October 2, 2026
RINGGOLD, Ga. — He has literally had a front row seat to observe Georgia Baptist history unfolding, seated at the Recording Secretary’s desk at the Georgia Baptist Conventions. People may not recognize his face, but he said that people in elevators and hotel lobbies recognize his voice.: "If you will take out your ballots and turn to ballot number...”
For the past 22 years, Danny Henson has served as the assistant (five years) and the recording secretary (17 years) of the GBC. He has also served as a member of the GBC Executive Committee for nearly 30 years, first representing his association and then in his capacity as assistant and recording secretary. He's only missed a few Executive Committee meetings “due to illness or funerals” in that time. All his service has been in a volunteer capacity to the convention while serving as a pastor.
The role of the recording secretary has changed since the GBC was organized in 1822. In the early days, the position included registering messengers, recording the minutes of conventions, collecting data from the associations, and editing and overseeing the publication of the annual minutes. Continuity in this role is valuable, and the longest serving recording secretary held a tenure of 47 years from 1897 to 1943.
“Today,” Henson said, “we don't have to deal with the hands-on (registration) process; that's all handled by convention staff. We are responsible for the voting process, especially those done by ballot vote. Reporting to the platform, the outcome of those ballots, and the official registration numbers of the convention. Instructing people how to use the microphone system to point out details so the business and any votes are done in the right manner and without any confusion and hesitation. We are also responsible for getting any motions or resolutions to the proper committees at the end of the day.”
Henson recalled that in 2003, “Wayne Hamrick called and said, ‘Danny, would you be interested in serving with Billy Britt?’ Billy was going to be nominated for the recording secretary, and he wanted to know if I'd serve as his assistant with Harris Malcolm." He added that, "Billy kept it for a few years and was unable to attend one of the conventions. They reached out to me and wanted to know if I'd be willing to let my name be entered in nomination for the recording secretary.”
Henson said, “I had made a decision, when I started in ministry, that I wanted to be actively involved with the convention. Whether that meant serving in some capacity or just being there to be supportive.”
He continued, “I've had a lot of pastors over the years, from small to mid-sized churches, ask me how it is that somebody that's never pastored a mega church has held a position as long as I have. It stems from the fact that when you're asked to do something, you just step up and do it again.
It encourages those guys that you don't have to be the pastor of a mega church to serve. We are still a convention of small to mid-sized churches. And I think that's one of the reasons the Lord's let me hang around in this position as long as I have, to encourage those pastors. It's been a real honor to be able to do this.”
Henson said, “I was born in Ellijay, Georgia, and left in 1969 to go to West Georgia College. I took a job in the vending industry during college and wound up staying in the vending business for 16 years. I was a senior vice president of the company. In June 1978, I preached my first sermon while still a businessman. Then, in September, I became the children and youth director in a little country church that was starting a bus ministry. For the next seven years, I served and we saw literally dozens and dozens of kids saved, many of them, their families, mothers, and dads. I went on to pastor that church, Eureka Baptist Church, in Carrollton, Georgia, for 11 years.
“In 1989, we moved to Ringgold andhave been here ever since.” He’s pastored three churches in the Ringold area (Mount Pisgah for eight years, New Liberty for 22 years, and, more recently in retirement Hickory Grove for four years).
He and first wife Ruth Ann, who passed away from leukemia in 1994, had two children, Roxanne and Daniel. He has four grandkids, three of whom have finished college and one remaining in high school.
His second wife Kathy is a pharmacist who retired as assistant director of the pharmacy at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton. She's a native of Ringgold, Henson said, “She has been truly one of God's great blessings in my family's life, she's amazing!”
He has served the local community in various ways. “I've always operated with the mentality that a pastor needed to make a commitment not only to his church, but to the community. I've been involved with the school systems, and I've done mentoring. I was the chairman of the community food ministry for 30 years and the chairman of the 'stocking full of love,' which is a ministry to needy children, especially around Christmas time, for over 20 years.”
When asked about the future of the GBC, he said, “I'd love to see more emphasis placed on smaller churches. It's hard for bi-vocational men to find the time. I'm seeing some change in that as well, which is a good thing. I guarantee there's no such thing as a bi-vocational pastor; it's a pastor with two full-time jobs.”
He added, “I'm excited about the emphasis on evangelism.”
“I personally would like to see better communication and education on the significance of the Cooperative Program. If it doesn't get talked about from the pulpit, it probably is not going to happen in the local church.
Henson, who is 74 years old, was asked, “How can people pray for you?”
He said, “If I could put it in one sentence, it'd be to help move our people from rhetoric to reality. Historically, as a denomination, we know the vocabulary. We can tell a good story. I want to help move us from just telling a good story to being a good story, as we serve the Lord.”
For the past 22 years, Henson has not only recorded and observed GBC history, but he has also helped make it. The recording secretary is a position that may be overlooked, but it is important to ensure that the business of the convention is done decently and in order. That makes Danny Henson one of the many unsung heroes of the Georgia Baptist Convention.
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