LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky pastor John Mark Toby will be
nominated for first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention during
the June 23-24 annual meeting at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
BP photo John Mark Toby |
Toby, pastor of Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset, Ky.,
since 1999, currently is president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He will
be nominated by Kevin Smith, pastor of Watson Memorial Baptist Church in
Louisville and assistant professor of church history at Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary.
“I want to nominate Brother Toby because he is a fine
representative of a Kentucky Baptist and a Southern Baptist,” Smith told the
Western Recorder, newsjournal of the Kentucky convention.
“He is obviously supportive of the state convention as demonstrated
by his volunteer service in a variety of positions, culminating with his
election as president last November,” said Smith, who served as KBC first vice
president in 2007.
“Additionally, (Toby’s) church has been a regular supporter
of the Cooperative Program and other state and national offerings,” Smith
noted. “He has a good working relationship with a broad cross section of
Baptists and he has a gracious spirit. On top of this, he leads his church on
short-term missions trips and serves as a (Kentucky) National Guard chaplain.
On many levels, he is a fine Christian leader.”
Information from the 2008 Annual Church Profile (ACP) for
Beacon Hill Baptist Church lists 24 baptisms and primary worship service
attendance of 513. The church gave $132,257, or 15 percent, through the
Cooperative Program from total undesignated receipts of $882,807.
According to the ACP, the church also received $23,736 for
the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and $7,768 for
the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.
Toby, a member of the Kentucky National Guard since 1983, is
an endorsed chaplain of the North American Mission Board, supervising four
chaplain unit ministry teams that minister to 1,645 soldiers. He has served as
a Task Force New Orleans chaplain in relief and recovery operations for victims
of Hurricane Katrina and is a volunteer chaplain at Lake Cumberlands Regional
Hospital.
(EDITOR’S
NOTE — Deaton is editor of the Western Recorder, Kentucky Baptists’
newsjournal.)