Fred Luter Jr. became the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012. As a young man in New Orleans, he began preaching after a motorcycle accident and took over leadership of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, growing its small predominantly African American congregation to 7,000 members, making it the largest SBC church in Louisiana. When Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the church building, Luter worked tirelessly to rebuild and preach to congregants displaced around the country. The 2014 SBC meeting with Luter and Ronnie Floyd on the podium focused on prayer, restoration, and revival to strengthen the future of the convention.

1. The Strengths of the SBC’s First
African American President
Ronnie Floyd

2. Introduction
• As Senior Pastor of Northwest Arkansas’ Cross Church and
current President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC),
Dr. Ronnie Floyd has focused extensively on the role of
diversity in strengthening the Southern Baptist movement. In
a recent open letter to the membership of the SBC, he urged,
among other points, the importance of growing churches that
are inclusive of multiple ethnic and linguistic groups. In 2014,
Dr. Floyd succeeded outgoing SBC president Pastor Fred
Luter, Jr., who two years before had become the
organization’s first African American leader.
Born in New Orleans, Pastor Luter began preaching as a
young man in his home city after a motorcycle accident left
him with a renewed spiritual perspective.

3. Southern Baptist Convention
• In the mid-1980s, Pastor Luter took over the leadership of Franklin
Avenue Baptist Church, a formerly white congregation whose
membership had dwindled to only about 100 mostly African
American congregants. Pastor Luter grew the church to encompass
some 7,000 members by 2005, making it Louisiana’s largest SBC-
affiliated congregation.
Pastor Luter’s determination and stewardship were put on dramatic
display when he worked to rebuild his church after its building was
nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He traveled long distances
to preach to congregants displaced to other cities after the storm.
The 2014 annual SBC meeting that featured both Pastor Luter and
Pastor Floyd on its podium emphasized the importance of prayer,
restoration, and revival to secure the future of the movement.