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Timmy Blair to nominate Lee Pigg for BSC president
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
August 21, 2017
5 MIN READ TIME

Timmy Blair to nominate Lee Pigg for BSC president

Timmy Blair to nominate Lee Pigg for BSC president
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
August 21, 2017

Timmy Blair said he will nominate Lee Pigg, pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Monroe, for the office of president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC) at the annual meeting in November. Blair is pastor of Piney Grove Chapel Baptist Church, Angier, N.C., and a former two-term president of the BSC. He also serves as president of the 2017 Pastor’s Conference.

Lee Pigg

“I have known Lee for about 35 years,” Blair said. “He is a man who loves God. He loves the lost, he loves his church and he loves his family. He is a man who is Spirit-filled and a visionary.”

Early in his ministry, Blair said he preached a revival meeting in Pigg’s home church, Southside Baptist Church in Wadesboro. “Lee was just a teenager, and I’ve watched him grow through the years.”

Pigg is a graduate of Fruitland Baptist Bible College in Hendersonville, N.C. He has a bachelor’s degree in biblical counseling and a master’s degree in church administration from Master’s International University of Divinity, along with a doctor of ministry degree from Covington Theological Seminary.

His involvement in the BSC includes past service on the Committee on Committees, the board of directors, the Executive Committee, Fruitland’s board of directors, president of Fruitland’s board, president of the N.C. Pastor’s Conference and the Biblical Recorder’s board of directors. He currently serves as the president of the Recorder’s board, with his term ending this year.

Pigg became the associate pastor of Hopewell in 2000. Two years later the church called him to become the senior pastor.

“Under his leadership Hopewell has experienced phenomenal growth,” Blair said. “He has been able to pastor churches of all sizes at the same place, which is a very rare experience. It was a small church when he became pastor, growing to the mega-church it is now.

“I believe he will be a great president for our convention and continue our focus of being people of the Bible, disciple-making, church revitalization, new church planting and a strong commitment to our continued efforts in the Cooperative Program.”

“I have been approached three times about running for president,” Pigg told the Recorder. “I’ve felt that I had too much going on with the fast growth at Hopewell and did not feel that I had the time to serve. The church is in a different place now; our staff is great, so I feel like the timing is great for our church.”

He said after praying, talking with his wife, Michelle, and Hopewell’s deacons, he believes God is leading him to run for president of the convention in November.

Hopewell has planted five churches in the last 10 years, Pigg said.

In partnership with Euto Baptist Church in Marshville, they planted Freedom Biker Church in Monroe.

“For four years now, we have been the largest financial partner with SouthCoast Church in Dartmouth, Mass., supporting church planters Chad and Jodi Hartis,” Pigg said. “We purchased the majority of their start up equipment, paid to rent their space for the first two years, and we have also been sending teams twice a year to help them with outreach, block parties and other projects.”

Hopewell launched a satellite campus in August 2016 in Wadesboro. The plan is for the church to become

autonomous by the end of this year.

Two additional church plants were in Bolivia. Hopewell partnered with Lamar and Betsy Tribble, whose health forced them to retire after 27 years with the International Mission Board (IMB). The Tribble’s vision was to plant 25 churches in Bolivia along a major highway. They planted 23.

Since IMB did not replace the couple, Hopewell decided to finish the veteran missionaries’ vision.

“We partnered with the churches in that area and sent multiple teams to build those last two churches,” Pigg explained. “In that process we partnered with an orphanage in Bolivia that wanted to build a school. Hopewell built the school, and I was able to go on the final trip with Lamar to dedicate the school and the last two churches. About two years after that, Lamar passed away.”

Pigg said if he is elected, he wants to serve pastors. “When I talk with other pastors, no matter where they are in their journey or whatever the size of their church, I feel like I can relate to them in their struggles. I can honestly say, ‘I’ve been there.’ I know what it’s like to pastor a smaller church and a larger church.

“I’ve seen Hopewell go from 160 people to almost 1,800 in worship today, I feel like I’ve pastored almost every size church – all at the same location. I remember the transitions so well as the church has grown from 200-300, then 500-600, then 800-1,000, then to 1,500 and more.

“I feel like I can relate to pastors wherever they are on that spectrum of growth. I’ve really developed a heart for other pastors. That’s the role I want to have as president. I want to somehow connect with and minister to pastors and help them in whatever way I can.”

Pigg said he believes the direction and vision of the BSC comes from Executive Director-treasurer Milton Hollifield and the staff.

“I will support that, but as president I feel like I will be able to minister more to the pastors.”

The BSC annual meeting will be Nov. 6-7 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. Visit ncannualmeeting.org for more information.