Josh Powell, lead pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church (FBC) in Taylors, South Carolina, is going to be nominated for the position of president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) at this year’s annual meeting. On Monday, Feb. 2, Jay Hardwick, senior pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, announced his intention to nominate Powell for the role.
“I am excited and honored to nominate one of my best friends, @JoshuaWPowell, to serve as SBC President!” Hardwick said in a post on X.
I am excited and honored to nominate one of my best friends, @JoshuaWPowell, to serve as SBC President! https://t.co/16QdyDRAuD
— Jay Hardwick (@JayHardwick) February 2, 2026
Josh Powell To Run for SBC President
The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the country and holds its annual meeting every June. Thousands of Southern Baptists, known as messengers, attend the meeting, at which the denomination conducts official business. Part of that business is voting on the next president.
Presidents serve for one year at a time. It is common for presidents to serve two in a row, but presidents may not serve more than two years in a row. The denomination made an exception for SBC President J.D. Greear, who served three terms in a row after the annual meeting was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current president of the SBC is Clint Pressley, who was elected to a second term in 2025.
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While presidential nominations are typically announced prior to the SBC annual meeting, the candidates are not formally nominated until the meeting takes place.
According to his bio on the Taylors FBC website, Powell graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has served at Taylors FBC for the past five years.
“As a lifelong Southern Baptist, Josh has served in many different capacities within the denomination,” says the bio, “including President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention and Chairman of the Board for both Southern Seminary and North Greenville University.”
Powell has been married to his wife, Allison, for 27 years and they have four children.
Hardwick told Baptist Press (BP) that the word that comes to mind when he thinks of Powell, with whom Hardwick has been good friends for 30 years, is “consistent.”
South Carolina Pastor Josh Powell is going to be nominated for the position of president of the Southern Baptist Convention.Click to Post
