Paul Chitwood
Paul Chitwood is an American Baptist minister who is the 13th and current president of the International Mission Board, serving since 2018.
Early life and ministry
Paul Chitwood was born in Jellico, Tennessee.[1] In 1992, he earned a bachelor's degree at Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg, Kentucky.[1] He later attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he earned the Master of Divinity in 1995 and a doctorate degree in 2001.[2]
Chitwood became pastor of South Fork Baptist Church in Owenton, Kentucky, in 1993.[2] In 1995, he left South Fork and became pastor of First Baptist Church in Owenton, serving until 1999.[2] That year, he became pastor of First Baptist Church in Somerset, Kentucky.[2] In 2003, he left to pastor First Baptist Church in Mount Washington, Kentucky, serving until his election as executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 2011.[2]
Chitwood married in 1993; his wife's name is Michelle, and they have one son, Daniel, and three daughters: Anna, Cai, and Lilly.[2]
Work with the Southern Baptist Convention
In 2002, Chitwood joined the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.[1] That same year, he became a trustee of the International Mission Board, and he was chosen president of the Kentucky state pastors' conference.[2] He was elected to a one-year term as first vice-president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 2004, and was elected to a one-year term as president the following year.[2] In 2008, he was chosen by his follow trustees as chair of the IMB board of trustees.[1] He left the board in 2010 and was elected executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 2011.[1]
In 2015, Chitwood was the chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's Committee on Nominations.[2] On November 6, 2018, he announced his candidacy for president of the International Mission Board.[3] He was endorsed by Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board; and Sandra Wisdom-Martin, executive director of the Woman's Missionary Union.[3] On November 15, he was elected by a unanimous vote of the IMB's board of trustees and took office immediately.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Leadership". International Mission Board. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McGowan, Julie (January 23, 2019). "Chitwood to be Installed as IMB President Feb. 6". The Pathway. Missouri Baptist Convention. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Lovell, Ann (November 15, 2018). "Kentucky's Paul Chitwood to lead IMB, world's largest missions group". Kentucky Today. Retrieved December 10, 2018.