LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Pastor Search Committee at Immanuel Baptist Church has announced that Kyler Smith was unanimously approved by the congregation to serve as the church’s 18th senior pastor in its 133-year history.
Smith preached in view of a call on Sunday, Dec. 7. He comes to Immanuel from Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., where he has served as senior associate pastor under Senior Pastor Clint Pressley, who is in his second term as Southern Baptist Convention president. Prior to joining Hickory Grove’s staff in 2012, Smith served congregations in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
“Only a clear sense of God’s calling could take us from Hickory Grove, a church we love and have served for nearly 14 years. We firmly believe He has led us to Immanuel and are in awe of His evident hand throughout this process. We head to Little Rock humbled by their confidence, and eager to love, serve and shepherd this historic church as we face the future with God,” Smith said.
For his view of call sermon, Smith preached from 1 Corinthians 3:5-7, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
This was the scripture God laid on his heart 20 years ago when he was called to the ministry, he said.
“He taught me from this particular passage that my life, my ministry and my future are not in my hands. They’re in His. And I want to preach this text to you today because, Immanuel, I pray God will grant you the grace to grip with me that the truth is your life, this church’s ministry, this church’s future is not in our hands. It’s in His,” Smith said. “Our future is in God’s hands.”
Following his sermon, Immanuel had a special church family business meeting during which the congregation voted in favor of Smith as the next senior pastor. The news received a standing ovation.
Pastor search committee chairman said in a video recommending Smith that the committee considered more than 67 candidates, but that Smith “stood apart from the others.”
The full recommendation video includes comments from Pressley, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen, GuideStone Financial Resources President Hance Dilbeck, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin and others.
A native of Oklahoma City, Smith holds a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas; an M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; and both a Th.M. and a Ph.D. in Preaching from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Having previously spent time in Arkansas, Smith noted he knows “how to call the hogs.”
Smith comes to Immanuel following the departure of former pastor Steven Smith, who left in March 2024 following allegations that church leadership withheld instances of abuse from its congregation.
In his remarks to the congregation Sunday, Kyler Smith discussed the church’s storied history, including its legacy of faithful expository preaching.
“That is why I asked the church to put this historic pulpit back out,” he said, referring to the aged, wooden pulpit he preached behind. “For me, it’s a symbol of what’s made this church great for decades in our Southern Baptist Convention. And by God’s grace, I intend, Lord willing, to carry on that legacy by doing nothing else but preaching the inerrant Word of God.”
Smith is married to Lauren. They have a daughter, Eliza, and are expecting their second child in May 2026. His first Sunday as Immanuel’s new pastor is expected to be Jan. 11.
Editor’s note: Baptist Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared in the Arkansas Baptist News.
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