WASHINGTON (ABP) — Jeffrey Haggray is stepping down after eight years as executive director of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention to become pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Washington.
Jeffrey Haggery, leader of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention since 2001, becomes the first non-white pastor of First Baptist Church.
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Elected Oct. 11, Haggray, 46, will be the first African-American pastor of the 207-year-old congregation that has been the church home to Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and Presidents Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter. Haggray said he is "humbled and grateful" for the call to serve the congregation.
"First Baptist has a long history of distinguished ministry and has made enormous contributions to Baptist life in America," he said, in a statement. "Their pastors have also been highly regarded, and I have a real sense of appreciation that the congregation called me to serve in this role."
Haggray was also the first African American to lead the DCBC, an organization of approximately 150 member congregations in the District of Columbia, Maryland and northern Virginia. The regional body is unique in Baptist life in the United States because it is triply aligned with three national denominations — the American Baptist Churches USA, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
He is credited with helping the convention regain its financial footing after the SBC's North American Mission Board ceased funding the DCBC in 2002. At the time, SBC officials justified the defunding by raising objections to DCBC involvement with interfaith-dialogue efforts that SBC leaders said compromised fundamentals of the faith, as well as other objections to the DCBC cooperating with more liberal Baptist groups. The loss of $475,000 out of a total convention budget of $1.5 million prompted a reduction in staff and elimination of many programs.
Haggray initiated a strategic plan that revamped the convention's structure. As a result, the DCBC is projected to finish 2009 with its fourth straight annual budget surplus. He also increased participation by ethnic and language congregations and expanded partnerships with national and international Baptist bodies including the Baptist World Alliance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Alliance of Baptists, Baptist General Association of Virginia and Baptist General Convention of Texas.
"The DCBC has benefited greatly from Jeffrey's visionary approach and results-oriented leadership style," Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for regional ministries with American Baptist Churches, said in a press release. "We will miss his contributions to the wider American Baptist family, but we know that God will continue to bless his efforts in this next chapter of ministry."
Historically dually aligned with both American and Southern Baptists, First Baptist Church in recent years has gravitated toward the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Alliance of Baptists, centrist and progressive groups that emerged from theological differences that divided the SBC in the 1980s. The church bills itself as "a church of Baptist tradition and ecumenical perspective."
"The call of Dr. Haggray represents an historic milestone in the life of The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., as we enter the second decade of our third century," church moderator Dennis Austin said in a press release. "He will play a pivotal role leading our congregational development and community outreach."
Details of Haggray's departure and transition will be announced during the upcoming DCBC annual meeting, scheduled Oct. 26-27 at Fort Foote Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Md.
Haggray said he had "double emotions" about announcing his call to First Baptist Church. "The past eight years have been a wonderful time serving our congregations, taking on new challenges in missions and working with our congregations," he said. "I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as executive director/minister of the convention and I am glad that I leave the DCBC in a good position to continue serving churches and fulfilling its mission."
In addition to its tradition as a spiritual home to government leaders, First Baptist of Washington was also the congregation of Luther Rice, a leading advocate for Baptist missions in the 19th century. Along with the church's founding pastor, Obadiah Brown, Rice helped establish Columbian College in Washington, now George Washington University.
Haggray is the 18th pastor called to serve First Baptist of Washington. He succeeds Jim Somerville, who left Washington last year to become pastor of First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va.
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.