A Conway minister who held the office of vice chairman has been elevated to the position of chairman of the Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention for 2007.
New officers, from left, are Reiny Koschel, secretary; D.J. Horton, vice chairman; and Tom Swilley, chairman.Tom Swilley, pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, was elected by acclamation at the board’s final meeting of the year Dec. 7 at the Baptist building in Columbia.
Swilley also serves on the special seven-member committee that is seeking a successor to Carlisle Driggers, who retires at the end of February after 15 years as the convention’s executive director.
The newly elected chairman will replace Mike Hamlet, pastor of First Baptist Church, North Spartanburg, who had served in that position for two successive years and was not eligible for reelection.
Other 2007 officers, also elected by acclamation, are D.J. Horton, pastor of Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church in Moore, vice chairman; and Reiny Koschel, pastor of First Baptist Church, Abbeville, secretary. Koschel also serves as secretary-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference.
At the Dec. 7 meeting, board members received an update on the search for a new executive from Tim Williams, pastor of Roebuck Baptist Church, Spartanburg County Network, and committee chairman, who said, “We are working and praying, and God is leading.”
When a candidate is chosen, the Executive Board will meet in a called session to vote on the committee’s selection, followed by a special state convention for the new executive’s election.
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