It could not be a more favorable time for Bill Curtis to be re-elected trustee chairman of the North American Mission Board. Not for Curtis, not for NAMB.
Bill CurtisCurtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, has been tapped for a second term as trustee chairman as NAMB begins anew under the leadership of its freshly elected president, Geoffrey Hammond, and approaches its 10th anniversary as the Southern Baptist entity that succeeded the former Home Mission Board.
Those two facts alone make this “a very significant year” is how Curtis sees it. “We have a unique opportunity to refine our focus and expand our vision for church planting and evangelistic work across North America,” the Florence pastor told The Baptist Courier. “I ask South Carolina Baptists to pray diligently for NAMB this year as we strive to accomplish all that God has for us to do.”
Calling the presidential search committee that recommended Hammond as president an “amazing group of men and women,” Curtis took note of the “tremendous debt of gratitude” owed to the committee and declared, “I believe that Southern Baptists will embrace Dr. Hammond’s leadership.”
The trustee chairman referred to Hammond as “the man God has chosen to lead NAMB into the future,” noting that he is a third-generation missionary, he has experience at the state convention level, and he has a “passion for church planting.”
“This has been the focus of his ministry through the years, and he brings that expertise to NAMB,” Curtis said. “If we are going to reach North America for Christ, it will require the planting of new churches. He will be able to lead NAMB to new heights of assisting churches and state conventions in this area.”
Curtis also underscored Hammond’s emphasis on evangelism, saying, “His entire focus is to assist our convention in fulfilling the Great Commission. I have no doubt that NAMB’s greatest days lie ahead, and I believe Dr. Hammond is God’s man to lead us into that future.”
Acknowledging that the past year has been a “very trying one” for the North American Mission Board, Curtis said the trustees “stood strong as we navigated those troubling days.”
He continued, “We acknowledged where mistakes had been made, and we made the correctives that were necessary to ensure that we wouldn’t find ourselves in those situations again.”
Again expressing his admiration of the trustees, Curtis said, “NAMB is stronger today than it has ever been as a result of their labors.” He noted that the trustees were “transparent with Southern Baptists” in their work, adding, “And believe me, Southern Baptists were watching.”
“And,” he pointed out, “I believe that Southern Baptists were pleased with our work. The evidence of that was the record Annie Armstrong Offering we received last year. I believe that offering was an affirmation of our work by Southern Baptists.” He expressed gratitude to “every Southern Baptist across South Carolina and the nation for their generous missions giving last year,” which he said “made it possible for us to expand our evangelistic and church-planting efforts.”
Curtis paid tribute to the “rich tradition and history” of what was the Home Mission Board, saying he wants to “be sure that we never forget all that God did through the HMB and all the wonderful servants God used in home missions throughout those years.”
Emphasizing that his first year as board chairman was “one I will never forget, filled with both challenges and opportunities,” Curtis expressed gratitude to God for “trusting me with this responsibility in his larger kingdom work,” and for the support he received from other trustees, from South Carolina Baptists, and from his family.
The Florence pastor said he is looking forward to his second year as chairman with “great joy and anticipation,” adding, “I wait with excitement to see what God will do in this new chapter at NAMB.”