Debbie Potter, minister of children at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, will be nominated for second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Her pastor Matt Homeyer will nominate Potter at Texas Baptists’ Family Gathering, July 16-18 in McAllen.
“I believe we should seek candidates both who are highly qualified to represent Texas Baptists in these positions and who, as a team, represent the perspective of as many Texas Baptists as possible. Debbie’s giftedness and experience as a leader in ministry speak for themselves,” Homeyer said.
He praised Potter as “a highly gifted, strongly called, deeply experienced minister of the gospel.” He characterized her as “an innovative thinker and practitioner in ministry to children and families” and as “a gifted preacher and a seasoned leader.”
“She knows and loves Texas Baptist churches and will serve them well in this role,” he said.
Homeyer noted the BGCT has elected only two women—Joy Fenner and Kathy Hillman—as president. Debbie Ferrier, director of women’s ministries at Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston and later minister of missions at Trinity Baptist in San Antonio, was elected BGCT second vice president in 2002.
“In a time when women are being told by many that God’s calling on their life is not valid, I believe Texas Baptists should lift up one of our own and show that we honor the call of God for women and men alike,” Homeyer said, noting the perspective of church staff members also has “been neglected in our officers.”
“Debbie will both represent and serve us well,” he said.
Encourage women in ministry
Potter said she agreed to allow her nomination because she wants to encourage women who have answered God’s call to ministry and to bring to the forefront ministry to children and their families.
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She has served as a minister to children since 1997, working six years at Parkhills Baptist Church in San Antonio before joining the staff at Trinity Baptist Church in 2003.
In addition to her role as minister of children, Potter also has served in other ministry roles at Trinity Baptist, and she was an adjunct professor at Baptist University of the Américas. She expressed gratitude to Trinity Baptist and its pastors over the past two decades who provided her opportunities to explore and exercise her gifts and calling fully.
Potter was licensed to the gospel ministry at Parkhills Baptist Church in 1998 and ordained by Trinity Baptist Church in 2005.
“It has been invigorating to have the freedom to be true to my calling,” she said. “I want other women to see what is possible in terms of accepting ministry leadership roles for which they are equipped and called to serve.”
Growing up as a “PK”—the daughter and granddaughter of preachers—in the Church of the Nazarene, Potter said she never saw examples of women serving in ministry beyond volunteer roles.
“So, I started out in public education, first as a teacher and then as an administrator,” she said.
‘Be a voice for children’
Potter said she wants to see Texas Baptist churches give greater attention to meeting the spiritual needs of children and their families.
“Too often, children have been placed on the back burner in the church. Children don’t have their own voice or give their own money. So, I want to be a voice for children and those who minister to them,” she said.
Potter also said she hopes to see greater racial, educational, socio-economic and gender diversity in Texas Baptists’ life together.
“We need to hear more voices and more perspectives,” she said.
Potter received her undergraduate degree from Southern Nazarene University and a Master of Arts degree from the School of Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Andrews University in 2015.
She has consulted and led training sessions for San Antonio Baptist Association and the BGCT, and she has mentored more than 50 young people, including international students from BUA.
Potter has written five children’s books, curriculum, multiple articles and more than 50 children’s sermons and other ministry resources she makes available on her website.
She has served on the BGCT committee to nominate boards of affiliated ministries, as a trustee of Buckner International and on the board of Alpha Home, a residential substance abuse treatment center launched by Trinity Baptist Church.
She and her husband Robert have two adult children, Chelsea and Chase.
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