With the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Middle Tennessee, the Franklin Tennessee Stake — created in 1979 — was split during a March 22 conference in Franklin to create the Columbia Tennessee Stake.
Similar to a diocese in the Catholic faith, a stake of the Church of Jesus Christ is a group of congregations, called wards and branches, in a geographic area. The directive to form a new stake came from the Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City.
The formation of the new stake resulted in leadership changes. The Franklin Tennessee Stake presidency — James Steanson, Ronald Pennington, and Austin Houghtaling — was reorganized to include Fairview resident James Steanson (president) with counselors Austin Houghtaling and Jeremy Neely, of Franklin and Spring Hill, respectively. The newly formed Columbia Tennessee Stake presidency consists of Maury County residents Ronald Pennington (president) and counselors Kevin O’Bryant and Dustin Jones.
Ronald Pennington and his wife of 30 years, Yvonne, are both lifelong members of the Church. Ronald has lived in the Hampshire community of Maury County for most of his life and is looking forward to laboring alongside his counselors and other church members to strengthen the kingdom of God on the earth.
“I testify that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I am deeply grateful to serve Him by blessing lives, nurturing faith, and strengthening His kingdom here in the Columbia Tennessee Stake,” said Pennington, who will lead the sixth Latter-day Saint stake in the middle Tennessee area.
The Columbia Tennessee Stake will be comprised of six congregations previously included in the Franklin Tennesse Stake: the Columbia Ward, the Lawrenceburg Ward, the Lewisburg Branch, the Linden Ward, and the Spring Hill 1st and 3rd Wards. It will serve about 2,600 members.
The Franklin Tennessee Stake, now serving about 2,300 Latter-day Saints, has seven Tennessee-based congregations: the Franklin 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Wards, the Spring Hill 2nd Ward, the Dickson Ward, and the Centerville Branch—as well as the Franklin 1st Branch, which serves Spanish-speaking members from both Franklin and Columbia Stakes. The area will also see the construction of its newest church building completed by the end of the year in Centerville, TN.
Franklin Stake President James Steanson is enthusiastic and hopeful about the continuation of growth of the Church in Tennessee: “The growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can not be overlooked. Since the formation of His church anciently, the Savior has asked his saints to increase in wisdom, to love their neighbor, and to serve one another. It is the following of these teachings that has led to such sustained and consistent growth here locally. With the formation of a new center of strength in Columbia, communities will be blessed and lives will be changed. What a wonderful day for Tennessee.”
Tennessee is home to more than 60,000 Latter-day Saints in 117 congregations. For more information: comeuntochrist.org
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