Lifeway Christian Resources CEO and President Dr. Ben Mandrell is being unanimously recommended for the role of senior pastor by the search committee at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee. Bellevue’s current senior pastor, Dr. Steve Gaines, announced in November that he would be stepping down from that role.
“Bellevue’s Pastor Search Committee is excited to recommend Dr. Ben Mandrell as the next Senior Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church,” says a statement on Bellevue’s website. “Join us on Sunday, July 13, at 10:00 a.m. as Ben preaches in view of a call. Immediately following the service, he will be presented to the church for congregational approval.”
Bellevue Baptist Church Recommends Ben Mandrell as Next Senior Pastor
Dr. Steve Gaines is a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and has served as Bellevue Baptist Church’s senior pastor since 2005. On Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, Gaines shared with his congregation that he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer.
On Sept. 22, 2024, Gaines announced that he would “now begin a transition out of the pastorate.” The pastor said that his cancer treatments were going well and that his decision to step down from the senior pastor role was not related to his health.
Gaines explained he was pursuing a call “to serve as an itinerant preacher,” that Bellevue will remain his home church, and that he is looking forward to spending more time with his children and grandchildren. He said he would “continue to preach and be your pastor until the Lord brings the next man.”
RELATED: Pastor Steve Gaines Announces His ‘Transition Out of the Pastorate’ at Bellevue Baptist Church
A webpage on Bellevue’s website has been dedicated to helping the congregation get to know Dr. Ben Mandrell and his family prior to this Sunday, when Mandrell will preach and the congregation will subsequently vote on him. Pastor Search Committee Chairman Chad Hall explained in a video that the committee began searching for a new senior pastor on Nov. 17, 2024.
“From the very beginning, we prayed that the Lord would give us a supernatural spirit of unity and that God would lead us to the man he had already chosen to be the next senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church,” said Hall.
“Over the past eight months, you have partnered alongside us as we have sought the Lord’s direction,” Hall said. “You prayed, fasted, encouraged us, and submitted hundreds of recommendations. We can never thank you enough for how you have supported us the entire way.”
“We are excited to announce that this Sunday, July 13, we will unanimously recommend that Dr. Ben Mandrell be our next senior pastor,” said Hall, who explained that “Ben will preach and then be presented for congregational approval immediately following the service.”
