen trees, and remove debris left behind. The church also opened its gym as a warm shelter, providing lodging for four families for multiple days and feeding more than 25 people during the response. What could have been just a community crisis became an opportunity to show Christ’s love in action and to remind neighbors they weren’t alone in a hard season.

Harpeth Heights students have had a year of real spiritual growth, with several accepting Christ and being baptized. Students are diving into God’s Word, asking good questions, serving in the church, and living on mission, with more than 10 of them praying with over 20 people at a local park this summer. Strong turnout at Fall Retreat, 1NIGHT Spring Retreat, and Beach Camp reflected that momentum, and new partnerships with Harpeth High School football and Bellevue Middle School FCA are opening fresh doors to build relationships in the community.

This summer, Harpeth Heights sent its largest international mission team yet, eight of the 13 travelers, on its third journey to Moldova, partnering with Mission Eurasia to serve Ukrainian refugee children and orphans in foster care. For two team members, it was their very first international mission trip. Together, the team served alongside partners on the ground and shared the hope of Jesus, living out Harpeth Heights’ mission to engage the whole person with the whole gospel, anywhere, anytime, with anybody.

This spring, the Church at Harpeth Heights brought the hope of the gospel directly into Gower Elementary through an eight-week Good News Club. What began as a weekly gathering quickly grew into a meaningful chance to build relationships with students, teach God’s Word, and share the life-changing message of Jesus. About 35 students took part, hearing biblical stories, joining activities, and getting to know caring leaders each week. By the end of the eight weeks, seven students had made decisions to follow Christ, seven young lives and seven families now connected to the hope of the gospel.

Across our care ministries, Harpeth Heights is building a wide safety net that meets real needs and reminds our community that no one has to face a hard season alone. The FAM Community Care Closet has provided essential items to more than 131 children this year, offering resources and encouragement to families who need them most. Through the Harpeth Heights Food Pantry, more than 1,000 families have received food and support, creating a lasting impact for neighbors facing food insecurity. Our Mobile Food Pantries have also been a tremendous success, and we’re looking forward to November’s event, which could be our largest yet, with a goal of providing more than 225 turkeys to families who need extra support during the holidays. Together, these three ministries are weaving a stronger net of care across our community, one family at a time.

A graduation ceremony hosted at Harpeth Heights ended up leading one family into a life-changing summer. Reagan Wright graduated from Harpeth Valley Elementary in a ceremony held at Harpeth Heights, and while there, his family noticed signs for our upcoming VBS. His mom, Ashlea, signed up both Reagan and his brother, Carter, and the boys came every day. On the last day, Reagan asked to talk about Jesus, and after we prayed together, he made a profession of faith. When Ashlea picked him up, she was overcome, sharing that she’d been praying for a memorable moment just like this. Reagan was recently baptized on Baptism Sunday, and now his whole family is active in groups and worship.

Last Halloween, in response to growing food insecurity in the community, the Church at Lockeland Springs gathered and distributed food staples to dozens of families in need. That single effort grew into a full food pantry and resource closet, now supplying hundreds of neighbors with food, clothing, toiletries, car seats, and more. This summer, volunteers helped open a community food pantry offering 24-hour access to those with urgent needs. In living out Matthew 25, the church has built genuine relationships with businesses and neighbors across East Nashville.

On September 13, the Church at Lockeland Springs will celebrate its fourth baptism in just six weeks, already doubling its total number of baptisms from 2025. It’s a sign of the steady, growing movement of the gospel taking root in this young congregation, one life at a time.

The Church at Woodbine launched the Family Care Shop this year, the result of collaboration across campuses and ministries to create and run a space that meets real community needs. In just its first month, the Family Care Shop has already served more than 30 families, with staff collecting story after story of needs met and prayers prayed over people in the moment. The team expects the shop to grow quickly, becoming a way Brentwood Baptist meets community needs by the thousands in the years ahead.

The Church at Woodbine had an incredible VBS this year: 49 kids, 31 volunteers, more than $1,000 given to missions, 10 gospel conversations, two salvations, and four kids preparing for baptism. Woodbine has seen 10 baptisms total this year, including Keeno Phommalath, who came from a Buddhist background and was saved just days before his daughter was born, and now serves actively on campus. Seven new groups have also launched, and 14 new members have joined, a big year of firsts for a small but growing campus.

The Church at Woodbine commissioned two Global Workers to serve overseas: Farris Turner, sent to South Africa, and Caedmon Waldrop, sent to Germany. Both represent Woodbine’s growing heart for reaching the nations, stepping out in faith to carry the gospel to new places.

Gather in Homes brought together 504 women across 52 host homes this year, reaching five of Brentwood Baptist’s nine campuses, our largest turnout yet. But the numbers only tell part of the story. In one living room, a woman trusted Christ for the first time. In another home, a mother carried a gospel conversation from her table into her own kitchen, where her son told her he was ready to profess Jesus as Lord. That’s the whole point: the gospel moving from a living room into everyday life.

Draw Near became Brentwood Baptist’s first published Bible study this year, written, edited, and designed entirely in-house by our own women. Writers came from Brentwood, Avenue South, and Station Hill, with the study shaped and produced by our own communications and design teams. It wasn’t outsourced or bought off a shelf. It was built by us, for us, out of the conviction that the women sitting in our pews have something worth putting in print. The next round is already underway, now drawing mentors, writers, and editors from six campuses. This is what it looks like to raise up women, not just to attend Bible study, but to write it, shape it, and hand it to the next woman who needs it. Draw Near isn’t just a study. It’s proof that when we invest in women’s gifts, they don’t just grow. They multiply, campus to campus.

Embrace showed up for friends with disabilities and their families across every campus this year. This summer, the ministry supported more than 50 friends with disabilities at VBS, with 10 adult friends helping serve at Brentwood’s VBS. Several Embrace friends also took part in student events like Snowball, Anvil, Beach Camp, Fall Retreat, and the Chicago Mission Trip, and two adult friends were baptized this spring. This fall, 38 people registered for the Embrace Community Day Program, and 20 parents joined two new parent support groups. The ministry also celebrated its second annual Special Needs Sunday, where friends greeted, worshiped on stage, and were celebrated together.

Brentwood’s Student Ministry had another year of consistent growth, with overall attendance up 18 percent and numerous students stepping into leadership, callings to ministry, missions, and following Jesus for the first time. That growth carried into Catalyst Events: Fall Retreat was the largest in Brentwood’s history, and Beach Camp grew enough to bring its first-ever waitlist. God is clearly at work in the next generation, using Brentwood’s students to engage their schools and friend groups and to lead as His Kingdom’s people.

Brentwood’s Christmas concert became a ticketed event for the first time this year, and it delivered our largest turnout yet, along with more response, attendance, and social media attention than any concert before it. The night went off without a hitch, and its reach didn’t stop there. Several families who first visited Brentwood for the concert have come back and made it their church home. What began as a single night of music is now planting roots that last well beyond December.

Brentwood hosted its first-ever Adult VBS this year, and it exceeded every expectation. Attendance was strong, the missions offering goal was met, and everyone who came left having learned something new and enjoyed the experience. Some of our ministry care groups have already seen new volunteers sign up after learning about their work through Adult VBS. What started as an experiment quickly became a meaningful new way for adults to connect, serve, and grow together.

Seventy kids and leaders took part in Brentwood’s 5th Grade Mission Journey this year, up almost 40 percent from last year, serving at ministries like Hartland and Englewood Kids Clubs, RIFA, Birth Choice, and the Dream Center. One of the sweetest moments of the summer came during VBS, when deacon Don Moan stepped in last-minute to serve as a Decision Counselor and ended up walking his own son through the decision to follow Jesus. Brentwood is also celebrating Brian Pinson and his son, Grayson, who was baptized together on August 23.

This year, Brentwood’s Student Ministry leaned into growth within its internship program, especially in connection to missions. This year’s group of Student Interns was unique: most feel called to some form of vocational ministry. Over the summer, they invested in students, learned about ministry, and grew in their own calling. Going forward, four of the five interns are exploring gap years, summers abroad, and joining Brentwood’s Global Workers on the mission field. One intern, Caroline Harris, has already committed to spending next summer in Zimbabwe interning with two of Brentwood’s Global Workers.

For the first time ever, a group of Brentwood college students and young adults took a Mission Journey to Zimbabwe to work alongside Winston and Emmy Coltart, global workers who recently planted a church in Bulawayo. The Coltarts have served on the field for six years, and this was the first team to visit and partner with them. The team worked alongside the church plant, built relationships with local young adults, and hosted an outreach night where many heard the gospel for the first time. Winston and Emmy are now more connected with Brentwood, and team member Caroline Harris will serve as an intern at Sojourner Church in summer 2027.

A tenth-grade girl at Brentwood spent this summer watching God move in her life. Hesitant at first, she joined the Vancouver Mission Journey and shared the gospel with people from Persian, Chinese, and Punjabi backgrounds. At Beach Camp, she heard God calling her to press further and signed up for the Chicago Mission Journey, even when it meant flying home mid-trip to save her spot on her cheer team, then flying right back the next day to keep serving.

Nelda Macintyre is 89 years old and serves in Brentwood’s preschool ministry twice a month. After VBS last year, she recognized the need for more preschool volunteers and told our team that although she can no longer get down on the floor or hold children the way she used to, she’s not too old to tell boys and girls about the Bible. Her steady faithfulness has made her a treasured part of our ministry, and we wanted her to be celebrated.

Brentwood’s medical and safety team has grown from two volunteers to eight, and their work goes far beyond scraped knees and upset stomachs. This year, one team member sat with a young man in tears until his parents arrived, another quietly signaled for an ambulance while keeping a frightened woman calm with warmth and humor, and another gave up his own worship time to sit with a man experiencing anxiety and hear his story. Guests rarely expect a church to have a medical team, but this one shows up with real skill and genuine care every time.

Barbara, a single mom who had just moved to Nashville from Colorado, was invited to Brentwood by a neighbor during VBS week. Lonely since her move and unsure about coming back to church, she brought her autistic son anyway, and they loved it. Everyone was friendly, and her son made new friends right away. They returned the following Sunday, and after hearing the sermon, Barbara knew she wanted to give her life to Christ. The team prayed with her right there. She’s been coming every week since and has joined Women’s MDWK.

This summer, we celebrated 25 years of our summer-long Deaf Camp program. Over that quarter century, we’ve shared the gospel in American Sign Language with 900 children from at least eight counties in Middle Tennessee and mentored more than 275 college-age students from across the country. More than 40 campers have grown from campers to Junior Staff to full-time camp staff, and five of our own campers have gone on to become Deaf Camp directors, the first of whom was hired in 2014. This summer alone, we had 55 campers ages 2 to 16, 22 full-time college staff from 13 states, seven Junior Staff, four directors, and had more than 50 gospel conversations.

Our Deaf Camp team sent six members to partner with The Grove Deaf Church in Riverside, California, for a four-day camp in March. The Riverside community registered 27 Deaf children with Deaf parents and two more with hearing parents, and Pastor Jackson, who is Deaf himself, brought 20 of his members to help lead the ASL program, with more than 100 people attending the closing night. Another family carried the vision home to their own Deaf church in Bakersfield, and we’re now on the calendar to bring a team there in March 2027.

In March, we held our fifth Deaf Camp at First Baptist Church of Pearl City, and our Hawaii-based team has grown from five volunteers to almost 30 adults. In January, we held our first-ever weekend leadership training, and the 11 Hawaii leaders who attended went on to lead half of camp themselves. One young Deaf girl we met at our first Hawaii camp in 2023 has now attended all five camps, and this summer her mother used her vacation and savings to fly her to Tennessee for two weeks with other Deaf teens. Six new families joined us this past March, and our sixth camp is set for October.

For years, families from states like California and Texas have brought their children to Deaf Camp at Brentwood Baptist for weeks at a time, working remotely from a nearby hotel, because there’s no other faith-based, ASL day program for Deaf children anywhere in the country all summer long. This year, we officially launched Deaf Camp USA, carving out a dedicated week from our full summer camp and inviting families from across the country to attend. Eighteen children came from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Delaware, South Carolina, and Middle Tennessee for a week built for Deaf children and their hearing siblings alike, complete with a mom’s luncheon and a dad’s event.

Three of our Deaf Church members served this year on the evangelism team organized by the International Mission Board’s Deaf Affinity at the Deaflympics Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan. More than 3,000 Deaf athletes and 10,000 Deaf fans attended the games, and our team took part in more than 2,000 gospel conversations over three weeks, including several decisions to follow Jesus and one baptism. We’re now preparing to send two Deaf Church members to the Deaflympics Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, in January 2027.

Pastor Aric joined a team invited by the International Mission Board’s Deaf Affinity to serve alongside a missions partner in Huambo, Angola. The team worked with Deaf Angolans to help them see the need to develop the Bible in their own native sign language and helped them begin translating Bible stories into it. Pastor Aric also led a full day of training for local interpreters and taught two sessions, “What Is Your Story” and “Gospel 5,” during which three Deaf Angolans decided to follow Jesus. On the final day, the team shared the Deaf-produced Jesus film with the community.

Deaf Church Student Ministry hosted three annual retreats this year, one each for children, youth, and young adults, all held in state park cabins where students cook together, act out Bible stories, and enjoy recreation time with fellow Deaf peers. Every group studies the Bible weekly, on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, and this year our young adults completed a Sunday morning study using Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film, a movie directed, cast, and filmed entirely by a Deaf crew. Having a Deaf-made resource that brings the gospel to life in American Sign Language has been a gift to our students.

Deaf Church launched a new Care Team Ministry to support members facing some of life’s hardest seasons. One team of six now walks alongside an elderly member managing complex medical needs, another team of two is supporting a deacon whose wife passed away in February, and a team of four is caring for a member who recently moved into assisted living. For Deaf members, isolation often comes from more than physical limits: it’s the absence of an interpreter, or being the only person who signs in a room. This new ministry has already made a real difference in closing that gap.

Deaf Church expanded its programs for families raising Deaf children, many of whom are themselves learning American Sign Language and Deaf culture for the first time. We launched a National Parent Conference with guest speakers for both Riverside and Brentwood, this September’s topic being self-care for parents of Deaf children, and held our fourth annual dads’ event at Topgolf, where fathers learn ASL and Deaf culture and hear from other Deaf men and hearing dads. We also host a dads’ event during Deaf Camp USA week, giving our own Deaf men a chance to bless families visiting from out of town.

Elias Worrell continues to serve as the Deaf Church’s ministry intern, giving his full focus to Youth Ministry as part of an ongoing internship program that mentors people across nearly every area of church life. Working alongside Scott Corey, Elias helps lead the Youth program on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, plans and leads Youth events out in the community, and helps run the ministry’s retreats throughout the year. It’s a hands-on way for the next generation of Deaf Church leaders to grow into ministry roles of their own.

For the past year, Deaf Church has sponsored a new church plant in Indianapolis, Deaf Church Indy, led by bi-vocational pastor Dirk Hill and his wife, Laura. Indianapolis is home to a large Deaf community, and Dirk continues working a job outside the church while giving his time to bring Jesus to that community day by day. It’s a picture of what it looks like for a church plant to take root through faithful, bi-vocational leadership.

Deaf Church continues partnering with First Baptist Church of Pearl City, University Avenue Baptist Church, the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, and the local Deaf community to plant a Deaf church on the island of Oahu in Honolulu. University Avenue Baptist Church, which already provides an interpreted ministry, is our lead partner in this effort. Our plan is to send a team four times a year to host a Deaf Church weekend event, and we continue to pray for the Lord to raise up a Deaf leader to lead this plant day to day.

Deaf Church continues partnering with the Deaf Millennial Project’s Awaken Conference, an annual gathering for Deaf young adults built around fellowship, worship, and training. Pastor Aric sets up the Deaf Theological Center booth each year to recruit Deaf students for training at Brentwood Baptist, and he also teaches workshops at the conference, helping Deaf young adults develop their own testimony and learn the Gospel 5 presentation so they can share the good news of Jesus wherever they work, play, and live.

Deaf Church continues to partner with Deaf Pathway Global, an organization it helped establish to end Scripture poverty among the Deaf worldwide, by providing financial support and undertaking joint projects. Of the world’s Deaf population, 98% has never been introduced to the gospel, and sign language Bible translation is how that’s beginning to change. This year’s biggest joint project was the Esther Bible Study booklet, which lets users choose between a fully visual and a text-based experience and includes QR codes linking to an ASL video translation of Esther. The next joint project on the horizon is the book of Luke.

Brentwood Baptist has eight Deaf Church members serving as career missionaries with the International Mission Board’s Deaf Affinity, and Deaf Church continues to support them through mission trips, prayer, and encouragement. This year’s Deaflympics trip to Tokyo and mission trip to Angola were both partnerships with these missionary members, and Deaf Church is already preparing for several opportunities in 2027, including the Deaflympics Winter Games, a mission trip to Thailand, and the Brentwood Global Missions Gathering.

In the last 31 years, Deaf Church has said goodbye to two of our youth: Juan, at age 21 in 2001, and Joseph Oatsvall, at 17 in 2024. Both were deeply woven into our student ministry, and Joseph was on staff for his final summer with us before his sudden, accidental death on June 30 shook his family, our camp, and our whole church. In lieu of flowers, loved ones gave $50,000 to Deaf Camp, and Joseph’s parents created Meaning in the Miles, a run inviting his community to live and walk with intention each day. This past June, the run raised $25,678 for Deaf Camp, so that no Deaf child would ever be turned away, and Joseph’s sister, Emily, served as assistant camp director this summer.

Nolensville has done more than keep its head above water during a season of transition; it’s thrived. New guests continue to visit, more people are signing up for Discover Us & You than expected, and attendance numbers remain strong. Underneath it all is a sweet spirit of ministry-minded people who genuinely care for one another. It’s a reminder that even in seasons of change, God continues to build something steady and healthy at Nolensville.

Nolensville’s Women’s Ministry recruited and trained four new Bible study leaders this year, one of whom is starting the TNT program, and completed its first full year of a Women’s Mentor program. On the Host Team side, more than 30 new volunteers have joined since April, and the Welcome Center was redesigned into a Connection Center meant to help everyone, not just first-time guests, feel like they belong. More guests are now asking how to join the Host Team, a sign that the team’s welcome is working.

It’s a beautiful picture of leaders raising up leaders at Nolensville’s Bent Creek Reserve Life Group, where the two couples who launched the group are stepping back from leadership after a strong run, and one of their own members, Chris and Jenn Wolfe, are stepping up to take the reins of a group they once simply attended. In preparing to lead, the Wolfes discovered they weren’t yet official members, which led them to enroll in Discover Us this August.

Kaitlyn Caserta got her start at Nolensville’s Sunday morning student connect, where she was part of a small group that helped shape her faith. That foundation became the catalyst for her desire to evangelize: now in college in Illinois, she and five classmates chose to spend their summer break working at Dollywood, intentionally sharing the gospel by night among the many cultures and ethnicities they encountered on the job.

Through his Iron Sharpening Iron men’s Bible study at the church, Zach Smeykal found the guidance he needed to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. He’d built a lucrative, profitable career in finance and was living well in Williamson County, and by age 35, he’d reached every goal he’d set for himself. But he realized his family wasn’t as close as it could be, and that he was missing out on time with them, so he gave up his job for one that paid less but gave him more time at home. He’s seen the benefits ever since.

This summer, Daniel and Megan Ladd departed to serve as Brentwood Global Workers in Uganda, partnering with Global Outreach International. The Ladds are longtime members of both Brentwood and Nolensville, where Daniel served as a deacon and Megan served on staff as Connections and Missions Minister. Now, as a family, they’re stepping into a new calling as project managers for Farming God’s Way, a sustainable agriculture program addressing poverty through sustainable farming in East Africa. Their passion for this work runs deep, and Brentwood Baptist is grateful to send the Ladds, kids and all, into exactly what God has called them to do.

The Church at Station Hill had its largest Holy Week yet this year, with almost 4,000 people attending across services, including 230 at a first-ever sunrise service and 150 Next Step cards submitted. That momentum carried into a new Next Steps Team, where 26 volunteers helped more than 200 people take steps like prayer, baptism, groups, or salvation. Twenty-five members of the Worship Choir also led the first-ever Holy Week service for male inmates at the Maury County Jail, where Station Hill services are now streamed weekly.

Station Hill hosted its first-ever Ministry Fair this year, and 57 people who weren’t yet serving signed up on the spot for teams ranging from production to parking to preschool. One standout moment came from Kelly Grieve, our Foster and Adoption Ministry coordinator, who handed out disposable baking pans. She simply challenged people to make a second lasagna the next time they cook and drop it off at the FAM freezer. Twenty-one people took a pan home that day, each taking their first step toward serving, proof that serving doesn’t have to be complicated.

This year, Station Hill brought new intentionality to its baptism process, including recorded video testimonies, and one of the most meaningful came from Eden, a young girl. Watching a Christmas movie led her to ask her parents real questions about the gospel, and she accepted Jesus as her Savior before choosing to be baptized. After recording her testimony, Eden shared her story with a friend, sparking a gospel conversation that led that little girl to trust Christ, too. One baptism testimony became the start of another child’s faith.

It all started with one simple invitation. Earlier this year, Dave invited his coworker, Kim, to Easter at Station Hill. During her first visit, she stopped by the Welcome and Groups table looking for community. She connected with a LifeGroup where she quickly got plugged in. She continued attending worship and her group, began pursuing membership, and realized she needed to be baptized. On Sunday, July 12, Kim was baptized during a Sunday morning worship service.

Station Hill became the first church in Tennessee to serve 1,000 children through CarePortal this year, a milestone that reflects years of faithfully showing up for kids and families in crisis. Each of those 1,000 children represents a real need met, a bed, a meal, clothing, or a family kept together, because a local church chose to say yes. It’s a reminder of how much can happen when a congregation commits to caring for the most vulnerable in its community.

Through Station Hill’s partnership with Enable, a kinship family raising newly placed teens received four donated laptops, giving the teens what they needed to finish their school year online. For a family already navigating a major life transition, that gift removed one more barrier and let the kids focus on adjusting to their new home. It’s a small but tangible example of how Station Hill’s community partnerships meet real, practical needs for vulnerable families.

Station Hill sent out its first two summer global workers this year. Lakyn Canada spent the summer interning in Nairobi, Kenya, with Every Girl Counts and even shadowed a physician at Bethany Hospital for a day. Noble Coletti interned with CityLife NOLA in New Orleans. Both are back home now and ready to share what God taught them, marking the start of a new chapter in how Station Hill sends people into the world.

The Church at West End sent 12 students and leaders to Salt Lake City, Utah, for our first-ever student mission journey. The team served a local church, helped with Vacation Bible School, and spent time with a local Mormon congregation and its leadership, giving our students real opportunities to openly share the gospel. It was a formative first step into missions for a group of students who came home with a bigger view of what God is doing.

Our first service was on Easter, and so that day marks not only our celebration of the resurrection but also the beginning of the work that is The Church at West End. This year we celebrated with a self-guided family experience, a Good Friday service, and four Easter morning gatherings, greeting over 900 people in our community through the week.

In August, The Church at West End held its first-ever outdoor baptism service as part of a family gathering, with 250+ friends and family in attendance. We worshiped outside together and baptized nine people that day, including a family of four who were baptized side by side. It was a beautiful picture of what it looks like for a whole family to say yes to Jesus together.

As The Church at West End continues to grow, we added a third worship service to our Sunday morning lineup this year. We now gather at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 a.m., with average attendance around 350 people each Sunday morning, up from what used to fit into just two services. It’s a good problem to have, and a clear sign of how steadily God is growing this church home.

In Columbia, one of the biggest events of the year is the Mule Day Parade, and it runs right past The Church at West End’s front door. This year, we set up tents, handed out water, and gathered around an ice cream truck to greet hundreds of neighbors on our front lawn. What started small is quickly growing into one of the largest community outreaches we do all year.

In May 2026, The Church at West Franklin welcomed Taylor Johnson as its new Campus and Teaching Pastor, ending a season of waiting after being without a campus pastor for some time. Taylor came to West Franklin from Station Hill, bringing a heart for teaching God’s Word and leading the campus forward. His arrival marks a new chapter for the congregation, one built on steady, faithful leadership. West Franklin is grateful for how God provided exactly the right leader, at exactly the right time, to shepherd this campus into what’s next.

The Church at West Franklin saw real growth in its Next Gen ministry this year. For the first time in years, the church offered a full year of Midweek programming, and leaders stepped up to meet the growing need among children and students. West Franklin also sent more students than ever before to Beach Camp and the Chicago Mission Journey. Together, these milestones point to a Next Gen ministry that’s gaining momentum and leaders who are ready for it.

This year, Brentwood Baptist’s counseling ministry matched more than 100 people with local counselors. Of those, more than a third received some form of scholarship or financial assistance from the church to make care possible. For many, that support was the difference between going without help and finally getting connected to someone who could walk with them through a hard season. It’s a quiet but significant way the church is caring for its people.

Through Brentwood Baptist’s partnership with the International Leadership Coalition, Muneer, a Turkish pastor who once called Brentwood home, returned to his native Turkey and helped plant the first two Bible study fellowships among Muslims in Antioch, a city where evangelical Christianity had been prohibited for 50 years. Many have already come to Christ and been baptized.

First Baptist Church of Centerville partnered with Brentwood Baptist for renewal, and two years of coaching and support helped it grow into a healthier, re-energized congregation now known as The Church at Centerville.

Brentwood Baptist has spent two years partnering with Redemption North Davis, a young church plant reaching former Mormons in Salt Lake City. The church now averages about 130 people in worship and is helping plant another church nearby. It’s a picture of what steady, patient partnership can do in a hard, unreached place.

In Vancouver, global workers Mac and Grace Johnson are making disciples among students at Simon Fraser University through The Point Church. Brentwood Baptist has supported their work by sending teams from its Next Gen, Kids, Student, and Community Outreach ministries. It’s one more way Brentwood is committed to multiplying the gospel in a hard, unreached place.

Brentwood Baptist’s Seminary and Residency programs had a milestone year. Six seminary courses drew 13 registered students and 23 auditors, while three Ministry Residents graduated in June and four new residents joined this fall. Five Bi-Vocational Residents graduated as well, with four continuing for a second year across campuses. Fifteen students graduated from TNT, together raising up the next generation of pastors and leaders for Brentwood Baptist and beyond.

Last year, Brentwood Baptist hosted its inaugural Elevate Church Conference, drawing about 450 people. This year, Elevate returns on September 21–22, now expanded to two full days to provide attendees with deeper learning experiences and more practical tools. The conference is for the whole church staff, with nine tracks so there’s something for everyone, all led by Brentwood Baptist’s own staff. It’s a growing way the church is investing in and equipping leaders for the road ahead.

Corey Howse, a former Brentwood Ministry Resident, took the Center for Christian Coaching’s Coaching Foundations course years ago, and it left a lasting mark on how he leads as a pastor today. Inspired by that experience, Corey invited our team to speak at the National Primitive Baptist Convention in Florida this July, introducing Christian coaching as a tool for ministry leaders. The response was strong enough that he’s invited us back next year to train his leadership team, extending Brentwood’s coaching impact into a whole new community.

Brentwood Baptist commissioned eight new Global Worker units, sending them out to serve among unreached peoples around the world. Three of them grew up going on Brentwood Baptist mission journeys themselves: Lynna Mell, Drew Benward, and Elizabeth Harris. Watching young women who once served on a mission trip step into a lifetime calling as Global Workers is proof of how deeply these journeys shape a life, generation after generation.

In a difficult, access-restricted region on the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, a Muslim-background believer and his son are working together to reach their own people with the gospel. Using donated funds and logistical support, the father-son team built new latrines and brought clean water to rural villages, meeting real physical needs first. Through those relationships, the father shared the gospel, and 30 new leaders have since come to Christ and joined the effort, helping the team reach even more villages with the good news.

In Jordan, a mother had abandoned her son to the streets simply because he’d become a follower of Jesus. The mother of another local believer stepped in, and through patient care and conversation, convinced her to bring her son back home. Since welcoming him back, she’s watched The Passion of the Christ, started reading the Bible alongside her son, and is asking sincere questions about faith. What began as rejection is slowly becoming an open door to the gospel.

In North Africa, a local believer has followed Jesus for more than five years, but recently faced severe persecution, including being interrogated and beaten by police because of his faith. Rather than breaking him, the hardship has strengthened his resolve, and more people than ever are hearing what he believes as a result. A global worker had recently taken him on a prayer retreat in the mountains, and God used that time to prepare and encourage him for exactly what was ahead.

During a recent trip to Nepal, global workers visited three former missions class students who now run a women’s shelter together. Each year, the shelter rescues 30 to 40 women from prostitution and severe poverty, equipping them with life skills to live independently. Most of these women also come to faith in Christ during their time there, meaning the shelter is not just rescuing women from harm, but welcoming them into a whole new life in Jesus.

A Brentwood Baptist global worker recently completed the first stage of a translation project for the Amazigh people, a milestone years in the making. For the very first time, portions of Scripture are now available online in their native language, giving an entire people group access to God’s Word in words they’ve always understood as their own. It’s a small step with an eternal reach, opening a door to Scripture that has never existed before.

A Brentwood Baptist global worker recently taught a missions class of 22 graduates, and the impact didn’t stop at graduation. One graduate was so deeply changed by what she learned that she immediately gathered her own group of 10 students to teach the material herself. What began as a single class is now multiplying into more, a clear picture of disciples making disciples who go on to make still more.

Over the past six months, Brentwood Baptist global workers in Bosnia have had 150 gospel conversations, planting seeds of faith across the region. Another Brentwood Baptist global worker reported 40 to 50 gospel conversations of their own this year, work that recently led to one new baptism and brings the total to seven baptisms over the last year. Conversation by conversation, these workers are watching seeds of faith slowly turn into a real and growing harvest.

A ministry partner recently hosted a lay counseling training for 22 participants, equipping local believers with basic counseling skills to support people in their own communities. This kind of training matters because it multiplies care: instead of relying only on outside workers, local believers are now equipped to walk alongside their neighbors through hard seasons with real wisdom and biblical truth. It’s a quiet but lasting investment in the long-term health of the local church.