George Wright has been unanimously called as the next senior pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, effective Aug. 16.
Wright shared his story with the Shades congregation at a “Get to Know You Event” on June 27. A church business meeting followed, during which the congregation made Wright’s call as pastor official.
He officially begins his duties as pastor Aug. 16 and then will be in the pulpit on Sunday mornings starting in mid-September.
Wright is a native of Houston but grew up in Marietta, Georgia, where his father, Bryant, was pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia and a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
He has served in a variety of student ministry roles and as teaching pastor at Johnson Ferry. From 2006 to 2017, he was planter and pastor of Cedarcrest Church in Acworth, Georgia.
‘Live sent’
He was called back to Columbia as pastor of Shandon Baptist Church in 2017. It was there he saw “an opportunity to be involved in church planting from the other side — the opportunity to send people out.”
Wright said his ministry vision is for all believers to “live sent.”
“Our desire is to equip and inspire the people of God to live the mission,” he said. “We’re about sending people back into the community but also sending them wherever the Lord calls.
“I love that Shades is so focused on sending people, even if just on short-term missions,” he said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity, and as we’ve prayed about coming, we believe that with its foundation and history, Shades has only scratched the surface of its impact in Birmingham and beyond.”
Wright and his wife, Megan, have four children.
Share with others: