Bill W. Coffman, retired Florida Baptist language missions and Cooperative Program leader, died Aug. 6. He was 88. The native Texan served as a missionary with the then-Foreign Mission Board (International Mission Board) prior to serving several churches in Florida and then the Florida Baptist Convention.
Coffman and his wife, Ann, served as international missionaries in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he is credited with starting the first organized Hispanic Baptist church and also the first English language church, which met in their home. Next, he and his wife served in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico, where he pastored a church near Ramey Air Force Base.
Following his missionary service in Puerto Rico, Coffman relocated to Miami, where he pastored Flagler Street Baptist Church. He also served as pastor of Central Baptist Church in Sanford, First Baptist Church in Crestview, Arlington Baptist Church in Jacksonville and Westview Baptist Church in Sanford.
Coffman served the Florida Baptist Convention in two roles: director of language missions, 1990—92, and director of the Cooperative Program Department, 1992–June 30, 2002, when he officially retired. His years as a Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board missionary prepared him for his Florida Baptist Convention roles. Coffman’s language and cultural understanding skills, honed on the international mission field, proved valuable in his Florida Baptist language missions assignment. Additionally, his first-hand experience of being a recipient of Cooperative Program support on the international mission field and his service as a pastor of several Florida Baptist churches undergirded his leadership role in Florida related to the Cooperative Program.
In 1987 Coffman served as president of the Florida Baptist State Convention.
Coffman was a graduate of Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth.
In addition to his wife of 67 years, Coffman is survived by his daughter, Kay, and her husband, Steve, and his grandson, Joshua, and his wife, Kristen.
A celebration of life service will be Sept. 14 at Westview Baptist Church in Sanford, and visitation will also be at the church the evening of Sept. 13.
To read an obituary and for details about service arrangements, please visit the website of
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Westview Baptist Church, 4100 H.E. Thomas Parkway, Sanford, FL 32771
