EDITOR’S NOTE — The Baptist Paper reached out to those who have announced intentions to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention. No other nominees had been announced at press time. See Q&A with Willy Rice. ALSO, see full 2026 SBC Preview here.
Josh Powell
Age: 51
Current position and title: Pastor of Taylors
First Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina
Years of ministry service overall: Nearly 30 years
What led you to allow your name to be placed in nomination for SBC president?
I am a 3rd generation Southern Baptist pastor. I was birthed, raised and educated by Southern Baptists. My wife’s father and grandfather were also Southern Baptist pastors.
I have pastored three Southern Baptist churches — small, medium and large. I owe so much to Southern Baptists.
When I was approached by several friends within the SBC and asked to be nominated, I considered it an honor.
The presidency is a stewardship, not an agenda-driven platform, and if elected to be president, I would consider it an honor to lead in a way that continues to advance the work we have been cooperating together to accomplish for the last 180 years.
If you could improve one thing in the SBC as president, what would that be? How would you go about it?
I would improve the conversation.
Over the last several years we have focused on the problems that we have before us, and while those problems are legitimate, they have dominated our conversations together.
This focus upon our problems has led to more division rather than unity.
The focus must be shifted to our priorities. We can deal with our problems, but they cannot become our focus. So, we can either focus on our priorities or our problems, but we cannot do both.
My hope would be to put our energy into our priorities and work to keep our focus there, even as we deal with the challenges before us.
Amid all the political and divisive messaging online, specifically social media, how can Southern Baptists stand up for truth while also helping bring a voice of calm amid the noise?
I believe it is vital that our messaging reflects our convictions and true priorities, but we do that by a rhetoric that consistently bears the fruit of the Spirit; if we are to cooperate, we must not treat fellow believers as enemies, but be examples of humility and gentleness. I hope to assist in being a calm, steady voice in the SBC.
Amid a shortage of pastors/and a need for more bivocational pastors, how would you address this issue if elected?
I believe that this one of the biggest challenges before us in the SBC.
We must recognize and encourage those that are bivocational pastors in our convention, and we must do a better job of calling out the called.
I would hope to come alongside some of these initiatives that are already happening in our state conventions and through (the North American Mission Board), and I would like to encourage our local church pastors to be more intentional in their calling of others to the ministry. We can never stop calling out the next generation of leaders and pastors.
If you were asked to clearly communicate the mission of the SBC, what would you say?
The mission of the SBC is in our charter — one sacred effort: train pastors, plant churches, reach the nations. We are at our best when we are laser focused on the Great Commission.
What are your thoughts on the Cooperative Program’s future? How have your views of CP giving/designated giving changed or remained the same in recent years. Please explain.
I believe the CP is still the best mechanism for funding our cooperative efforts. I believe that it must remain our primary means of support. I know that there are many things that have caused the decline in CP over the past twenty years, but I believe the only way strengthen it again is to bring our focus back to the mission.
People want to know that they can be a part of something that is great, and there is nothing greater than the privilege of serving alongside other faithful Southern Baptists to reach the nations with the gospel, plant more churches, and train more pastors. This is the work we are doing now, our missionaries are reaching the unreached at an unprecedented rate, our church planters are establishing churches in some of the toughest places in North America, and our seminaries are training more pastors and leaders than ever before; imagine what they could accomplish if we would lean in with greater generosity.
I hope that people will see that the CP is the best funding mechanism for the advancement of the gospel in the world today.
