STATESBORO, Ga. — Messengers to the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention elected new officers Tuesday to lead them in the coming year.
Steve Browning, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Alpharetta, was elected as president.
In his nominating speech, Jim Perdue, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins, said, “Steve Browning is the real deal, he is a genuine friend.” Perdue said Browning is also a faithful pastor and family man. “I’m not saying Steve Browning is Captain America,” Perdue joked, “But what I am saying is I’ve never seen the two of them in the same room at the same time.”
“It is an exciting time to be a Georgia Baptist,” Browning said in an earlier interview. “Four or five years ago, the conversation was different. We were talking about survival. Today we are talking about taking the state of Georgia for Jesus,” Browning said. Three areas in which Browning hopes to see an impact in Georgia are evangelism, church planting, and strengthening cooperation.
Browning holds a bachelor’s degree in Christian leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Master of Divinity in Christian ministries from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in evangelistic church growth from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
His ministry experience includes serving at First Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia, from 2008-2011. He later served at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula from 2011-2013. Before being called to Alpharetta, Browning served at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, from 2014-2019.
Browning’s church giving to the Cooperative Program has averaged 3.94% of undesignated receipts over the last three years. Last year, that amounted to $175,500. In addition, they have baptized 140 between 2021-2023.
This year, due to a change in the convention’s bylaws, only two vice presidents were elected. Garrett Grubbs, senior pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church in Valdosta, will serve as first vice president, and Benjamin Moore, pastor at Salem Bilingual Church and youth pastor at Salem Baptist Church in Dalton, was voted in as second vice president.
Grubbs holds a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as the lead pastor at Crossroads for the last three years. Before that, he spent 17 years at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, “focusing on the next generation and helping preach as needed.” Grubbs’ first full-time ministry position was as the student pastor at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Dothan, Ala., where he served for almost four years.
In 2023, Crossroads Baptist gave 6.1% of undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program. Since 2021, the church has given more than $220,500 to mission offerings such as Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, and Mission Georgia. The church has reported 132 baptisms between 2021-2024.
Moore holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Leadership and has served in multiple churches, including two church plants. He has served as worship leader and associate pastor at Emmaus Baptist Church, and youth pastor at Salem Baptist Church. In late 2019, Moore, who is an endorsed church planter with the North American Mission Board, planted Salem Bilingual Church in partnership with Salem Baptist Church to serve both English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
Salem Baptist’s giving to the Cooperative Program has averaged 6.9% of undesignated receipts over the last three years. Last year, that amounted to $123,850. The church also gave more than $62,000 to mission offerings such as Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, and Mission Georgia. The church has reported 96 baptisms between 2021-2023.
