The Conference Planning Committee:
Pastor Dale Crawford has served Trinity Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana since 1987 and has been senior pastor since 1997. He studied at Louisiana State University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and has faithfully ministered for decades with a heart for biblical preaching and pastoral care.
He and his wife Pat have been married since 1974 and are blessed with two adult children and seven grandchildren.
Shannon Davis is the pastor of Conehatta Baptist Church in Newton County Mississippi. He holds a Masters of Divinity degree in Pastoral Ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is working on a Doctor of Ministry degree in Pastoral Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Dee Dee Davis and they have two beautiful girls, Brylee and Eden.
Don Elbourne has served as pastor of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis, MS for 30 years. Don is a alumni of Mississippi College and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, BA, M.Div, ThM, PhD (ABD). Don operates a mission trip destination camp on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, has a passion for expository preaching and mercy ministry, and is currently overseeing a church re-plant of a sister-church in their county. He and his wife, Courtney, have two children and two grandsons.
Mark is the Teaching Elder of Grace Fellowship Baptist Church of Robertsdale, Alabama. A native of Minnesota, he was called to faith in Christ through the Navigators ministry in 1980. He worked as a software engineer for 20 years, leading a men’s Bible Study Fellowship class before being called to full-time pastoral ministry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies degree from Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and has served 20 years as pastor for churches in Mississippi, Kansas, and Alabama. Mark and his wife, Deb, have been married nearly 40 years, and they have two children and two grandchildren. When he is not preaching, Mark enjoys tinkering with computers, website development, Alabama football, and his grandkids!
Pastor Rusty Grant began his ministry in 1998, as a layman at Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he first taught studying the Bible using the inductive study method. Since then, Rusty has been committed to the primacy of Scripture through expository preaching and teaching. He first used these methods in his formal ministry by assisting the Pastor of Adult Education at Sunnyvale First Baptist Church, Sunnyvale, Texas, as a seminary intern in 2003, and then, as the Education Pastor at Gateway Fellowship, a church plant, in Royse City, Texas in 2005. In 2007, Rusty returned to West Monroe as the Pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church where he serves today. Rusty is married to Nancy, and they have a son, Asher.
Adam has served at Reformation Church, Baker, LA, for 12 years and as one of their Elders for the last 3 years. Adam and his wife, Gretchen, of 23 years have homeschooled their 5 children for 11 years and counting. He is passionate about Church history, youth education & discipleship, and ministry opportunities wherever the Lord leads.
Bio Needed
Hal Hood is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Collins in Collins, MS. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in Pastoral Leadership from Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, GA. He is passionate about and devoted to leading those entrusted to his care in the verse-by-verse exposition of God’s Word. He and his wife, Hollie, live in Collins with their two children, Madison and Parker.
Dr. Kimbrell has served in pastoral ministry for over 44 years, beginning his preaching at the age of 17. Since 1998, he has faithfully pastored Bethlehem Baptist Church. A Louisiana native, he holds degrees from Louisiana State University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned both his M.Div. and Ph.D.
He and his wife Paula have been married for 48 years and are blessed with four children and thirteen grandchildren, 12 living in the world and one in heaven.
Bio Needed
Pastor Scott Lucky has served at Parkway Baptist Church in Clinton, MS, for over ten years. He began as the College and Young Adult Pastor, has served as the Associate Pastor and Interim Senior Pastor. In August, 2022, the congregation called Scott as the 6th Senior Pastor in the 97 years of Parkway’s history. Scott received his Master of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, and is currently pursuing his PHD in Preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
After early careers as a singer, then as a professor of English Literature, followed by three years with the National Security Agency, including service in Vietnam, Dr. Joe Nesom responded to the Lord’s call to the pastoral ministry.
In addition to teaching Systematic Theology and Christian History at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for five years, he held pastorates in Mississippi and Louisiana. He is the longest serving pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Jackson, Louisiana (organized in 1835) having served there for over forty years. Dr. Nesom has also maintained a preaching and teaching ministry outside the local church, in the United States and abroad. He is also the author of several books and theological articles published in Great Britain and the United States.
Dr. Nesom is a native of Laurel, Mississippi.
Pastor Rodney Queen has faithfully served Central Fellowship Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia since 1991. Before that, he ministered at a church plant in his hometown beginning in 1976. His deep love for Scripture and commitment to biblical teaching have shaped and strengthened the church over the decades.
He and his wife Celeste have been married since 1973 and are the proud parents of seven married children and grandparents to twenty-four grandchildren.
Rusty is pastor of Reformation Church (Formerly Friendship Baptist), in Baker, LA. He is married to his wife Kayce. They have two grown Children and three grandsons.
Bio Needed
Pastor Todd Wilson has served as pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, since August 2005. He received his MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in December 2000. Before entering the ministry, he worked as a Computer Engineer/Network Analyst for 8 years. Todd and his wife Lori were married in 1987 and have two daughters, Bailey (b. June 1990) and Kirby (b. March 1992) and two granddaughters. They are also involved with the Alabama Baptist Children’s Home & Pathways Ministries in the ministry of foster care. Pastor Todd enjoys the ministry at Grace Covenant and leading in the work of missions. He is committed to short term international missions, going and leading groups each year. He has had the privilege of ministering in Kiev, Ukraine; Guilin, China; Niteroi & São José dos Campos, Brazil; southeastern Turkey; Irapuato, Mexico; La Poza, Mexico; Punta Gorda, Belize; Northern and South Africa; Spain; and Portugal. Pastor Todd also serves on the planning committee for the Deep South Founders Conference and is co-director of the Portuguese Speaking Pastors Project.
Pastor Thomas is a native of Laurel, Mississippi. He came to Grace Baptist Church as Elder in 1999 and was called as Senior Pastor in 2001. He began his preaching ministry in 1981, and has served as pastor of churches in Mississippi for over 30 years now. He earned an Associate of Arts Degree from Clarke Memorial College in 1976 followed by a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1978. Upon graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, he continued his education at New Orleans Baptist Seminary and earned a Master of Religious Education in 1981. To better equip himself to pastor, he continued his studies for a Master of Divinity at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.