SPRINGFIELD – All but one officer of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) will stand for re-election when messengers gather in Springfield for the MBC annual meeting, Oct. 26-28.
Doug Richey, pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church, Excelsior Springs, and MBC second vice president, has decided not to run for a second term. Instead, he plans to nominate Josh Hall, pastor of Selmore Baptist Church in Ozark, to serve as second vice president.
“I am a believer in the value of broad participation in the Missouri Baptist Convention,” Richey said. “And with that I do think that when it makes sense—in a situation like this— … I would much rather see another individual have the opportunity and honor of serving our Missouri Baptist family. I am more than delighted to make the nomination for Josh, even though I realize I could run for a second term. I would be honored to serve a second term. There is no reason for me not to run. But I just really believe that our convention will be well-served longterm as we have more and more people involved. I know that Josh would serve us well in the future.
“I’ve known Josh from the point where he started pastoring at Selmore and have just been impressed with his leadership, his heart for the gospel, his desire to lead his congregation with a biblical faithfulness,” Richey added. “He has a maturity beyond his years. … He has led them through a fairly significant building project. They’re involved in missions both locally and internationally. He has shown, through previous roles, a wisdom and an understanding of the stewardship responsibility that we have as pastors, serving in denominational roles for the benefit of the larger family.”
The other current officers for the MBC will be re-nominated to a second term: Neil Franks, pastor, First Baptist, Branson, for president; Ken Parker, pastor, First Baptist, Kearney, for first vice president; and Jeremy Muniz, pastor, First Baptist, De Soto, for recording secretary.
At press time, no other nominations had been made.