Jesse Watkins, preaching pastor at Friendship Southern Baptist Church in Concord, will be nominated for president of the 2025 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference during this year’s event.
Micheal Pardue, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Icard in Connelly Springs, 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.
“I’ve had the privilege to get to know Jesse over the last few years, and there is no one I can think of who would better serve as our pastors’ conference president for 2025,” Pardue said. “I’ve got to see the ministry of his church up close, and God is at work. He will serve us so well as president because he truly cares about pastors. He will prayerfully and diligently craft a pastors’ conference full of expository preachers who will encourage and challenge all pastors across our state.
“The pastors’ conference is a time of refreshing for so many pastors. For many in our state, this is the one preaching conference they get to attend each year. Jesse will ensure that they leave renewed by the preaching of God’s Word.”
Watkins has pastored Friendship Southern Baptist Church for the past 12 years, and he has served in vocational ministry in N.C. Baptist churches for 21 years overall.
Watkins is currently serving as vice president of the 2024 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference. Elections for pastors’ conference leadership positions are typically held two years in advance.
If elected president of the 2025 conference, Watkins said his goal would be to plan a conference that encourages pastors in their responsibility to preach the gospel.
“The pastors’ conference has historically been a unifying event for pastors across our state, to remind us of the doctrines which unite us,” Watkins said. “I plan to organize a pastors’ conference which would seek to encourage pastors in their primary duty of preaching the gospel. Most of the pastors in our convention come from normative size churches, and the pastors’ conference is one of the only events at this level where pastors can be encouraged from other pastors who serve in situations similar to their own.
“For many pastors, this is the only conference they may be able to attend all year. The pastors’ conference should be a time where pastors are reminded that the ordinary means of grace are the primary means which Christ has used to build His Church.”
Watkins is also currently serving in his third year on the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s Committee on Nominations. Previously, he has served on the leadership team of the Cabarrus Baptist Association, which is based in Concord.
Watkins is a graduate of Liberty University and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
Watkins also served 12 years as a jet engine mechanic in the N.C. Air National Guard, which included deployments to Kuwait and Afghanistan.
A native of Midland, N.C., Watkins has been married to his wife, Tyler, for 18 years. She is currently a lieutenant colonel in the N.C. Air National Guard. The couple has three children.
Watkins is the third announced candidate for president of the 2025 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference. Jared Richard, senior pastor of Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh, and Brandon Watson, associate pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Knightdale, were both previously announced as candidates.
