Pastors from across North Carolina elected new officers and received equipping and encouragement in ministry during the 2022 N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference, held Nov. 6-7 at the Koury Convention Center prior to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s annual meeting.

Andrew Hopper, lead pastor of Mercy Hill Church in Greensboro, was elected president of the 2024 conference in a ballot vote over Matt Ledbetter, pastor of Creeksville Baptist Church in Conway. 

Hopper received 175 votes (56%) to Ledbetter’s 138 votes (44%). Hopper was nominated by Jerry Lewis, lead pastor of Grace Community Church in Marion.

The N.C. Baptist Pastors’ Conference elects officers two years in advance.

Jesse Watkins, pastor of Friendship Southern Baptist Church in Concord, was elected vice president by acclamation. Watkins was nominated by longtime N.C. pastor Chris Griggs and ran unopposed.

Howard McNeill, senior pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Greensboro, was elected as secretary-treasurer by acclamation. McNeill was nominated by Brandon Powell, senior pastor of Cross Road Baptist Church in Asheboro and ran unopposed.

This year’s conference theme was “The Pastor,” based on Acts 20:28 and highlights pastors’ responsibility “to shepherd the flock of God.” The event featured messages from six long-tenured pastors who emphasized enduring and thriving in ministry. Conference speakers also participated in a series of Q&A sessions with attendees. The event also included congregational singing, Scripture reading and prayer.

Steven Wade, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville, N.C., opened the conference with a message on “Shepherding God’s Flock, Even in the Fire” from 1 Peter 5:1-4. Wade encouraged pastors to remember their task a shepherd by knowing, feeding, guarding and leading the sheep.

In a message on “A Model of Faithful Ministry,” Juan Sanchez, pastor of preaching at High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, offered four exhortations to pastors. They were: serve the Lord; keep careful watch over your soul; keep careful watch over God’s flock; and rest in God and the gospel.

“We don’t pastor in our own strength,” Sanchez said. “We pastor in the strength of God. We need God’s strength. We need God’s power. We need God’s grace.”

Phil Newton, who has pastored South Woods Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., since 1987, preached on “An Approach to Pastoral Endurance” from Revelation 19:1-10. He encouraged pastors to maintain an eternal perspective amid the daily challenges of pastoral ministry.

“We grow in endurance as we mature in seeing that all that lasts belongs to the God we serve….” Newton said. “We’re not laboring for something temporal.”

Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and president of the 9Marks ministry, addressed raising up leaders, citing the biblical example of Paul and Timothy from 2 Timothy 2:2.

“Paul is specifically telling Timothy to look to train others who specifically are the kind of brothers who will train still others with the Word,” Dever said. “Brother pastors, are you doing that?”

Dever shared several qualities to look for in prospective leaders and practical ways pastors can train them. They included: looking for biblical qualifications; looking for those individuals God is raising up; trusting and believing the best in others; spending time with potential leaders; delegating responsibility to others; being open to feedback; having a good understanding of authority; clarity in doctrine; and humility.

Jim Hamilton, senior pastor of Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., and professor of biblical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shared on pastoral leadership lessons from the life of Moses and the typological patterns that follow in the lives of others in the Old and New Testaments.

“God gives pastors (to the church) to guard His sheep against the end-time, last-days onslaught of Satan,” Hamilton said.

Steve Corts, lead pastor of Center Grove Baptist Church in Clemmons, N.C., preached on “The Pastors’ Walk and Work” from 2 Timothy 2:15-22. Corts said pastors face a great temptation to confuse their work for the Lord with their walk with the Lord and replace their walk with the Lord with their work for the Lord.

“The work we do for Christ will never be enough for us,” Corts said. “Only Christ is enough for us.” 

In addition to the messages, speakers participated in two panel discussions that addressed “Pastoral Endurance: How to Last in Ministry” and “Discipling the Next Generation of Pastors.”

Todd Unzicker, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina,  closed the conference by praying over nearly 40 church planters in attendance.

“We are praying over this next generation who are going out to declare and demonstrate the hope of the gospel,” Unzicker said.

Video recordings of the pastors’ conference messages will be posted on the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina website in the coming days.