Transitions for the week of 01.05.18

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly.

STAFF CHANGES

Zac Ashley, resigning as lead pastor of River Club Church, Fredericksburg, Va., to become pastor of spiritual formation at Bay Area Church, Houston, Texas.

Terry Freeman, to Lexington Avenue Baptist Church, Danville, Ky., as interim pastor.

Jim Jenkel, to First Baptist Church, Benton, Ill., as pastor.

Alan Mansfield, to Catawba Valley Baptist Church, Troutville, Va., as pastor.

Marcus McFaul, to Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, N.C., as pastor. He had been serving as intentional interim there.

Robin Prichard, resigning as minister to college students at Calvary Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky., to become coordinator of pre-health preparation programs at Transylvania University in Lexington.

Jonathan Spencer, to Northeast Baptist Church, Embry Hills, Ga., as bi-vocational pastor. He will continue to serve as an Alliance of Baptists chaplain at Mesun Hospital, Duluth, Ga.

Starlette Thomas, now serving as interim pastor at Village Baptist Church, Bowie, Md.

Guy Thompson, to Riverdale Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va., as pastor.

Lisa Wood, to Liberty Road Faith Fellowship, Lexington, Ky., as pastor, effective in February. Currently she is pastor to youth and children at Immanuel Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky.

Tyler Wood, concluding his tenure as minister of children and youth at Benson (N.C.) Baptist Church.

RETIREMENTS

Michael Duncan, retiring after 39 years as pastor of Eminence (Ky.) Baptist Church, effective in April.

Bruce Salmon, retiring after 33 years as pastor of Village Baptist Church, Bowie, Md.

ORDINATION

Cody Knapik, ordained to ministry on Jan. 14 by First Baptist Church, Lawrence, Kansas.

Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Click here to learn more.

DEATHS

Pearl Holmes DuVall, 91, died on Dec. 26 in Blackshear, Ga. She and her husband, Wallace, were missionaries in Nigeria from 1956-1971. Her primary assignment was teacher at Newton Memorial School in Oshogbo and Hillcrest International School in Jos, where she taught music and art. She was an illustrator for Woman’s Missionary Union publications and did artwork for the national Nigerian WMU conventions. After returning from Nigeria, she spent 10 years as a chaplain and director of student activities at the Georgia Baptist School of Nursing. She was ordained to ministry by First Baptist Church, Decatur, Ga., in the 1970s, becoming the second Baptist woman ordained in Georgia. She was a strong advocate and supporter of women in ministry, and along with her husband, was on the founding committee of McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta. She was active in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and served as the first female moderator for CBF of Georgia and a trustee of Mercer University. She is survived by two sons, David and Richard; three daughters, Ellen, Kathy and Becky; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

Gary Moore Ferguson, 73, died Dec. 30 in Danville, Va. He served as minister of music and organist at First Baptist Church, Darlington, S.C. from 1969-1984. He was minister of music and organist at West Main Baptist Church, Danville, Va., from 1984 until retirement in 2011. He was adjunct professor of organ and hand bells at Averett University in Danville. He is survived by a sister, Carol Ferguson; and brother, Kevin Ferguson.

Milton Ferguson, 89, died Dec. 21 in Kansas City, Mo. He was the second president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, beginning in 1973 and serving until retirement in 1995. He was a researcher for the Southern Baptist Convention’s National Student Life Survey and in various SBC and state convention roles. Prior to Midwestern, he was pastor of Hebron (Texas) Baptist Church and associate pastor of Crown Heights Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. He was predeceased by his wife, Bettie, and daughter, Jo Catherine. He is survived by daughters, Julia and Jane Anne.

John Estill Jones, 96, died Dec. 30 in Dalton, Ga. He was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and former pastor of First Baptist Church, Chatsworth, Ga., First Baptist Church, Thomson, Ga., and Dogwood Hills Baptist Church, East Point Ga. He is survived by his wife, Violet; children, Jack Jones, Jean Jones Wacaster and Judson Jones.

Norman Smith, 89, died Nov. 6 in Gainesville, Va. He was pastor emeritus of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Rectortown, Va., where he served for more than 50 years. A former member of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Heritage and the Baptist World Aid Committee, he was chair of the executive board for the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, from 1988-2002. He is survived by his wife, Grace; daughters, Faithe, Leah and Lorri; and sons, Norman Jr. and Timothy.