By Philip Timothy, Message Managing Editor
Gevan Spinney’s name will be placed in nomination for the position of president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention during this year’s LBC Annual Meeting, according to a press release distributed by Waylon Bailey, pastor of First Baptist Covington and former Louisiana Baptist Convention president.
Spinney is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Haughton.
The LBC Annual Meeting is scheduled to meet Nov. 9-10 at First Baptist Church in Bossier City.
According to the release, Spinney is “a young man who loves Jesus and has a passionate heart for the lost while not compromising his conservative theology. He has served in almost every imaginable position in his association and in the state convention.”
Since becoming the pastor of First Haughton in 2003, he has overseen the church’s explosive expansion.
Under his leadership, First Haughton’s attendance has grown from 300 to 900 and the church has recently moved into a new $7 million children’s facility and worship center that seats 1200. In the last two years, the church has baptized 246, an average of 123 annually.
Additionally, the church’s budget has more than doubled through his stewardship and First Haughton gives 11 percent of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program.
“God’s hand is truly on his life and ministry,” states the release.
Spinney was licensed by the church he currently pastors in 1992 and ordained by First Haughton in 1995. His ministry involves four years as a youth pastor at Red River Baptist Church in Benton and from 1999-2002 he was the associate pastor and youth pastor at Rose Park Baptist Church in Shreveport.
In 2002, Spinney became the youth pastor at First Haughton and was so well respected by his home church that they felt led to call him as their next pastor when the position became available a couple of years later.
“If God so leads, it is believed that Gevan Spinney could be used by God to lead our Louisiana Baptist Convention at this time to new heights of mission work, CP giving and a unified strong spirit which seems to be characteristics of his ministry,” the press release states.
Spinney is married to Andrea L. Spinney and they have three children Jeb (12), Jake (10) and Jude (4). He is a graduate of Haughton High School and earned his B.S. Degree from East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas in 1998. Later, Spinney earned his M.Div. in 2005 and his D. Min. in 2015 from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.