By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana Baptist Foundation Board of Trustees has announced Jeffrey Steed as the ninth executive director of the organization.
“It’s an honor to serve Louisiana Baptists,” Steed told the Baptist Message. “I have a passion for the work of the foundation that partners in ministry with churches and Baptists around the state to help advance the Kingdom.”
The announcement followed a unanimous vote by the board of directors after careful consideration of Steed’s nomination by a search committee comprised of board members and chaired by Pat LaCour, and a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria.
Steed succeeds Wayne Taylor, who retires as the foundation’s executive director in May.
LaCour said Steed’s qualifications set him apart from a number of qualified applicants.
“He has worked for two other Baptist foundations over the past two decades,” she said. “He has a heart for working with churches and for planned giving in support of Baptist causes. We look forward to working with him.”
Bill Cunningham, president of the board and a member of Norris Ferry Community Church in Shreveport, added his strong approval.
“We are most impressed with his qualifications, especially in the area on investments and planned giving and the way he interacted with churches in the state of Texas,” Cunningham said. “He has had extensive experience in working with other associations and he impressed me as one who is impeccably organized.”
Steed, who accepted Christ at age six and was baptized at Rose Hill Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, was previously the director of planned giving for the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation — a position he had held since March 2016. Prior to that he had served for more than 10 years as the vice president of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation in Little Rock. He has written articles for Christian Leadership Alliance, Texas Nonprofits, Church Business, Church Solutions and Philanthropy Journal.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance from his business administration studies with the University of Texas in Arlington. He also earned his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and his Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Steed and his wife, Shana, have been married for 28 years and have two children, Corey and Whitney.
