ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Officials of the North American Mission Board have released a roster of the management-level employees hired by Southern Baptists’ new domestic missions agency, although a number of positions are still being filled.
NAMB was created in June by a merger of the Home Mission Board, Brotherhood Commission and Radio and Television Commission. Eighty percent of the staff are based in the former Home Mission Board building north of Atlanta, with the remaining employees based at the RTVC’s former studios in Fort Worth and now called NAMB’s media technology team.
The executive team consisting of NAMB’s new president, Bob Reccord, and four vice presidents, were announced following their election at the agency’s board of trustees meeting June 19. However, the position of vice president for the evangelization group has not been filled, along with a number of other professional positions.
“Dr. Reccord and other management team members are in various stages of searching for persons to fill more than three dozen positions,” said Gary Jones, NAMB director of human resources. “Some of those positions have even been accepted by candidates, but we are not in a position to release their names at this time. Dr. Reccord has told the staff he is hopeful that all new staff will be on board by the first of September.”
Two of the positions announced to date have been filled with people from outside the three former agencies. Those two are Georgia pastor John Yarbrough and Dewey Hickey, executive director of the Dakota Southern Baptist Fellowship.
Yarbrough, who was a member, then chairman, of the task force which implemented the SBC’s restructuring, “Covenant for a New Century,” will be NAMB’s lead strategy coordinator and liaison between the mission agency and state Baptist conventions in the eastern United States as well as the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists.
Hickey will serve as director/missiologist for the leadership enlistment and training team of NAMB’s church planting group. With 30 years of missions experience, Hickey will direct the agency’s development of church planting models described as “biblically and contextually sound.”
Nearly half of the approximately 365 positions in NAMB are classified as management or exempt from overtime provisions of the wage and hour laws. Following are those people whose names have been released as middle- and upper-management staff.
Serving with Reccord in the administrative group is Henry T. Blackaby as special assistant to the president for prayer and spiritual awakening. Blackaby’s associates are Ronald J. Owens and Kerry L. Skinner. Benjamin F. Kelley Jr. is NAMB’s director of development, and former RTVC President Jack B. Johnson is special assistant to the president for development and special projects.
In the evangelization group, Darrell W. Robinson, former HMB vice president of evangelism, is now serving as special assistant to the vice president. Robinson will provide training and promotional assistance for special evangelism projects including “Total Church Life” and “People Sharing Jesus.”
Appointed to the direct evangelism team are Toby Frost, evangelism events manager; Donald A. Smith, evangelism events associate; L. Joy Neal and Darel O. Robertson, decision counselors; and Jack R. Smith and Keith K. Walker, soul-winning evangelism associates.
R. Philip Roberts is director of NAMB’s interfaith witness team, along with associates J. Tal Davis, and William E. Gordon Jr. Dean N. Finley has been hired as college student evangelism associate, Jerry F. Pipes as family evangelism manager, Richard E. Leach as laity renewal associate and Herbert B. Brisbane as multicultural consultants manager.
In ministry evangelism, Huey D. Perry is serving as chaplaincy manager as well as liaison with industrial chaplains. Chaplains associates and their specialties are Robert C. Vickers, military; George C. Pickle, hospitals; and Albert Holmes, prisons.
Also in ministry evangelism, Gerald Hutchinson Jr. has been named church and community ministries manager and L. Jean White and L. David Wigger as associates. Sylvia M. Boothe is alternatives to abortion ministries associate and Donoso Escobar, immigration ministries manager. R. Jane Bishop and Michael D. Robertson are special ministries associates.
In the church planting group, which is led by Richard H. Harris as vice president, J. David Putman and Jose A. Hernandez are serving as leadership training and mentoring associates, respectively. Assisting Hickey in strategy and resource development is Robert L. Moore as manager of partnership and site selection and W. David Terry, associate.
The new congregation implementation team includes M. Rodney Webb Jr. as Anglo church planting manager, along with Gerald S. Raynor and H. Gerald Colbert, associates; Jaime G. Prieto, Asian church planting manager; Moises C. Rodriguez, Hispanic church planting manager; Robert E. Wilson Jr., African American church planting manager; and Russell Begaye, manager of other ethnic and language church planting.
The strategic planning and mobilization group, led by Michael S. Day, vice president, includes Yarbrough in strategy coordination, along with Chan C. Garrett, who will work with state conventions in the Mideastern United States, and Douglas Beggs, formerly vice president of the Brotherhood Commission, assigned to work with Midwestern states.
The group’s research unit includes four staffers from the HMB’s former research department: Phillip B. Jones, manager; Richie C. Stanley, strategic information; Stephen P. Whitten, ministries; and Robert A. Rennier, marketing research.
Coordination of missions volunteers is also part of the mobilization group and will be directed by James B. Burton, formerly with the Brotherhood Commission. Assisting Burton will be Elmer W. Goble, adult volunteer manager, and four associates, Robert T. Mills, Mickey C. Caison, Michael D. Riggins and Elizabeth M. Pearson. Andy Loomis is student volunteer mobilization manager, with Devane T. Simmons Jr. and Keith Loomis as associates.
The associational missions strategy team includes J.W. Hutchens Jr. as town and country planning coordinator, Hugh G. Townsend, metro and mega associational planning coordinator, and Marshall N. Chambers, associate.
The bulk of the media and missions education group, to be led by Nate Adams as vice president, will remain in Fort Worth as the media technology team, with David W. Clark as executive director. Most of the technology staff are former RTVC staff members. The management team includes R. Martin Coleman, media production manager; Glenn W. McEwen, technical operations manager; James D. Billman, master control manager, M. Ray Raley, chief engineer; J. Mike Head, studio operations manager; Deborah L. Key, radio and television distribution manager; David M. Lewis, program acquisition/development manager; Risa J. Hubbard, affiliate relations manager; Kelli K. McAnally, program marketing manager; and Steve J. Roberson, Time Rite and general sales manager.
Also a part of the media group is Martin F. King, NAMB’s director of public relations and Atlanta bureau chief for Baptist Press. Katherine D. Williams is editorial manager; Ronald J. Lawson, director of media strategy; Thomas M. McEachin, media strategist.
Timothy C. Seanor is directing NAMB’s missions education team. Serving with Seanor are Wallace W. Buckner, missions education organization manager; Mary K. Branson, children’s strategist; C. Thomas Wright, adult strategist; and Myra G. Book, missions events associate.
The NAMB group with the most employees is business services which provides support for the other four groups. Ernest J. Kelley is vice president of business services. Carlos A. Ferrer is director of finance and accounting; Mitchell G. Crowe, financial reporting and budget manager; Cynthia D. Marshall, accounting manager; Charles M. Stewart, plant operations and real estate manager; Joseph A. Gatlin, conference and facilities manager; and Donald F. Carter, purchasing manager.
Gary S. Jones is director of human resources; Daniel J. Garcia, employment services manager; Lura R. Sheppard, employment coordinator; and Gerald M. Singleton, training manager. William C. Graham is missionary personnel manager, with two associates, Randy S. Wood and Larry M. Braley.
Robert F. Inlow is director of NAMB’s church loans team, with Bobby M. Stidham as loan production manager and three loan officers, William Barner, Michael J. Rhine and John R. Welch. Thomas Thrailkill is loan administration manager.
Former Brotherhood vice president Jack T. Childs is NAMB’s marketing services director and J. Rick Head, marketing manager. Michael B. Brown is computer support manager for the information services team.
Former Brotherhood President James D. Williams is not a NAMB staff member but, by arrangement of Brotherhood trustees at their final meeting earlier this year, is on contract for special projects.
Former HMB President Larry Lewis is retired and is now a NAMB affiliate with the national evangelism initiative Mission America.
