Coffee to be nominated for BGCT first vice president

Ken Coffee, retired associate director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas State Missions Commission, will be nominated for first vice president of the state convention at the BGCT annual meeting in Fort Worth.

Coffee, who served more than 50 years as a Baptist pastor, associational missions director and denominational worker, announced his candidacy on his blog, “Strong Coffee.” James Shamburger, pastor of First Baptist Church in Victoria, will nominate him.

“Ken is representative of a large number of members of churches in the BGCT that still believe in missions as the core value of our convention … and still cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention,” Shamburger said.

Ken Coffee

Coffee would bring to the office insights based on years of experience in BGCT life, as well as “a vision for the future of what Texas Baptists can be,” he added.

Coffee becomes the second announced candidate for first vice president. George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, announced in September his intention to nominate Carolyn Strickland. Her husband, Phil, served 38 years with the BGCT Christian Life Commission, including nearly a quarter-century as its director.

On his blog, Coffee noted he agreed to allow his name to be entered for nomination after being contacted by a couple of people whose opinion he respects. He outlined three reasons for his candidacy:

• “First, I consider myself a Southern Baptist, and I would like to see the rift between the BGCT and the SBC healed enough so that we can at least try to work together for the sake of the gospel on issues of mutual interest,” he wrote. “I believe the laity in the vast majority of our BGCT churches feel the same way.”

• “Second, I would love to see some new people involved in our convention activity. I would love to see more of our churches represented and more different kinds of churches represented on our boards and committees,” Coffee said.

• “Third, I would love to see at least a study done of how we can involve more people in convention business. What kind of changes would be required in the constitution to hold an electronic convention, with voting at regional centers, such as our university campuses, as opposed to going to one location, the paradigm we have been using all these years?” he asked.

“Instead of just saying, ‘We can’t do it,’ why not ask, ‘What would it take to do it?’ Would it possibly multiply by the thousands those who could participate in the decisions of the convention?”

Coffee is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University, where he serves as a trustee.

Before serving 16 years at the Baptist Building in Dallas, he was director of missions for San Antonio Baptist Association 14 years. Previously, he was pastor of Harlandale Baptist Church in San Antonio.

He has been intentional interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Big Spring 16 months.

He and his wife, Martha, have two grown children, Blake of San Antonio and Risa Kacir of Honolulu, Hawaii; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.