Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2020 10:11 am
Eastern Ky. pastor to be nominated as first VP of KBC
By CHIP HUTCHESON, Kentucky Today
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) — A western Kentucky pastor has announced his plan to nominate an eastern Kentucky pastor to be first vice president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Kyle Noffsinger, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Princeton, said he will nominate Josh Schmidt, pastor of First Baptist Church of Grayson, for that position at KBC’s annual meeting scheduled for November at Bellevue Baptist Church in Owensboro.
“Through my time spent on the Mission Board, I have gotten to know Josh well, and the more I know about him, the prouder I am to call him a brother in Christ and fellow Kentucky pastor,” Noffsinger said. “I have no doubt that he will serve us well in this capacity.”
Serving as a KBC officer is not a new experience for Schmidt. He was second vice president of the convention in 2018-19.
Schmidt and his wife, Lauren, have a son, Benjamin. Schmidt is a graduate of University of the Cumberlands, Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“I love our state convention and I’m a proud Kentucky Baptist. Out of this love I have for Kentucky Baptists, I will nominate Josh for this office,” Noffsinger said.
Schmidt taught Sunday school for nine years at First Baptist before being named director. The church called him as pastor in January 2018, only months after his father, Paul, who pastored First Baptist since 2009, passed away.
“Josh has served the saints of First Baptist Church of Grayson well,” Noffsinger said. “He has led his church to increase Cooperative Program giving each year. Through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, First Baptist Grayson has baptized 50 people in the past two years. I am honored to call Josh a brother, a colleague and friend.”
“If elected, it would be my privilege to serve Kentucky Baptists,” said Schmidt. “We want to see the gospel go to every home. And I’ll do my best to make sure the Mission Board sees that dollars are well spent,” he said.
Schmidt’s emphasis on evangelism was highlighted in a Kentucky Today story this past February when he launched a drive for his congregation to knock on 1,201 doors in Carter County. As he looked at statistics for his county, he found 1,201 homes that included 3,100 people living within a mile of the church.
