By Tobin Perry, North American Mission Board communications
COVINGTON — The North American Mission Board (NAMB) has asked veteran Louisiana pastor Waylon Bailey to serve as its ambassador to the state’s Southern Baptist pastors. In this role, Bailey will express gratitude to pastors for their churches’ giving to the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering®. He will also serve as a resource for pastors who want to get their churches more involved in North American missions.
“I have a long association in Louisiana,” Bailey said. “I have a great desire to reach the state for Christ.”
Bailey served as president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention between 2011 and 2013. As president, he led the convention to institute the 2020 Commission. The commission evaluated all that the state convention was doing in order to make an assessment of what it should continue to do. Bailey says the commission determined to emphasize reaching two Louisiana demographics in particular—“ethnics and the next generation.”
Bailey hopes by serving in this ambassador role with NAMB he can help the state’s churches make progress toward that goal. He hopes to come alongside Louisiana Baptist pastors as they seek to impact their communities, state, nation and the world with the gospel.
“I know a lot of pastors,” Bailey said. “I know how difficult their work is. It appealed to me to have an avenue to reach out to pastors and pray with them for their work.”
Bailey has pastored three different Louisiana Baptist churches since 1970. He has served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington since 1989. He has also served as an Old Testament and Hebrew professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
“I want to say thank you to pastors for what they do on a local level but also nationally and internationally through the Cooperative Program, through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering,” Bailey said. “And, of course, I’ll try to encourage them to do as much as possible for the kingdom of God.”
FBC Covington has a long history of missions involvement. This year, Bailey says, the church has been involved in six different countries, including Columbia and India. They also are helping to plant a new church in Metairie. The new church is seeking to reach the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
NAMB is asking Southern Baptist pastors throughout North America to serve in similar ambassador roles in their states.
