Pastor, horse lover Josh Saefkow in running for president of Georgia Baptist Convention

Saefkow is the only announced presidential nominee leading up to the Georgia Baptist Convention annual meeting set for Nov. 13-15 at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – Josh Saefkow has learned a great deal about building trust and fostering relationships by spending time around the stables where his horse, Lil Joe, hangs out.

Saefkow, the Fayetteville pastor who is being nominated for president of the Georgia Baptist Convention later this month, said corrals can be great classrooms.

“When it comes to horses, everything is done in steps,” he said. “Each step builds upon another. One step leads to the next. You can’t rush it. You have to build trust with the horse. It requires total commitment and loving patience to do it well.”

It’s not lost on Saefkow, who has served at Flat Creek Baptist Church since 2016, that healthy churches are built the same way, one step at a time, under the leadership of committed, loving pastors.

Saefkow is such a pastor, said Bill Priester, pastor emeritus at Flat Creek Baptist.

“He thrives on loving on people, encouraging people, praying for people, and meeting people’s needs,” Priester said. “He’s one of the most gifted preachers I’ve ever known. I’m delighted to call him my pastor.”

Along with his pastoral duties, Saefkow is a former vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention who now serves as chairman of the Georgia Baptist Executive Committee. In that role, he also serves as an ex-officio member of all other convention committees.

Buford First Baptist Church Lead Pastor Stephen Fountain said he intends to nominate Saefkow during the annual meeting set for Nov. 13-15 at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta.

“In recent years, I have become more and more convinced that the men most needed in leadership throughout our convention are the men who are the least ambitious to obtain that leadership,” Fountain said in announcing his intention to make the nomination in September. “Josh Saefkow is that man.”

“He’s a faithful husband, a loving dad, a passionate pastor, and a dynamic preacher,” Fountain said. “His calm demeanor, humble spirit, quiet strength, and unifying presence is what Georgia Baptists need in current days. Where it’s a great temptation to have a willingness to serve the Lord with a desire to hold positions of leadership, Josh has a desire to serve the Lord with a willingness to carry the burden of leadership if needed. Today, in Georgia Baptist life, he is needed.”

Saefkow, 38, said he will be “humbled and honored” to accept the nomination.

“I want to bring Georgia Baptists together to help fan the flame of the gospel of Jesus to bring more Georgians to Christ,” Saefkow said at the time. “I really believe God can use me to unify us in this time. This is a unique time, filled with lots of tensions. We’ve argued long enough. I want us to come together for the cause of Christ.”

Fountain said Saefkow’s gifts as a unifier have been on display in the Executive Committee meetings.

Saefkow became a believer as a 12-year-old on the football field. His best friend and classmate, Cody Davenport, introduced him to Christ.

“I was the quarterback, and he was a wide receiver,” Saefkow said. “I was sharing with him some of what was going on in our family. I was having a tough time. He just so graciously led me to Jesus. His father was pastor of our church and our football coach.”

Saefkow began praying for his parents, especially his father who, at the time, was, in his words, “a card-carrying atheist” who worked as a disc jockey at a bar. His parents were on the brink of divorce.

Saefkow asked his father to read the Gospel of John. He did. And his life was transformed. He accepted Christ and became a passionate believer.

One of Saefkow’s most-prized possessions is a note written in the margin of his Bible at the end of John’s Gospel: “Thanks for your prayers and for not giving up on me.”

“My dad gave his life to the Lord, and my mom gave her life to the Lord,” Saefkow said. “They’ve been faithful in church since 2006. It was a complete 180-degree change through repentance and belief. God redeemed it all.”

Priester said Saefkow is a devoted family man. He and his wife, Kelsie, a nurse in Fayetteville, have two daughters, Chloe, 11, and Sophie, 9, both of whom are Christ followers.

Kelsie’s father, Randall Culpepper, former pastor at Taylor Mills Baptist Church in Reynolds, is now a member at Flat Creek, as are several others in his family. That, Priester said, speaks well of a pastor when those who know him best want to be under his ministry.

Saefkow holds a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from Liberty University and a doctorate from Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Saefkow’s church gives 10 percent of all receipts, not just undesignated receipts, through the Cooperative Program. Last year, that amounted to nearly $188,000.

His church has had 62 baptisms so far this year.

Saefkow, who was an associate pastor at Abilene Baptist Church in Augusta before moving to Fayetteville, told the Index earlier this year that a simple, four-word prayer changed his ministry: “Lord, make me useable.”

Since then, the Lord has opened door after door for Saefkow. He became chairman of the Executive Committee earlier this year, after serving two years as vice chairman. He also has served on the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Administration Committee and the Public Affairs Committee.

“Because I was willing to take that step of obedience, it ended up leading to all these places,” Saefkow said. “I just try to be faithful.”

David Wheeler, a professor of evangelism who taught Saefkow at the Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary, said he’s not surprised that Saefkow holds positions of leadership in the convention.

“That’s just Josh,” Wheeler said. “That’s who he is. I could see that a long time ago. He is an epitome of a pastor/evangelist. He loves people, and you don’t have to be around him long to know he loves Jesus.”

Wheeler said Saefkow always had a teachable spirit, always eager to learn best practices to become a better pastor.

“He was wise to seek out people in his life who would help him to grow,” Wheeler said.