A record 1,379 South Carolina Baptist pastors and leaders converged at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia under the theme “Called Out,” marking the beginning of a multi-year emphasis to raise up the next generation of pastors and church leaders.
Setting the tone for the first session, Lee Clamp, associate executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said, “Maybe your greatest accomplishment is not this ministry that you led. Maybe your greatest accomplishment will be that one person you developed.”
Building on this idea, Speaker Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, invited leaders to reflect on their own stories of calling. “Think about who it was in your life that God used in an instrumental way to raise you up in ministry,” Dew said. “What’s now your responsibility in the next generation?”
A Picture of the Next Generation
Clamp invited two young men to the stage, Aiden Ratcliffe and Levi Powell, both currently serving through SCBaptist’s Catalyst program, to illustrate what intentional investment can produce.
Students and young leaders engage in the main session as the SCBaptist Convention launches Generation Timothy.
Powell emphasized the influence of his family on his walk with Christ. “My dad taught me the gospel not just as a pastor, but as a parent,” he said. He explained that his sense of calling grew through consistent gospel investment from his family and church community.
Ratcliffe echoed a similar story, sharing that through a ministry internship at his church, he was provided with hands-on leadership opportunities. “They taught me what it was like to be a leader in a church context and how to share the gospel in a strategic, Christ-centered way,” he said.
What God is doing in the lives of Ratcliffe and Powell represents what can happen when the church intentionally recognizes, nurtures, and releases those sensing a call to ministry.
Launching Generation Timothy
Tony Wolfe, SCBaptist executive director-treasurer, echoed the need to raise up the next generation of pastors, sharing that, at any given time, there are between 150-200 Baptist churches in South Carolina looking for a pastor. This need led SCBaptists to launch Generation Timothy, an all-hands-on-deck approach to building pastor pipelines and identifying, mentoring, training, and releasing faithful leaders into ministry. Drawing from Acts 16, where Timothy’s faith was shaped first by his grandmother and mother and later strengthened through Paul’s mentorship, the initiative emphasizes shared responsibility in raising the next generation of faithful leaders.
Aiden Ratcliffe shares about the impact of an internship on his call to ministry.
Without deliberate effort to identify and develop future shepherds, the gap will only widen in the years ahead. “Sooner or later, we will have an entire generation of churches without a generation of Timothys,” Wolfe said. “So, what’s the solution? Generation Timothy.” For the next several years, the Convention will give focused, strategic attention to Generation Timothy. “While we set our sight on the office of pastor,” Wolfe said, “God will also grant us the joy of raising others to their unique gifting and callings as well.”
Pastors and church leaders are encouraged to follow updates and explore available information at scbaptist.org/generationtimothy, where additional resources and next steps will continue to be shared in the months ahead.
As Dew reminded leaders, this work begins with a faithful response to God’s call. “As he calls you, he’ll clarify you. But it begins with a simple yes or no,” he said. That response starts with churches being willing to pray, to look intentionally for those God may be calling, and to walk alongside them in the process. Through Generation Timothy, South Carolina Baptists are committing to do that work together.
— Anna Gardner is creative editor for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
