Although the Ford Motor Company is slowing down its production schedule at BlueOval City, there are no plans to pump the brakes on the evangelism efforts in that region.
In fact, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board and its partnering local churches say they plan to keep surging in West Tennessee, even after the Ford Company’s recent announcement that the launch of its next-generation electric truck would be delayed 18 months.
“What we plan to do as Tennessee Baptists is to step on the gas,” said Danny Sinquefield, coordinator of the TBMB’s BlueOval City Partnership.
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“We’re going to continue to prepare for new church plants, and we’re going to continue to strengthen the churches that are in that impact zone that need some help,” Sinquefield said.
The Ford Company made the announcement on Aug. 21, saying that it was pushing back the target date of the launch until the back half of 2027, while citing the need to “utilize lower-cost battery technology,” and take other cost-related measures.
The delayed production schedule seems to indicate a shift in Ford’s electric vehicle strategy as the company looks for ways to cope with struggling EV sales.
However, construction has continued on the BOC campus, and it is still projected to make a major impact in Stanton and the surrounding areas. Tennessee lawmakers approved nearly $1 billion for the $5.6 billion project three years ago, when the Ford Company set an initial production-date goal of 2025.
Sinquefield, meanwhile, said the evangelistic efforts in BlueOval City have already “produced fruit” and said he believes many more “victory stories” will emerge.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by David Dawson and originally published by Baptist and Reflector.
