Church Spotlight: First Baptist Church Hendersonville, TN
A Giving Heart
When University of Mobile alumnus Dr. Bruce Chesser ’78 became pastor in 2009, First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, Tennessee, was $17 million in debt. Today the nearly 80-year-old church is debt-free and has the largest attendance in its history, reaching 3,735 in 2024 with over 2,200 people involved in Vacation Bible School each summer. FBC Hendersonville baptized more people than ever before in 2024, with 340 following the Lord in baptism.
Notably, FBC Hendersonville became the first church in the state of Tennessee to give over $1 million a year to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The multi-generational church is intentionally a single-campus church with a vision of planting and revitalizing existing churches to help them become thriving, independent Southern Baptist congregations.
Among its ministries are:
• Feed Sumner Food Bank and Ministry Center, meeting the physical needs of people in upper Middle Tennessee
• Adult special needs ministry, addressing a largely unmet need in the region
• The Babb Center, a counseling ministry serving all of Middle Tennessee.
Fellow alumnus Jason Breland ’24 serves as worship leader. Breland holds a Master of Arts in Worship Leadership and Theology from UM. One of his daughters, Abigail, graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
Chesser said he values his University of Mobile connections, both past and present.
Dr. Bruce Chesser ’78, Senior Pastor
After graduating from then-Mobile College in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Dr. Bruce Chesser earned both his MDiv and DMin from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He pastored in Texas, Alabama and Arkansas before becoming pastor of FBC Hendersonville in 2009. He met his wife, Joy, at MC/UM and they have two married sons and two grandchildren.
“The foundational truths of my theology began as a child in my home church, but they were refined while I was in college. Things I learned at Mobile College impact my life every single day,” he said.
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the University of Mobile unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.
