Southwestern alumnus Steve Gaines elected SBC president

Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., and alumnus of Southwestern Seminary, was elected president by acclamation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), June 15. His nomination came from former SBC president Johnny Hunt, who pointed out that Bellevue Baptist’s outstanding baptismal record testifies to Gaines’ ability to advance the SBC toward evangelism and personal soul-winning.

“During the past 11 years, Gaines has led Bellevue Church to baptize thousands of new converts,” Hunt said. Explaining that baptisms in the SBC were at a 15-year low, Hunt nominated Gaines because “It’s time to make soul-winning a major priority.”

Gaines’ resolutions as new president of the SBC include special emphases on spiritual awakening, soul-winning and biblical stewardship. In a series of videos he released prior to his election, Gaines explained that the SBC has reached a critical moment in evangelical history and is in need of major revival.

“My No. 1 emphasis will be spiritual awakening,” he said. “I believe that America needs for God to open the windows of heaven and pour out His Spirit upon His people, and I believe that we need that now. The SBC needs spiritual awakening.”

Born in Corinth, Miss., in 1957, Gaines entered the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1975 on a full football scholarship. Gaines says he fell in love with Jesus while attending Christian athlete fellowship meetings at UTM.

In the fall of 1977, he gave up the sports scholarship and transferred to Union University in Jackson, Tenn., to study for the ministry. It was there that Gaines met Donna Dodds, whom he would marry in 1980. After graduating from Union University in 1979, Gaines entered Southwestern Seminary, earning his Master of Divinity in 1984 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1991.

During his seven years at Southwestern, Gaines served as a grader for evangelism professor Roy Fish. The two formed a strong relationship, and when Fish died in 2012, Gaines delivered the eulogy at his funeral.

While still a student, Gaines began serving Lake Shore Baptist Church in Lake Dallas, Texas, as associate pastor/youth minister. He later became senior pastor of Lake Shore Baptist, contributing to its steady growth and vitalizing its church planting ministries.

Moving away from Texas, Gaines subsequently served as pastor of West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn., and First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala., from 1988 to 2005. In 2005, Gaines accepted the call from Bellevue Baptist, where he still serves as senior pastor.

Gaines has served the SBC in various capacities in the past several decades. He began attending the annual SBC meetings while he was a Ph.D. student at Southwestern when the SBC met in Dallas in 1985. Gaines says that his heroes at that time were W.A. Criswell, Herschel Hobbs and Adrian Rogers.

In 1991 and 1999, Gaines served as a member of the Committee on Nominations of the SBC. He served as a trustee of Lifeway Christian Resources from 1998 to 2000, and he was a member of the Baptist Faith and Message Committee from 1999 to 2000. Gaines also served as president of the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 2005 and chairman of the SBC Resolutions Committee in 2015.

Gaines has now become the fourth SBC president to be elected from Bellevue Baptist, following legendary Southern Baptist figures such as R.G. Lee, Ramsey Pollard and Adrian Rogers. While he never sought personal fame, regarding his election, Gaines says, “As I prayed about it, the Lord made it crystal clear that this is what He wanted me to do. I am not running for anything—I’m just running after the Lord Jesus. I’m trying to obey the Lord.”