On his 19th anniversary as senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, Pastor Steve Gaines told congregants he “will now begin a transition out of the pastorate.” On Sunday (Sept. 22), Gaines read a letter from the pulpit, with wife Donna at his side. The 66-year-old, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), said he’s not retiring but hopes to travel and minister at different churches.
“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. “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.”
Last November, Gaines revealed he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer, which spread to his lungs. But Sunday he assured congregants his transition isn’t connected to health.
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“My treatments are going well, and I even received a good report last week on my latest PET scan,” he said. “But regardless of what tests show, I firmly believe the word the Lord has given me that ‘I will not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord.’ (Psalm 118:17).”
Pastor Steve Gaines Is Entering His ‘Fourth Quarter’
Before coming to Memphis-area Bellevue in 2005, Gaines served at SBC churches in Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas. He wasn’t asked to step down or pressured into the decision, he said.
“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.” The pastor told Bellevue members that he and his wife “began talking about it a couple of years ago, and we agree that this is the right time.”
Although Gaines plans to be on the road often, Bellevue will remain his church and his ministry’s home base. “You have prayed for us, cared for us, and loved us well,” he told congregants. “We could never put into words how grateful we are for Bellevue Baptist Church.”
Gaines said he’s also eager to spend more time with the couple’s four children and 18 grandchildren.
“I am genuinely excited to enter into the next phase of ministry that the Lord has for me,” he said. “I’m calling it ‘my fourth quarter,’ and I’m ‘taped up and ready to play.’” Going off-script, the pastor noted that the fourth quarter is the “most important,” because that’s when a team wins or loses the game.
Transition Plans for Bellevue Baptist Church
Gaines assured worshipers he’ll “continue to preach and be your pastor until the Lord brings the next man, and then I will join you as our new pastor leads us.” He said, “My race as senior pastor of Bellevue is coming to an end, but my commitment to you is to keep running with all my strength and effectively hand the baton to the next senior pastor.”
Gaines has already started meeting with a transition team, and a pastoral search committee is forthcoming. He urged members to keep the transition process in their daily prayers.
“We do not know the exact timeframe in which this transition will be complete,” Gaines said. “But we are trusting the Lord to instruct us and teach us in the way that we should go and guide us with his eye upon us.”
