Kentucky Baptist Fellowship Hires Associate Coordinator of Missions
March 30, 2008
On March 29, 2008 the Coordinating Council of Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, meeting at Highlands Baptist Church, Louisville, voted to hire Joshua Speight as the new Associate Coordinator for Missions. He begins work April 25, 2008. Speight will coordinate missions efforts on a statewide basis with a focus on Mountain Hope, the rural poverty initiative in Eastern Kentucky.
Joshua Speight, new Associate Coordinator for Missions, and Becky Caswell Speight, visit with John Lepper, Coordinator and Alice Mull, Moderator
John Lepper, Coordinator of Kentucky Baptist Fellowship said: “Josh has the gifts and energy to lead us to sustain the good programs we already have in place. Many of these missions initiatives were begun or enhanced by Rhonda Abbott Blevins, the first Associate Coordinator for Missions of the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship. Speight brings with him the ability and vision to take us to the next level as we seek to actively engage Baptist Christians and churches in mission action, education, and support.”
Speight currently serves as Associate Pastor of North Riverside Baptist Church, Newport News, Virginia. He has been at this church since 2005. In addition to his role as Associate Pastor, he also served this church as Interim Pastor for nine months. He served two summers with Passport, Inc., one summer as Bible Study Leader and another summer as Missions Project Coordinator.
Speight’s interest in missions began when he was a student at Georgetown College. Although he resisted the call to full-time ministry, several people throughout his college and seminary years recognized his aptitude and talents for ministry and encouraged him to listen for God’s call. Josh studied chemistry and worked as a chemist, but as he worked in this secular field the call would not go away; eventually, he responded to God’s leading to full-time ministry.
In thinking about serving in this new role, Speight said: “Missions participation begins and ends with the local church. It also begins by supporting the foundation already laid by KBF, the work of Rhonda Abbott Blevins, as well as other leadership throughout the state.” In speaking of missions participation and education, Speight said, “It is about leading churches and individuals toward a greater awareness of their surrounding community, to understand their responsibility for this place which God asks each of us to be gracious stewards during our lifetime.”
Josh is a graduate of Georgetown College and Truett Seminary. He and his wife Becky Caswell Speight and their daughter Ainsley will make their home in Louisville.
Formed in 1991, Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is one of 18 state and regional affiliates of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is a fellowship of churches and individuals who share a commitment to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. The mission of the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is to equip and empower Kentucky Baptist churches and Christians, cultivate partnerships, and engage in missions.
Click here for pictures of Joshua Speight and Council meeting in which he was elected.