TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BP) – Florida pastor Dean Inserra intends to nominate Brad Whitt at the 2024 SBC Pastors’ Conference to be the president of the 2025 SBC Pastors’ Conference. Whitt is the pastor of Abilene Baptist Church in Martinez, Ga.

“[Whitt] has displayed strong integrity, unwavering biblical convictions, and has shown himself to be about the kingdom of God and our cooperative efforts as Southern Baptists,” said Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, in a release to BP. “His passion for reaching people for Jesus Christ is evident in how he preaches God’s Word, loves his local church, and regularly is an encourager to other pastors like myself.”

Whitt served as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference in 2010 and has served on various SBC committees and boards, according to the release.

Inserra says he has learned from Whitt’s evangelistic preaching and passion for the public invitation.

“Abilene has experienced exciting growth, and Brad Whitt has never stopped faithfully preaching the scriptures and calling people to trust in Jesus Christ,” Inserra said.

Whitt has served on staff at Bellevue Baptist in Memphis and helped plant a church in Ohio through the Nehemiah Project. He has served at Abilene Church since May 2012 and pastored for more than 10 years at Temple Baptist Church in Simpsonville, S.C., before the move to Abilene.

In the fiscal year ending last fall, Abilene Baptist received $4,772,743 in undesignated receipts and gave $136,319.75 (2.86 percent) to the Cooperative Program, according to the ACP. The church also reported a $5,000 gift to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in 2022 and $500 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in 2023.

Abilene listed a weekly worship attendance of 1,232 and reported 68 baptisms last year.

Whitt holds a B.A. from Union University, an M.Div. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, a D.Min. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological seminary.

Whitt and his wife Kim have four children.

Inserra says Whitt is a student of preaching and believes “he will put together an outstanding lineup of preachers to challenge and encourage pastors across our convention.”

The 2024 SBC Pastors’ Conference is scheduled for June 11-12, 2024, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The 2025 conference will be June 8-9 in Dallas.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Brandon Porter serves as Associate Vice President for Convention News at the SBC Executive Committee.)