president of the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday during the denomination’s annual
meeting being held this week in Orlando, Fla.
The pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., defeated pastor Ted Traylor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., in a runoff election, earning 55 percent of the vote. He succeeds the Rev. Johnny Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock in suburban Atlanta.
Photo of Bryant White courtesy of Baptist Press
As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination focuses on increasing its
membership amid declines in recent years, Wright is described as a pastor with
a demonstrated commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission.
“While we’ve been talking about the Great Commission, Bryant’s been
quietly leading his church to do it,” said pastor David Uth of First Baptist Church of Orlando, according to Baptist
Press.
In a nomination speech, Uth said the church Wright planted 28 years ago
baptized 478 people last year, started seven churches in Cobb County, Ga., and
gave more than $2.7 million to missions last year. Baptist Press reported
earlier this year that Johnson Ferry reduced its missions giving in response to
the recession.
Wright’s election comes on the heels of a vote Tuesday to shift
resources from Southern regions to parts of the U.S. and the world where the
denomination may be able to bolster membership, which has remained at roughly
16 million for the last decade.
Among
the recommendations made by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force were to plant Southern Baptist churches
in cities where none currently exist, such as Seattle, Chicago and Boston, and
to focus on evangelizing foreign-born Hispanics and Haitians in states such as
Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The annual Southern Baptist Convention, which drew more
than 10,000 delegates, ends Wednesday.
