DULUTH, Ga. – Flat Creek Baptist Church Pastor Josh Saefkow, the only announced nominee for president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, would use the position to urge church leaders to focus on what’s most important.
“I believe it’s time to get back to what makes Southern Baptists so unique, our focus on evangelism, education, and missions,” he said in a Q&A with The Christian Index.
The Christian Index asked Saefkow a series of questions in a Q&A this week. What follows are those questions and his unedited responses.
The Index: Please tell us about your salvation experience and your call to preach.
Saefkow: I surrendered to Jesus when I was 12 years old. I was the quarterback of our football team and was throwing the ball with a wide receiver, Cody Davenport. I was sharing how lost I felt because of the brokenness within my family. Cody, also 12, graciously took a moment to express my need for a Savior to my family’s sin problem. I am forever indebted to Cody for being willing to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly and confidently. God used him to change my life and eternity.
I was called to vocational ministry when I was 16 years old at a student camp. It was as if God touched me on the shoulder and said, “I am calling you to serve.”
The Index: What do you consider to be the biggest issue facing Georgia Baptists today?
Saefkow: The past two years have been difficult for us all due to COVID, the economy, stress, and anxiety. We have navigated some uncharted waters in the past few years. However, I believe it’s time to get back to what makes Southern Baptists so unique, our focus on evangelism, education, and missions.
The Index: The office of president provides a platform to champion causes or focus attention on issues. If elected, what causes do you hope to champion or what issues do you want to draw attention to?
Saefkow: I want to highlight how the Cooperative Program empowers missions and ministries. Allied with our Associational Missionary Strategists, I would focus on taking the gospel to our communities across Georgia, calling out the called, and celebrating how we can do more together than we can apart.
The Index: We know that your congregation is a huge supporter of the Cooperative Program, which has been rightly described as the greatest evangelistic initiative of the modern church age. We’re glad when we see this kind of commitment to reaching our state, nation, and world with the gospel. Tell us what it is about the Cooperative Program that has made you such a supporter.
Saefkow: Flat Creek Baptist Church gets excited about local, state, and foreign missions. We are motivated and inspired by our Mission Board staff, our three Georgia Baptist schools, Collegiate Ministries, and our Mission Georgia efforts. We are proud to be Georgia Baptists.
The Index: The Georgia Baptist Convention is, of course, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. Amazing things have been accomplished over those two centuries. Are you optimistic that the convention’s best days are ahead or pessimistic that our best days are behind us? Why?
Saefkow: Standing on the solid theological shoulders that have gone before us, the future is bright for Georgia Baptists. The steadfastness and commitment to the Word of God in our local churches and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board give me the hope that God has a fantastic new day prepared for us.