IMB vice president resigns after 20 years

RICHMOND, Va. — Citing a clear call from God to “get out of the boat and walk on the water,” John White has resigned as executive vice president of the International Mission Board (IMB), effective June 30, after almost 20 years of service with the missions agency. In a June 25 chapel service, White told IMB staff members about his difficult decision to obey God and leave the IMB without knowing exactly what God has in store for him next.

White is a graduate of Samford University in his native Bir­mingham. He worked as a regional field adviser and assistant to the president of the Chick-Fil-A corporation in Atlanta before he and his wife, Trudy, were appointed as missionaries to Brazil in 1983.

He served as treasurer for the organization of Southern Baptist missionaries in Brazil before coming to IMB headquarters as assistant vice president for overseas operations in 1995. He became the IMB’s executive vice president in 1996 after the retirement of Don Kammerdiener. Clyde Meador, associate vice president of general administration in the IMB’s office of overseas operations, has been asked to assume the responsibilities of interim vice president until a replacement for White is selected.