Roger Willmore said he never dreamed of finding himself perched atop the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) officer ladder, but now that he has stepped onto the top rung, he plans to go to work.
"I want to be a cheerleader for the Alabama Baptist State Convention … and I want to be an agent for healing and health for hurting pastors," said Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville. "Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14 is my prayer for Alabama Baptists."
Willmore, 55, was elected president of the ABSC Nov. 15 during the state convention annual meeting at Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover. He is only the second person in history to work his way through the two vice presidents’ offices consecutively, serving two one-year terms in each slot, and then be elected president.
Henry Cox, outgoing convention president and pastor of First Baptist Church, Bay Minette, was the first.
Willmore also was elected as registration secretary for the state convention in 1984 but never got to serve at a convention because he moved out of state for a few years.
Also elected to serve were:
– Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, as first vice president. He previously served one year as second vice president.
– Mike Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pelham, as second vice president. He previously served as chairman of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
– Mary Sue Bennett as recording secretary.
– Bobby DuBois as statistical secretary.
– Billy Austin as registration secretary.
As Evangelist Don Graham, a messenger from Collins Chapel Baptist Church, Jemison, nominated Willmore for convention president, he described him as a man of excellence, experience and example.
"He lives and walks the same," Graham said. "He believes in the ministry of Alabama Baptists. It will be a seamless transition for him to become the new president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention."
Willmore, who has been at Deerfoot Baptist for nearly two years, previously served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Boaz (2002–2005); First Baptist Church, Weaver (1995–2002); and Southside Baptist Church, near Gadsden (1988–1992).
He also served First Baptist Church, Mayfield, Ky.; Locust Fork Baptist Church; Cherry Street Baptist Church, Attalla; Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Union Grove; and Ephesus Baptist Church, Sprott, which was his first pastorate. Willmore was 19 years old and a student at Samford University in Birmingham at the time.
He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University with a bachelor’s in English and Luther Rice Seminary in Lithonia, Ga., with a master of divinity and a doctor of ministry. The University of Mobile bestowed an honorary doctorate upon him during this year’s spring graduation.
Willmore also served on staff with the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching in Memphis, Tenn., for three years in the 1990s and was named a fellow of the center in 2005. He currently serves on the board of trustees for LifeWay Christian Resources.
Willmore and his wife, Sandra, have been married for 33 years and have one adult son, Stephen Andrew.
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