Sands, Vassey to be nominees for SCBC offices

Alex Sands and Brad Vassey
Rudy Gray

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Alex Sands and Brad Vassey will be candidates for convention offices when South Carolina Baptists meet at Spartanburg’s Church at The Mill in November.

Sands, pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Simpsonville, will be nominated as president-elect of the South Carolina Baptist Convention by Charleston First Baptist pastor Marshall Blalock at this year’s annual meeting.

Beau Bradberry, pastor of Willow Ridge Church, plans to nominate Vassey, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in York, as first vice president.

Vassey said to be nominated is “truly special,” and he agreed to allow his name to be presented because he “believes our state convention wants Jesus to win lives all over world and puts time in equipping our churches to be a part of that.”

If elected, Sands would become the first African-American president in the history of the SCBC. The president-elect automatically becomes president following a year of service.

Sands currently serves as first vice president, and his church came into existence in 2003 as a church plant, joining the SCBC in 2005. Blalock said, “I know Alex has a heart for the harvest, and that he is a firm believer in partnerships for the sake of the gospel. He preaches God’s word faithfully, lives as a disciple of Christ, and has the respect of those who know him as a leader. The future of the SCBC would be well-served with a president of the character and wisdom of Alex.”

Sands has a background in engineering, earning two degrees from North Carolina State University and Georgia Tech. He received his master of divinity from Gardner-Webb University. Blalock emphasized that the church has “consistently supported the Cooperative Program,” giving 2.1 percent of undesignated receipts to CP in 2018.

Sands and his wife, Shana, have lived in the Greenville area for the past 22 years and are the parents of two sons, Christian and Blake.

He has served on the Executive Board of the SCBC and as vice chairman of the executive-director search committee, as well as being active in the Greenville Baptist Association, serving a term as moderator.