SEOUL, South Korea (ABP) — David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has been nominated as president of the Baptist World Alliance to succeed South Korean pastor Billy Kim.
Kim will conclude a five-year term next year. Coffey, if confirmed by the Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England, next July, will serve from 2005 to 2010.
Coffey's nomination was presented to the BWA General Council during its July 26-31 meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Anne Wilkinson-Hayes, a member of the officers' search committee, commended Coffey's “energy, enthusiasm and pervading optimism.” “David is a person who dares to imagine a different reality and then has the pastoral skills to take people into that reality,” she said in presenting the nomination.
Victor Kulbich, general secretary of the Ukrainian Baptist Union, praised Coffey's leadership as president of the European Baptist Federation, 1997-99. “David is someone who helped solve problems between East and West because he knows how to listen,” he said. “He is deeply sensitive to the needs of people and is a great team leader.”
Bruce Milne, a fellow student with Coffey at Spurgeon's College in London 40 years ago, said Coffey has an “absolute unashamed commitment to Jesus Christ and a deep love for the Word of God.”
Before going on staff of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in 1988, Coffey was pastor of several churches in England. He has held numerous international leadership positions for the Baptist World Alliance.
Coffey said his nomination is “confirming the call of God on my life for the next few years.” “[L]eft to my own devices, I was never happier than as the pastor-Bible teacher in a local Baptist church,” he said. “But we are not called to personal happiness but to joyful obedience.”
The Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of 211 Baptist unions and conventions worldwide. The BWA unites Baptists worldwide, leads in world evangelism, responds to people in need and defends human rights.
— Chris Hall is a writer and editor with the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
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