Ed Litton (Co-Chair)

Ed serves the Lord as lead pastor of Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama. He began ministry as a church planter in Arizona and came to First Baptist North Mobile (now Redemption Church) in 1994. Ed received a Bachelor of Arts from Grand Canyon University, a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ed served as the 63rd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has been involved in racial reconciliation efforts for more than two decades. For the last 8 years, he has been a member of The Pledge Group–a racial reconciliation ministry based in Mobile.

Fred Luter (Co-Chair)

Pastor Fred Luter, Jr. has served as the Senior Pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since 1986. Over the course of his ministry, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church has grown from a small 65-member congregation to a high of over 7000 members prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He was unanimously elected in 2012 and 2013 as the first African American President of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has been married to Elizabeth Luter since 1980, and they are proud parents and grandparents. 

Members

Marshall Blalock

R. Marshall Blalock has served as Pastor of First Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina 1997. A graduate of Furman University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Marshall was ordained at First Baptist in August of 1981. He previously served as pastor of St. Helena Baptist Church in Beaufort, SC, and Sullivan’s Island Baptist Church in the Charleston area. Marshall is married to Cathy, and they have three adult children, all married, and the children grew up as part of the First Baptist Church family. 

Missie Branch

Missie currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Graduate Life at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Missie is passionate about women seeing themselves as disciples and theologians. She’s a published author and chairwoman of the trustees at Lifeway Christian Resources. She is married to Deuce, and they have 4 children.

H.B. Charles

H. B. is the Pastor-Teacher at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida, where he has served since 2008. Prior to joining the Shiloh Church, he led the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles for almost eighteen years, having assumed the pastorate at the age of seventeen. . He regularly speaks at churches, conferences, and conventions around the country.

Victor Chayasirisobhon

Rev. Dr. Victor Chayasirisobhon is the lead pastor at First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, California. He has served on staff since 2005 and has been serving as senior pastor since 2006. He loves learning and holds several post-graduate degrees from Gateway Seminary (formerly known as Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary). He has a loving wife, Theresa, and 4 beautiful children.

Alan Cross

Alan Cross has been the pastor of Petaluma Valley Baptist Church in Petaluma, CA since 2019. He is a graduate of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (1999) in Mill Valley, CA (now Gateway Seminary in Ontario, CA) with a Master of Divinity and focus on Intercultural Studies and Mississippi State University (1996). He has served churches in Mississippi, Alabama, and California for over twenty five years.

Brett Golson

Dr. Brett Golson serves as Vice President for Spiritual Development and Church Relations and Dean of the Owen and Elizabeth Cooper School of Missions and Ministry Studies (Cooper School of Missions and Ministry Studies) at William Carey University. He holds a B.S. degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi, a B.A. degree in biblical studies from William Carey, a Master of Divinity, a Master of Theology, and a Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Charles Grant

Executive Director of Black Church Relations and Mobilization SBC Executive Committee

Charles serves as the Executive Director of Black Church Relations and Mobilization for the SBC’s Executive Committee. A native of Vallejo, California, Charles started New Life Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida, in 1997 and served as senior pastor until 2007. He has also served as a regional church partner for Lifeway Christian Resources (2008-2020). Additionally, he is the compiler of the new Navigating the SBC orientation guide. , 

Marcus Hayes

Marcus Hayes is lead pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church, The Woodlands, Texas, and serves as president of Moody’s Alumni Association board. After graduating from Moody, he earned an MA in Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Marcus is currently pursuing a doctoral degree from Anderson University Clamp Divinity School. Marcus and his wife, Mandy, have three daughters, Sarai, Amaya, and Naomi.

Brent Leatherwood

Brent Leatherwood is the President of the ERLC. Before coming to the ERLC, he served as the executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party from December 2012 to December 2016, where he managed the organization’s campaign apparatus at the federal, state, and local levels. He also worked on Capitol Hill as a senior legislative aide to former Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla. Brent and his wife Meredith have three children and are members of The Church at Avenue South, where Brent serves as a deacon.

Ramon Medina

Ramon Medina has served since 2006 as lead pastor of the Spanish ministry at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston and began leading Champion Forest’s Hispanic church-planting residency program in cooperation with the North American Mission Board in 2022. He has helped to plant eight churches in the U.S. Latin America, and Asia. 

Keith Whitfield

Keith Whitfield serves as a Professor of Systematic Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has been teaching since 2012. He has authored or edited more than five books, including Christology (B&H Academic, Forthcoming 2020), Islam and North America: Loving Our Muslim Neighbors (B&H Academic, 2018), and Trinitarian Theology: Theological Models and Doctrinal Application (B&H Academic, 2019). Dr. Whitfield is also the co-host of the Great Commission Conversations Podcast, where the goal is to encourage pastors and church leaders to engage in sharing the gospel here and around the world.

Frank Williams

Frank Williams is a husband, father, and pastor. From 2007-2009, Frank served as the Interim Executive Director of the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association. He currently serves as the 1st Vice President of the Clergy Coalition of the 47th Precinct in the Bronx, NY. Nationally, Frank has served the SBC on the Committee on Nominations, Committee on Committees, and the African-American Advisory Council to the CEO of the SBC Executive Committee. He has also served on the Executive Board of the National African American Fellowship since 2012 in various roles, including Vice-President.

Chris Winford

Dr. Chris Winford has been the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Brunswick in Brunswick, Georgia, since August 2014. He holds degrees from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Beeson Divinity School. He and his wife Angela have two daughters. 

Team

Jon Nelson (Strategic Advisor)

Raised between the country and the inner city of Kansas City, Jon attended a local Missionary Baptist church and there quietly declared his atheism. Not until college did he read the Bible cover-to-cover, which began his journey toward Jesus. After receiving Christ, Jon immediately began pursuing changes that led him from an avid atheist to a pastor. Years later, Jon graduated from Midwestern Baptist Theological College after leaving Westside Family Church as the College, Young Professionals, and Single Adults Pastor.

Jon is a passionate communicator, innovative thinker, and the leader of communities that call participants to lives that make much of the glory of God. He endeavors to be a resource enabling people to effectively reach their communities by leading biblically faithful and culturally relevant lives. His greatest joy outside of Jesus is being married to his wife Heather and being a dad to their children.

Josh Wester (Executive Director)

Josh is a pastor at Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama. He previously served as Chief of Staff to the SBC President and as Chair of Research in Christian Ethics at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Josh holds an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as a Th.M. in Public Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics at Southern Seminary. He is married to McCaffity, and they have three children.