FRANKLIN — John Swafford has joined the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board as its first mission stewardship director, a role unique to TBMB among state conventions.
The position carries a focused charge: to build a culture of gratitude and generosity where financial stewardship is rooted in ministry.
“This position is one that we have been hoping to include in TBMB for many years,” said William F. Maxwell, Chief Administrative Officer of TBMB. “We have an ever-increasing number of individuals and churches that want to support special ministries and projects.
“We are so excited to have someone of John’s caliber and experience to assist those who are seeking to be good stewards of God’s resources. We anticipate that his ministry will begin to multiply TBMB ministry several-fold,” he said.
“We have many churches and individuals supporting TBMB, and they need to know they are appreciated and how their gifts are making a difference,” Swafford said.
A Nashville native, Swafford completed his undergraduate degree from Union University before earning his master’s degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married 28 years and have two sons and a daughter.
After seminary, Swafford spent a decade at a Christian financial planning firm in Memphis, then served on staff at two large churches, including Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, where he served as Director of Finance.
Most recently, he spent 16 years at First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C., where he helped develop a donor ministry within the church’s broadcast outreach and worked in Administration at the church.
“After much prayer our family is excited and feels God is calling us back to Tennessee to serve at TBMB,” Swafford said.
Because the role is new, Swafford is drawing on models from previous donor and stewardship work to chart his path forward. Much of his early effort has been relational and methodical — combing through donor databases, identifying what individuals and churches care about, and reaching out personally.
A phrase kept surfacing in those early weeks: “We have to tell the story.”
Through the Cooperative Program and the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions, TBMB funds ministries including the Amy Hood Adoption Fund, Disaster Relief, the Tennessee Hunger Fund, the Blue Oval City Project, and Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Swafford wants donors to see the direct line between their giving and lives being changed.
That vision is grounded in a conviction about the difference between ownership and stewardship.
“We should ask ourselves — what have I done with what God has entrusted to me — not how much did I give,” Swafford said. “If we look at our lives as being 100% God’s, then we can live with open hands and an open heart to follow His will and fulfill the Great Commission.”
He is candid about the gap between that vision and present reality. Research indicates the average Christian gives between 2.5% and 3.3% of income, with only about 5% tithing. Closing that gap, he said, requires more than appeals — it requires financial discipleship.
“When we focus on just bringing in the money, we are essentially starting a fire with kerosene — it starts big but fades fast,” Swafford said. “Stewardship is a process of building a fire slowly and watching it grow into a lasting fire.”
One early conversation has stayed with him. A man reached out after reading about the Amy Hood Adoption Fund in the Baptist and Reflector.
He and his wife had three adopted grandchildren, and learning about the fund — which helps families navigate the financial barriers of adoption — moved them to give. When Swafford called to express gratitude, the conversation deepened. He ended up praying with the man for a grandchild who had walked away from the faith and for his wife, who is living with dementia.
Another call connected him with a woman who has faithfully supported both Disaster Relief and BCM. She had watched TBMB’s Disaster Relief teams minister to people in her own community during Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. That personal witness moved her to give.
When Swafford called to thank her, she opened up about health concerns of her own — and he prayed with her, too.
Afterward, she told him how deeply she feels about supporting TBMB’s ministries and how much the call had meant to her.
“Everyone gives to a ministry for different reasons,” Swafford said. “My main objective is to get to know them, thank them for their support, and ask how we can pray for them.”
Those moments, he said, are not a bonus. They are the mission. B&R — To learn more about the impact of the different ministry opportunities at TBMB or to discuss ways you can invest in the ministry contact John at [email protected].