Real People, Real Encounters

This summer we have a wonderful schedule of speakers, you don't want to miss this summer at First Baptist Blackshear! See the upcoming schedule below:

June

28 - Steven Wright - Matthew 4 - Jesus calls first disciples

July

5 – Marty Youngblood - Matthew 6:5-13 - The Model Prayer

12 - Chris Reynolds - John 3:1-15 - Nicodemus

19 - Chris Reynolds - John 6:1-13 No Problem Too Bog

26 – Mark Marshall - Luke 5:13-16 - Jesus radically changes lives - story of Jesus healing the leper

BIOS OF SPEAKERS

Chris Reynolds

I accepted Christ in June 1978 during a youth retreat at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island after being challenged to answer the question, “Are you born again?” To my surprise, I immediately knew I was not. My call to ministry was confirmed in 1990 while serving as a part-time youth minister in Hahira, Georgia. I have been privileged to serve in multiple areas of ministry over the last 33 plus years, including 20 years at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Georgia, where I pastored and led the church to become a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-generational congregation with over 650 baptisms. I currently serve the Georgia Baptist Mission Board as the Lead Strategist for Pastor Wellness.  

My wife, Gayle, and I have been married for 36 years. We have two children: Dallas (married to Russell) and Davis (married to Emilee). We are blessed to be Pops and GiGi to Chase, Claire, Carly, and Caroline. 

Marty Youngblood 

Rev. Marty Youngblood currently serves as the Pastor Wellness Catalyst in the Southeast Region. Before that, he served in Church Minister Relations and was a BCM Campus Minister in Savannah, serving Georgia Baptists for over thirty years. Before coming to Georgia, he was an Adjunct Professor of Religion and Campus Minister for Charleston Southern University. He is a graduate of Charleston Southern University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife Daphne have one son, Chris, a former US Army Ranger, and a grandson, Henry, whom he affectionately calls Rooster.

Thomas Hammond

On January 1, 2019, W. Thomas Hammond, Jr. became the executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Previously, he served as the lead pastor of Alpharetta First Baptist Church from 2013-2018. 

Rev. Hammond served as vice president for Convention Advancement with the SBC Executive Committee; senior director of Church Evangelism with the North American Mission Board; director of missions at the Metrolina Baptist Association in Charlotte, North Carolina; minister of evangelism at Hebron Baptist Church, Dacula, Georgia; and evangelism associate at the Ohio Baptist Convention. Rev. Hammond has also served as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention (2015-2017).

Because of his passion for those who are without Christ, Rev. Hammond as Georgia Baptist Convention president led the Convention to implement The Big Invite campaign, which encouraged Georgia Baptists to invite their lost family and friends to church on Easter Sunday. The goal was to have 1 million Georgians in church on Easter Sunday in 2017. He is also the creator/originator of The NET, Evangelism Planter Software, TheBigDay.org, Praying your Neighbors to Christ, The Visitor Friendly Church, 316 Prayer Card, and One Hour Witness Training. In addition to reaching the lost, Rev. Hammond loves pastors. He encouraged Georgia Baptist pastors to begin praying for one another through the Pastor Prayer Network during his time as the president of the Convention. Rev. Hammond is a graduate of Augusta State University in Augusta, Georgia as well as Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee. He is married to Kerri Russ Hammond, and they have two daughters, Katie Elisabeth and Karley Marie

Steven Wright

Steven Wright is a native of Americus, Ga and currently serves as an Evangelism Consultant for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board (GBMB) for southeast and southwest Georgia. This role allows him to partner with nearly 1200 churches and over 25 associations to equip and empower Christ followers to share the life changing impact of the Gospel. Before joining the GBMB, he served as Executive Pastor at Central Baptist Church in Americus, GA for twelve years overseeing the day to day operations including budgets and facilities, along with leading men’s ministry. Prior to joining the staff at Central, Steven’s passion for leading men was evident in the success he had coaching college basketball for thirteen years, compiling a near 70% winning percentage - including his final season record of 29-5. Steven has been blessed with opportunities to use this passion in leading men’s events all across the southeast and facilitating multiple men’s discipleship groups.

Steven enjoys exercising, disc golf, golf, time with family, watching sports, and doing life with men. He has been married to the love of his life Brandi of Albany, Ga for over 29 years and they have three children - Chandler (married to Katie), Camden (married to Eliza), and Carley. They are enjoying life with one grand boy (Austin) and one grand girl (MJ) and eagerly expecting grandbaby #3 in the fall.

Mark Marshall

Mark serves as the Senior Lead Strategist, Church Strengthening for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Mark oversees the staff who make up the Church Strengthening team of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, including Evangelism, Discipleship, Missions, Worship & Music, Next Generation, and Collegiate Ministry. He serves as part of the Executive Leadership Team of the GBMB.

Prior to coming to serve Georgia Baptists Mark was a pastor for 25 years at churches in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas ranging in size from 100 to 1,500 in worship attendance. He served on staff for 10 years at Lifeway as Director of Leadership Training and Enrichment Events leading of staff of 100+.

Mark is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served in various roles with both state conventions and local associations.  He also served on the Disciple-Making Task Force, as well as the Cooperative Program Advisory Council for the SBC. Mark has a published book in the area of strategic planning for churches. He has spoken at conferences across the country and written articles appearing in multiple publications.

Mark is married to Leigh Ann and has 2 daughters, Tiffany (married to Paul) and Brittany (married to Josh). He also has 4 grandchildren.

You can see their photos and their bios here, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nTMK3OfD8BH-zq41ZvufgYF6DcmJWdFM/view?usp=sharing