ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–The North American Mission Board has hired a new director of human resources with primary responsibility for recruiting and orienting the Southern Baptist agency’s missionary force.
Larry Bateman also will have responsibility for NAMB’s 386 employees at its Alpharetta, Ga., offices. Bateman’s 23-member human resource team also administers NAMB’s compensation plan, manages the screening process for professional management staff and administers benefits for the agency’s 5,000 missionaries.
Bateman succeeds Gary Jones, who left the Southern Baptist agency last year, after 10 years of service in various positions, to establish a private management consulting firm.
Since1985, Bateman has been employed by Gerber Childrenswear, Inc., Greenville, S.C., where he served as manager of human resources, planning and development, special markets and most recently forecasting and planning. He provided company-wide leadership in areas such as organizational planning, policy development, performance appraisal systems, compensation and training and development.
“Larry has an exceptional business background and human resources skills,” said Mike Day, NAMB vice president of strategy and business services. “He has an unusually strong sense of calling to apply his skills to ministry and he brings an exceedingly high level of business services as service to the Lord.”
Bateman is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with an M.B.A. and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a B.S. degree. He is a member of Taylors First Baptist Church, Taylors, S.C., where he is a deacon and Sunday school teacher and is involved in men’s ministries. He and his wife, B.J., have four children: Sarah, 15; Lauren, 11; William, 9; and Benji, 5.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to serve with NAMB,” Bateman said. “My family and I believe firmly that God will be glorified through this service.”
