He’s pastored five churches ranging in size from a 2,300-member megachurch to two that he helped start from small congregations. While in college, he served as a Baptist Student Union summer missionary; as an adult, he was senior assistant to the president of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
That adaptability to situations large and small, in addition to more than 30 years as a pastor, is what helped Dennis Culbreth’s resumé rise to the top of nearly 200 applicants for the position of Hamilton County Baptist Association director of missions, essentially the chief executive officer of the association. The position has been vacant since the retirement of David Myers in 2013.
About Dr. Dennis R. Culbreth
Hometown: Evergreen, Ala.Age: 58Education: Bachelor’s degree in religion from Samford University, master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Doctor of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.Previous Positions: Pastored five churches, two of which he planted; senior assistant to the president of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, currently pastor of First Baptist Church of Jasper, Ala.Family: He and wife Marybeth have two grown sons and one daughter, who is engaged. The couple met while students at Samford and have been married 33 years.Hobbies: Golf, fishing, hunting, reading and watching college football — specifically Auburn.Community Service: Member of the Rotary Club, served on several nonprofit boards in Alabama.Little-Known Fact: He proposed to his wife at the Chattanooga Choo Choo in the summer of 1981.
The association is comprised of about 110 Southern Baptist churches around the county, and the director works to advance mission work, found new churches, increase cooperation among association churches, create partnerships between member churches and provide counseling and resources to churches and pastors.
Culbreth is “a bridge- builder,” says Becky Scearce, who chaired the nine-member search committee.