ORLANDO (BP) – Florida pastor Willy Rice has been elected SBC president. Rice follows North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley, who served two terms in the role.
Rice received 5,217 votes while Powell received 3,821 votes. There were 9,063 total ballots and 25 were disallowed.
Rice serves as senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla.
Rice was nominated by Adrian Taylor, pastor of Spring Hill Church in Gainesville, Fla.
Taylor drew from what Rice calls his “7 Pillars of Renewal.”
Taylor drew applause from messengers saying Rice would help the next generation see that the Convention is serious about Scripture.
“The calendar may change, the culture may change, and crowds may change, but God’s Word is still immutable, and it will never change,” Taylor said, adding that Rice would help the Convention move forward.
“This is not about protecting the past. It’s about going into the future with faithfulness to the Word of God.”
Drawing from Rice’s sermon during the SBC Pastors’ Conference the previous day, Taylor reiterated that “while we love everyone, we must obey God. Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
Rice previously pastored churches in Florida and Alabama. He is a graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., and has an M.Div. and a D.Min. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Cheryl have three children and six grandchildren.
He served as president of the Florida Baptist Convention from 2006-2008, and he served as president of the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 2015. He has also served as chairman of the SBC Committee on Committees (2010), chairman of the SBC Committee on Nominations (2016), president of the Florida Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference (2004) as well as other local, state and national positions.
Rice also served as a trustee for the North American Mission Board from 2018-2022, including stints as second and first vice chairman.
