OSAGE BEACH – During the MBC annual meeting here at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Oct. 27-29, four Missouri pastors were elected to serve as officers of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) for the next year.
David Krueger, who presided as recording secretary during the 2014 annual meeting, cast the convention’s ballot to elect Neil Franks as the new MBC president. Although three of the MBC offices were contested during the annual meeting, Franks was the only person nominated to serve as president.
Franks, pastor of First Baptist Church, Branson, has served over the past two years as the MBC’s first vice president and first vice chair of the Executive Board. He was nominated as MBC president by Joshua Hedger, director of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Center for Church Planting, who has served alongside Franks over the past two years as second vice president of the MBC.
For the office of first vice president, messengers elected Ken Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Kearney. Parker, who received 225 votes (56 percent of the ballots cast), was nominated by Tony Preston, professor of pastoral leadership at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
For the office of second vice president, messengers elected Doug Richey, pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church, Excelsior Springs. Richey, who received 170 votes (61 percent of the ballots cast), was nominated by Matt Marrs, the North American Mission Board Send coordinator for Kansas City.
For office of recording secretary, messengers elected Jeremy Muniz, pastor of First Baptist Church, De Soto. Muniz, who received 195 votes (57 percent of the ballots cast), was nominated by Menk Ferguson, senior adult pastor at First Baptist Church, Arnold.
New MBC officers were presented to the convention at the end of the annual meeting, Oct. 29, after which Franks led the assembly in prayer and gaveled the convention’s 180th annual meeting to a close.