KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting. Frank will be nominated by Tennessee pastor John Mark Harrison.
“I have known Bruce personally for many years. When I led student ministry at Biltmore Church, Bruce became the pastor, and our plateaued church began to grow,” said Harrison, now lead pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tenn. “His relentless passion for evangelism and disciple-making changed the direction of our church.”
Frank has been the lead pastor at Biltmore Baptist Church, which has several campuses in and around Asheville, N.C., since 2008. In 2021 and 2022, he served as the chair of the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Force overseeing the independent investigation of the SBC Executive Committee for the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims.
The task force’s recommendations led to the creation of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force.
Frank previously pastored in Texas before coming to North Carolina.
“Bruce has provided faithful pastoral leadership for three decades,” Harrison said in written comments. “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.”
Biltmore Church recorded 384 baptisms in 2023 and averaged 7,331 people across eight multisite locations, according to SBC Workspace. The church reported $14,476,412 in total undesignated receipts, giving $235,000 (1.62 percent) through the Cooperative Program, $15,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and $30,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
The church gave $40,000 to local associations in 2023, according to SBC Workspace.
“The Lord has used Biltmore Church and Pastor Bruce to make a tremendous impact in Western North Carolina and beyond,” Harrison told BP.
Frank holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Luther Rice Seminary.
He and his wife Lori have two grown sons.
“For the last decade, Bruce has been a coach, friend, mentor, and encouragement to me in my journey as a senior pastor,” Harrison said. “God has uniquely equipped Bruce to connect, encourage and coach pastors. He regularly makes time for me and many other pastors to grow us as Christian men and pastors.”
Frank joins Jared Moore, pastor of Homesteads Baptist Church in Crossville, Tenn.; Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte; Mike Keahbone, pastor of First Baptist in Lawton, Okla.; and David Allen, professor and dean at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, who all have been announced as potential candidates for SBC president.
The 2024 SBC Annual Meeting is set for June 11-12 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
