ARDEN, N.C. – Bruce Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Church in Arden, N.C., will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) during the SBC annual meeting this summer. Tennessee Pastor John Mark Harrison said he plans to nominate Frank at the meeting, which is scheduled for June 11-12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Bruce has provided faithful pastoral leadership for three decades,” Harrison said in a statement provided to Baptist Press and the Biblical Recorder. “He has served both the church and convention with sacrificial leadership. He’s theologically conservative, strategically minded and missionally focused. He will clearly and effectively focus our denomination on the Great Commission.”
Frank has served as lead pastor of Biltmore Church since 2008. Before coming to Biltmore, Frank pastored in his home state of Texas. Frank also served as chairman of the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Force, which presented two recommendations that were overwhelmingly adopted by messengers attending the 2022 SBC annual meeting in Anaheim, California. Frank also served as president of the 2014 SBC Pastors’ Conference.
According to its website, Biltmore Church has seven campuses in western North Carolina around Asheville. The church has consistently ranked among the largest and fastest-growing churches in the nation in recent years, according to Outreach magazine.
Harrison, who currently serves as lead pastor at First Baptist Church Concord in Knoxville, Tennessee, served on staff with Frank at Biltmore. Prior to Frank’s arrival, Harrison described Biltmore as a “plateaued church” that has experienced growth under Frank’s leadership.
“When I led student ministry at Biltmore Church, Bruce became the pastor, and our plateaued church began to grow,” Harrison said. “His relentless passion for evangelism and disciple-making changed the direction of our church. The Lord has used Biltmore Church and Pastor Bruce to make a tremendous impact in Western North Carolina and beyond.”
Harrison described Frank as “a coach, friend, mentor, and encouragement to me in my journey as a senior pastor,” adding that Frank regularly invests in other pastors.
“God has uniquely equipped Bruce to connect, encourage and coach pastors,” Harrison said. “He regularly makes time for me and many other pastors to grow us as Christian men and pastors.”
In a statement posted to his blog, Frank said, if elected, he would focus on providing “leadership, focus and consensus to several key areas we face as a convention.” They are: a focus on the Great Commission; a tenacity with sexual abuse reform; a renewed commitment to uncompromising and cooperative complementarianism; and an emphasis on church revitalization.
According to Annual Church Profile (ACP) records, Biltmore Church reported 384 baptisms and 7,331 in average worship attendance during the 2023 statistical year, which runs from October to September. For the 2023 calendar year, Biltmore reported 531 baptisms and 7,597 in average worship attendance, according to the church. Through the first quarter of 2024, average worship attendance has increased to 9,191, according to the church.
Biltmore also reported $14,476,412 in undesignated receipts through the ACP in 2023, with $235,000 (1.6%) given through the Cooperative Program. Biltmore also gave $30,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions, $15,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions, $40,000 to associational missions and $5,000 to other SBC missions efforts, for a total of $325,000 in SBC missions support.
Frank holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Texas Tech University, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry from Luther Rice Seminary. He came to Christ at age 17 as a senior in high school through the influence of a basketball coach.
Frank and his wife, Lori, have been married since 1989. The couple has two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Frank is the fifth individual who has been announced as a nominee for SBC president during this year’s annual meeting, and the second from North Carolina. Other announced nominees are: David Allen, professor and dean of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Mike Keahbone, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lawton, Oklahoma; Jared Moore, pastor of Homesteads Baptist Church, in Crossville, Tennessee; and Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – The Biblical Recorder is committed to avoiding conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest whenever and wherever possible. In the interest of full transparency, we disclose that the current chairman of the Biblical Recorder’s board of directors, Devin Goins, serves as executive pastor of strategic development at Biltmore Church.)
