Worship Services are Sundays at 9:00 & 11:15 am.

Jim & Jennifer Franklin

Jim and Jennifer Franklin are Directors of the Resident Ministry Team for SALTNEXTGEN ministries in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jim was an elder at Grace Bible Church for a number of years.  In 2022, Jim and Jennifer joined the SALTNEXTGEN ministry in Nashville, Tennessee to be Directors of the Resident Ministry Team.  SALTNEXTGEN's ministry goal is to train and send the next generation to reach the nations with the Gospel for the glory of God.  To accomplish this goal, they provide several different but related programs which provide both cross-cultural training and ministry opportunities for students from high school juniors through college.  The ministry opportunities range from one week to two years in length.  One of the programs is the GAP year program which is for high school graduates who devote 4 months of training in Nashville and then 4 months of overseas ministry, a total of 8 months between high school and college.  Currently (Fall 2022) there are 5 GAP students.  Another program is the Resident Ministry Team which focuses on reaching out cross-culturally to immigrants and refugees from around the world who are living in the Nashville area.  The Resident Ministry Team also assists with training and caring for students in the GAP program by involving those students in hands-on experience working cross-culturally with the immigrants and refugees in the Nashville area.  Jim and Jennifer lead the Resident Ministry Team program, which currently has 6 members, and also help in training and guiding the GAP year students.

One large group of the internationals living in the Nashville area are Afghan families who had worked with the U.S. and its allies during the war in Afghanistan, and were in danger of retaliation from the Taliban when the U.S. withdrew.  Most have very little English skills.  Many are illiterate, even in their own language.  So adjusting to life in America is very challenging for them.  Minimum wage jobs are the best that most families can hope for.  Working with local relief agencies, SALTNEXTGEN ministries periodically deliver boxes of supplemental food supplies to these families.  This provides opportunities to meet and interact with the Afghan families, and an opportunity to share the Gospel with them.  Most of these families are very willing to respectfully listen to all that is said about the Gospel.

Franklin2022Jim and Jennifer have 8 children.  Ethan is in college here in California.  Liz is college age and serving as a member of the Resident Ministry Team.  Andy is a member of the GAP team.  Ben and Joe are in high school.  James is in junior high.  Jessie is in elementary school.  And Rosie is pre-school age.