Bellevue calls Adrian Rogers’ successor

CORDOVA, Tenn. (BP)–Steve Gaines, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala., for the past 14 years, will be the new pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in suburban Memphis, Tenn., as Bellevue members July 10 overwhelmingly voted to call him.

Gaines, 47, takes over for Adrian Rogers, the church’s pastor of 32 years who retired earlier this year.

“We’ll give you everything we have,” Gaines said after the church voted to call him.

The committee voted unanimously June 12 to recommend Gaines to the church as Bellevue’s next pastor.

In his sermon, Gaines preached from Acts 9:31 about the marks of a healthy church.

A healthy church is characterized by peace, edification, reverence, spirituality and growth, Gaines said.

“We need to stop talking about church growth,” Gaines said. “We need to talk about church health. A healthy church will grow.”

Since Gaines began his ministry at Gardendale in 1991, the church’s average morning worship attendance has increased from 1,600 to 3,300. The church has baptized 3,251 people during that time, leading the Alabama Baptist State Convention in baptisms seven times over the past 10 years.

Gaines previously served as pastor of West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn., and as pastor of Lake Shore Baptist Church in Lake Dallas, Texas.

Gaines and his wife, Donna, each graduated from Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Gaines completed his master of divinity and his doctor of philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

The couple has four children - Grant, 22; Lindsey, 18; Allison, 15; and Bethany, 12.

Gaines served as president of this year’s Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference and last year preached the convention sermon at the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis. He was a member of the Baptist Faith and Message Study Committee in 1999-2000 and is a former trustee of LifeWay Christian Resources.