Former Southern Baptist Convention president and Tennessee Baptist pastor Steve Gaines announced to his congregation at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova on Nov. 19 that he has been diagnosed with kidney cancer.
Gaines has served as pastor of the Memphis-area church since 2005.
Gaines said he has “a great team of doctors in Memphis who are treating me.” He added that he plans to go to M.D. Anderson in Houston to consult with their physicians.
He asked Tennessee Baptists to keep him and his family in their prayers.
Bellevue Baptist Church is one of the largest congregations in both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
“I speak for our entire Tennessee network of churches when I say that we are praying for our friends, Steve and Donna, their children and grandchildren, and the Bellevue family,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
“Dr. Gaines has been a tremendous personal encourager, prayer partner and friend to me,” he continued.
“He has been one of the greatest leaders of my generation for the Southern Baptist Convention and is one of the convention’s most respected voices. Steve is a winner and Donna is a gracious and strong Christ-follower. I have full confidence that by the Lord’s grace, he will beat this cancer.”
To read the full article from the Baptist & Reflector, click here.
