Frugé named director of Center for Cultural Engagement

DALLAS—Katie Frugé has been named director of Texas Baptists’ Center for Cultural Engagement and the Christian Life Commission.

Frugé began her service with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 2019 as the hunger and human care specialist with the CLC. She later took on the role of associate director of the CLC.

“Dr. David Hardage [executive director of the BGCT] and I are grateful to add Dr. Katie Frugé to our Texas Baptists leadership team, and we know she will do a wonderful job guiding the Center for Cultural Engagement and the Christian Life Commission into the next phase of its rich and storied history,” said Craig Christina, associate executive director.

Frugé received her undergraduate degree from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and she earned her Master of Divinity degree and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Her doctorate focused on the image of God, which she believes is foundational to a holistic understanding of advocacy for human dignity and worth.

As the parent of special needs children, Frugé also assisted in the formation of the Fort Worth Special Education Parent Teacher Association.

‘Bring the secular toward the sacred’

In her new role, Frugé will oversee all of the Center for Cultural Engagement’s ministries, including the CLC, African American ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, intercultural ministries and chaplaincy relations.

“The Center for Cultural Engagement helps equip Texas Baptists to engage in our respective communities. God calls us to be salt and light. We help bring others into community with God’s people through building bridges between groups, seeking justice, healing brokenness, confronting systemic evils and speaking truth to power,” Frugé said.

“We do this to bring the secular toward the sacred. I’m honored to help serve God’s kingdom and Texas Baptists in this capacity and look to the future with great joy and anticipation.”

Frugé’s Texas Baptists roots run deep as her grandfather, T.W. Hunt, taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1963 to 1987.

She and her husband, D.L., have lived in Fort Worth more than a decade. They have three daughters, two of whom have special needs. Their experiences with disabilities have been a key reason for her family’s work in educational, health and social advocacy.

Frugé will assume the role from Gus Reyes, who is retiring from the BGCT after serving 21 years. Reyes served in a variety of roles during his time at the BGCT, including serving as the director of congregational relationships, the Hispanic Education Initiative, affinity ministries and the CLC.

He has presented a paper at the United Nations in New York on religious freedom, testified before Senate committees in Austin and Washington, D.C., and been invited to attend briefings at the White House under the Obama and Trump administrations.

Reyes will continue to serve in a contract capacity with Texas Baptists, helping executive leadership continue to reach the Hispanic community.