Pastor Steve Gaines has entered hospice care as he continues to battle cancer, Bellevue Baptist Church announced in a letter to the congregation.
Gaines had been senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, since 2005. The church is one of the largest congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention. Since his diagnosis, Gaines has moved into a pastor emeritus role.
Gaines served as president of the SBC from 2016-2018.
In November 2023, Gaines shared with Bellevue Baptist Church that he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer. He later shared that the cancer had spread to his lungs.
“I have a great team of doctors who are working hard to come up with the best treatment plan possible,” Gaines said at the time. “More than anything, we continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for complete healing.”
In September 2024, Gaines announced that he would transition out of being senior pastor of Bellevue. However, he noted that the decision was not related to his health but rather out of a conviction that he was called to enter a new season of itinerant preaching.
“The Bible says, ‘There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1),” Gaines said in his announcement. “Nineteen years ago, the Lord began a season for us at Bellevue, and now we have heard his voice that it is time for a new season.”
“Many years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart that he would one day want me to serve as an itinerant preacher,” said Gaines. “That simply means that I would travel and minister at different churches instead of serving as the pastor of one church.”
Gaines indicated that he had begun contemplating his succession plan several years prior. He also committed to continuing in his role as senior pastor until a successor was named.
In July 2025, Bellevue Baptist Church named Ben Mandrell, who had been serving as CEO and president of Lifeway Christian Resources, as Gaines’ successor. Mandrell officially assumed the pastorate a month later.
