April 28, 2024
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brad Whitt, pastor of Georgia’s historic Abilene Baptist Church, will be in the running for president of the 2025 SBC Pastor’s Conference.
Dean Inserra, founding and lead pastor of CityChurch in Tallahassee, Fla., announced Tuesday that he plans to nominate Whitt, whose church gives 10% of its budget for Great Commission causes.
“He has displayed strong integrity, unwavering biblical convictions, and has shown himself to be about the kingdom of God and our cooperative efforts as Southern Baptists,” Inserra said. “His passion for reaching people for Jesus Christ is evident in how he preaches God’s Word, loves his local church, and regularly is an encourager to other pastors like myself. Abilene has experienced exciting growth and Brad Whitt has never stopped faithfully preaching the scriptures and calling people to trust in Jesus Christ.”
Inserra said Whitt is not only his fellow pastor but also his friend.
“Knowing Brad as I do, I assure you that he will put together an outstanding lineup of preachers to challenge and encourage pastors across our convention,” Inserra said. “Brad is lifetime student of preaching and for a conference built around the preaching of the Word, I can’t think of a better man than Brad Whitt to organize and lead an event that has historically meant a great deal to Southern Baptist pastors.”
Besides leading one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s oldest churches dating back some 250 years, Whitt was president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference in 2010 and has served on various SBC committees and boards.
Abilene Baptist Church, with a Sunday attendance of more than 1,200, received nearly $4.8 million in undesignated receipts last year and gave more than $136,000 through the Cooperative Program. Of the 10% of the church's budget that goes to missions, nearly 3% goes through the Cooperative Program.
“His passion for the public invitation is something I continue to learn from him, and I greatly admire his ability to lead a historic church to faithfulness in the present and have a strong vision for the future,” Inserra said. “He and his high school sweetheart Kim have four children — Laura Kate, Jack, Benjamin, and Jonathan. Brad can regularly be seen studying for sermons from his truck while joyfully doing his duties as a father waiting for his kids to finish sports practices.”
Whitt is the author of two books, Rooted and 40 Days of Refreshment. He has two earned doctorates, including a Ph.D. in preaching.
“Brad has the heart of an evangelist and his preaching displays that every Sunday morning at Abilene in the Augusta area,” Inserra said. “He has a wide range of experience having served on the Bellevue Baptist Church staff in Memphis and also planting a church in Ohio during the early days of the Nehemiah Project. What I appreciate about Dr. Brad Whitt is his love for his family, his local church, and the urgency to call people to faith in Jesus. It is my honor to nominate him to lead our 2025 Pastor’s Conference.”
