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Robert (Bob) Mills, Kansas-Nebraska exec, to retire


TOPEKA, Kan. (BP) — Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB) Executive Director-Treasurer Bob Mills has announced plans to retire Feb. 28, 2021. He assumed the position Jan. 1, 2010.

A native of Florida, Mills came to Kansas to attend Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Throughout the 1979s, Mills held positions with the Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) and the Kansas City Baptist Association, and he served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Bethel, Kansas City, Kan., from 1978 to 1981.

In 1981 Mills moved to Alpharetta, Ga., to serve as associate director and later as director of the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) Mission Service Corps.

Mills returned to KNCSB in 1998 as state director of missions, a position that included overseeing church planting, disaster relief and campus ministries. His passion for community outreach led to raceway ministries, fishing ministries and other innovations, stemming from his desire to “see the people of God on mission with God.”

Mills helped set up the KNCSB partnership with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention in 2004 — an initiative whose effects are still felt in Nebraska and Kansas today.

“We couldn’t ask for a more supportive group to work with than Arkansas Baptists,” Mills said.

Mills led in creating a team to deal with church health issues and continues to have a passion for church health and leadership development. When he became state director of missions, KNCSB had about 300 churches. Now it has about 460 churches. During Mills’ tenure, KNCSB was recognized by NAMB for church-planting efforts. These efforts have intensified since Mills became executive director.

As Executive Director he has led KNCSB through hard economic times and massive changes in the Southern Baptist Convention. He continually emphasized cooperating to fulfill the Great Commission starting with KNCSB. That included reaching the counties in both states that have no evangelical witness.

He led in the development of the strategic categories — Starting, Sending, Strengthening and Sharing — that still guide the state staff.

Mills also placed great emphasis on giving to the Cooperative Program.

“I still believe that we can have a greater missional impact together than we can individually,” he said.

KNCSB was founded in 1945 and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. It is the oldest of the new-work conventions in the Southern Baptist Convention. As a new-work convention, KNCSB has received much financial support from SBC entities. But Mills saw the need for KNCSB to become self-sufficient and has led the way in that effort.

In addition to his duties at KNCSB, Mills has served as interim pastor in a number of KNCSB churches.

He holds a B.A. degree from William Carey University in Mississippi and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Mills has held several national leadership positions including president of the Midwestern Seminary Alumni Association and President of the State Missions Directors Fellowship.

He and his wife Lynne have three adult children.

The KNCSB Executive Committee will be the search committee for the new executive director-treasurer.

Resumes are being accepted now. E-mail resumes to Barbara Spicer at [email protected].

June 30 is the deadline to send resumes.

All questions should go to Voyt Lynn, KNCSB president and pastor of First Baptist Church, Douglass, Kan., at [email protected].

    About the Author

  • Eva Wilson

    Eva Wilson is editor of the Baptist Digest, newsjournal of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. Retired editor Tim Boyd contributed to this report.

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