Hardwick
FRANKLIN — Nashville pastor Jay Hardwick of Forest Hills Baptist Church will be nominated for the presidency of the Tennessee Baptist Convention at the annual meeting held Nov. 12-15 in Chattanooga.
Hardwick will be nominated by Corey Cain, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Seymour.
Hardwick, who became senior pastor of Forest Hills in December of 2020, currently serves as chairman of the Acts 2:17 Initiative Vision Team and is a trustee at Union University in Jackson.
Prior to moving to Tennessee, he served as associate executive director/chief strategist of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
A graduate of North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C., Hardwick earned his master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
He currently is pursuing his doctor of ministry degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.
He and his wife, Lara Beth, have three daughters.
Cain said the fact that Hardwick is chairing the vision team which is responsible for the future direction of the TBC and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board was a major factor in his desire to nominate him for the position.
“We believe the continuity of him chairing the Acts 2:17 Initiative Vision Team and serving as president of the convention will be invaluable as we roll out what is ahead for both the TBC and the TBMB,” Cain said.
“Though Jay has been in our state only three years, he has assimilated well into our convention. His leadership skills are exactly what we need as we look to the future,” Cain added.
According to the Annual Church Profile, Forest Hills gave 10.02 percent of its undesignated receipts through the Cooperative Program and baptized 30 people in 2022.
Traditionally, Tennessee Baptists have elected a new president each year on a rotating basis from each grand region of the state.
That changed last year, however, when Clay Hallmark of West Tennessee was elected to a second term as TBC president.
Todd Stinnett, pastor of Black Oak Heights Baptist Church, is the other announced candidate to this point.
Stinnett will be nominated by Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown. B&R
