Jared Richard, senior pastor of Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh, will be nominated to serve as president of the 2025 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference during this year’s event.
Steven Wade, lead pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville, plans to make the nomination at this year’s conference, which is scheduled for Nov. 5-6 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The conference is being held prior to the N.C. Baptist annual meeting.
“Over the past few years, Pastor Jared and I have developed a friendship that extends beyond our personal lives to the ministries of our churches,” Wade said. “Not only do we meet together regularly for mutual encouragement and counsel, our churches partner together in various ways. Last year we worked together to send out a church plant team to Morrisville, N.C., and we are currently working to revitalize a church in North Raleigh.
“Through all of this, I have watched Jared wisely shepherd his congregation with clarity and conviction as well as care for the pastors of these works with genuine care and concern. Jared loves the local church and he is committed to being on mission together. I believe he will excel in serving the pastors of North Carolina by putting together a pastors’ conference that is biblically grounded, doctrinally sound and soul-nourishing.”
Richard has served as senior pastor at Bay Leaf since August 2021. Overall, he has served in a variety of pastoral ministry roles for more than 15 years at four Southern Baptist churches in three different states.
Prior to coming to Bay Leaf, Richard served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Irving, Texas, for five years. Before pastoring First Baptist Irving, Richard served on the pastoral staff at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, for eight years. He also served on staff at Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Since 2005, Richard has also served as a camp director and pastor at FUGE camps, which is a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources that conducts camps for students at various locations across the country each summer.
“I believe in the work of Southern Baptists and our spirit of cooperation for the sake of the Great Commission,” Richard said. “I have been particularly encouraged since coming to North Carolina by the commitment of our state convention to be on mission together.”
If elected, Richard said his goal would be to organize a conference that encourages pastors and emphasizes the importance of the Great Commission.
“In my view, the pastor’s conference is a time for encouragement, and that is what I hope to bring to the conference if I am elected as president,” Richard said. “We all know the difficulties of pastoral ministry, but we also know the unique joy it provides. I would hope to gather a group of men from our state and larger convention to remind us of the joy of serving on mission together.
“We need to be reminded of the mission and what is at stake both in North Carolina and around the world. The mission is what compels us to cooperation. We also need to be reminded of the privilege we have to join together to be used by God for the sake of this mission. We are not in competition with other like-minded churches. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, working together to tell as many people as possible about the love God has declared to us in His gospel.”
Richard earned a Ph.D. in applied theology with an emphasis in preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in religious studies from Louisiana State University.
Richard has been married to his wife, Jordan, for 10 years, and they have two children.
Richard is the second announced candidate for president of the 2025 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference. Brandon Watson, associate pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Knightdale, was announced as a candidate earlier this month.
Pastors’ conference officers are traditionally elected two years in advance.
