NASHVILLE (BP)—Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone—vice chair of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force—will be nominated for president of the SBC at the annual meeting in Indianapolis.
California pastor Victor Chayasirisobhon announced in a release Jan. 30 his intention to nominate Keahbone.
“Mike Keahbone is the real deal, a leader who loves the Lord, loves the SBC, and strives every day to make it better. He is a son of the SBC, and I am convinced he is more than ready to step up and step into the role of president,” Chayasirisobhon said.
Keahbone is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Lawton, Okla. He has served as a member of the SBC Executive Committee since 2021. In addition to serving on the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, he also was a member of the Sexual Abuse Task Force.
“Mike led student ministries for more than two decades before spending two years as a full-time evangelist speaking at local churches throughout the country as well as multiple camps including Falls Creek and state evangelism conferences,” the release said.
The fiscal year for First Baptist Church in Lawton ends March 31. Therefore, the last completed year on record with the Annual Church Profile is 2022.
During that year, the church received $1,401,565 in undesignated receipts and gave $88,057.87 (6.28 percent) to the Cooperative Program, according to the ACP. The church also gave $45,762 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and $18,337.94 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in 2022.
A church staff member told Baptist Press, “The 2023-2024 fiscal year has an approved undesignated receipt budget of $1,690,973 with Cooperative (Program) giving of $102,483 [6.06 percent].”
The church recorded 623 people in average weekly attendance in 2023 and 54 baptisms, the church staff member reported.
On Jan. 28, Keahbone asked church members for their blessing related to his nomination. According to a release from the church, they unanimously stated, “It is our joy to affirm God’s leadership in this decision, and we prayerfully commit to supporting our pastor in this endeavor.”
Keahbone served on the Oklahoma Baptist Board of Directors from 2015 to 2021, serving as vice president from 2017 to 2021.
A Native American with heritage from the Comanche, Kiowa and Cherokee tribes, Keahbone served on the 2023 SBC Resolutions Committee and helped write the resolution titled, “On Religious Liberty, Forced Conversion, and the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report,” which was adopted by SBC messengers.
One other anticipated presidential nomination has been announced so far—North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley.
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