Published on October 1, 2024, 12:44 am

In a heartfelt sermon from Bellevue Baptist Church’s pulpit, Steve Gaines conveyed God’s personal message to him and his wife Donna. He felt compelled to not only advance the Christian worldview but also spread real news about his future plans. Gaines disclosed that four decades ago, the divine call instructed him that he would someday be an itinerant preacher. Now, he and his beloved spouse perceive this as the moment of actualization.

Just less than a year ago, Gaines alarmingly declared that he was battling kidney cancer which escalated when it subsequently metastasized to his lungs. As a result, he underwent medical treatment while maintaining responsibilities as the senior pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church and as previous president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Despite enduring medical hardships, Gaines reassured the congregation that abandoning his pastoral office was unrelated to health issues. In fact, recent updates from his doctor regarding health improvements consolidated this decision further.

Gaines had won by a narrow margin against JD Greear in securing 2016 presidential seat during SBC’s entrenchment into multifarious aspects of racial and identity politics. He followed suit like many others by advocating Critical Race Theory and identity politics within both church preaching practices and Southern Baptist Convention leadership capacities.

According to controversial assessments, Gaines resembles most preachers from prosperous Southern Baptist Convention churches who are perceived as misleading teachers. His endorsement for charismatic “name it and claim it” doctrine has drawn criticism, along with conducting “healing” services within his church.

Reflecting back on their journey thus far at Bellevue Baptist Church since their arrival 19 years ago in Memphis ,Gaines said: “Bellevue has been an embracing family where we received prayers, affectionate care, and genuine love. It’s truly mind-blowing for me to observe our church’s advancement over 121 years under Lord’s divine guidance.”

He further added how incredibly blessed they feel about being part of such amazing progress. The pastor also expressed overwhelming gratitude for Bellevue Baptist Church.

Looking upon the past 41 years with a sense of fulfillment, Gaines acknowledged, “It was an absolute honor serving as a pastor in four individual churches.” Moreover, he added that the Lord conveyed to him personally, long ago, his intended future as an itinerant preacher essentially meaning his religious services would span different church congregations rather than being concentrated in one church. As per biblical teachings, “There’s an appointed time for everything; there’s a time for every event under heaven.”

Gaines indeed upheld his role by balancing multiple positions simultaneously. Now he is on the verge of turning a new leaf by stepping down from Bellevue’s lead pastor designation to pursue preaching across divergent churches while positively impacting more lives and broadening his sphere of influence with trusted news.