Four leaders to be renominated to serve as 2024-25 Florida Baptist officers

Four Florida Baptist leaders will be renominated to serve as 2024-25 officers of the Florida Baptist State Convention when the annual meeting convenes in Orlando, Nov. 10-12.

Chipley pastor Mike Orr will be renominated as the 2024-25 president by Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.

“Pastor Mike Orr has served us well as president this year. He is a longtime Florida Baptist leader, and in this year of transition with a new executive director-treasurer, his steady hand will be a needed strength for our convention,” Traylor said.

Orr, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Chipley, was elected in November 2023 to serve his first term as FBSC president after being nominated by Traylor.

He has pastored First Baptist Church of Chipley since 2000, and he has led his church to be among the state convention’s top 100 churches in number of baptisms. Over the past 10 years, First Baptist Chipley has baptized more than 200 people. He also has led his church to be one of the convention’s top ten givers to the Cooperative Program, giving 15% of its undesignated receipts to Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving.

Orr served on Florida Baptists’ State Board of Missions for two terms, 2016-19 and 2019-22, serving twice as its president, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

As 2023-24 FBSC president, Orr served as an ex officio member on the recent Florida Baptist executive director-treasurer search committee.

First vice president

David Perez, pastor of Iglesia Casa de Bendicion in St. Cloud and director of prayer for the National Hispanic Baptist Network, will be nominated by Manuel Barahona to serve his second term as FBSC first vice president.

“Pastor David Pérez is a pastor and leader who leads his congregation well. He is also a leader amongst leaders,” said Barahona, pastor at Westside Baptist Church in Boynton Beach.

Barahona noted that Perez “leads his family,” as his wife and children work together in ministry. He also said that Pastor Perez has a passion “to teach his congregation the Word of God and that they seek and love the Lord with all their hearts,” adding that Perez “wants to make sure that everyone can see the importance of keeping faithful to God.”

For the past three years, Perez has led a daily morning devotional and prayer time on social media, with the number increasing of those who “follow” him.  When the pandemic first took hold in 2020, Perez traveled throughout the state and encouraged Florida Baptist Hispanic pastors to launch concerts of prayer. His statewide emphasis on prayer among Hispanic pastors has grown into a national concert of prayer, in what has been described as a “Great Commission movement.”

Second vice president

Layperson Jeffery Crick, a family physician at Mayo Clinic and member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, will be nominated by Tim Maynard to serve in his second term as FBSC second vice president.

Crick has been a member of Fruit Cove since 2017 and has held numerous leadership roles in the church.

“I first met Jeff Crick as I returned back to church following my wife’s passing. As I got to know him and his family, I appreciated their deep commitment to Christ. But beyond that, it became evident that Jeff has an unusual commitment to reach the world with the gospel. He brings that kingdom priority to everything he does, whether serving at our church or as a doctor at Mayo Clinic. I believe he will continue bringing that passion to his second term of service to the Florida Baptist Convention as second vice president,” said Maynard, pastor emeritus of Fruit Cove Baptist Church.

Recording secretary

Rounding out the slate of officers to be renominated to serve Florida Baptists in 2024-25 is Janey Frost, who serves at The Point Church (Jackson Campus) in Pensacola. She will be nominated by her pastor Mitch Johnson to serve a third term as FBSC recording secretary.

“I am nominating Janey Frost to a third term because she is what Florida Baptists need in a recording secretary. Because she serves as the administrative assistant to our church revitalization, I know firsthand as her pastor her attention to detail and desire to reach West Pensacola with the gospel. She will serve Florida Baptists with the same excellence she serves her local church. We can expect the same for a third term.”