The DCBC Executive Board approved the search committee recommendation of Creech during a special meeting March 28 following a 15-month search process.
Creech succeeds Jeffrey Haggray, who became pastor of First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in October 2009, after eight years of DCBC leadership.
According to a DCBC news release March 29:
"Rev. Creech is a church strategy consultant and the former head of the Birmingham Baptist Association in Alabama. Having been appointed as the youngest Association executive director in their history, Rev. Creech served the Birmingham Baptist Association from 1995 to 2006 and oversaw 158 churches. He has also served as interim pastor and provided consulting services to numerous congregations.
"During his tenure as executive director -- or what is known as director of missions in denominational life -- he expanded the association's membership by bringing in dually-aligned African-American congregations and assisting in the planting of inner-city GenX churches. He also came under fire for supporting a Birmingham church's call of a female senior pastor.
"Rev. Creech has a passion for social justice and is an advocate for missional partnerships. He developed several need-meeting ministries, including a free health clinic in Alabama." The news release also credited Creech for developing one of the largest associational disaster relief teams in the state and for the team's involvement in disaster relief efforts, including at Ground Zero in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Creech will move to his D.C. position in April from the staff of Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Decatur, Ga., where he has been minister of administration and missions. In leaving the Birmingham Baptist Association in 2006, Creech became chief culture officer for Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham. He also has served as director of church and communities ministries with the Montgomery (Ala.) Baptist Association and as a family shelter caseworker in Louisville, Ky.
Creech holds degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and Furman University in Greenville, S.C. He is a native of Barnwell, S.C.
Ella Redfield, who chaired the search committee, was quoted in the DCBC news release as stating, "We are excited about the gifts and background that Rev. Creech will bring to the D.C. Baptist Convention. He is a visionary, passionate leader and, we believe, the right person to move the Convention forward into the future."
The committee held town hall meetings, a pastor's forum and conducted a survey to gather input from DCBC members, according to the news release. More than 60 applications were received and seven candidates were interviewed during the search process.
The District of Columbia Baptist Convention describes itself as "a cooperative of more than 150 member churches working together to strengthen Baptist congregations and advance God's kingdom in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Founded in 1801, DCBC is triply aligned with American Baptist Churches USA, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention."
Adapted from a news release by Leslie Copeland-Tune, director of communications and resource development for the District of Columbia Baptist Convention.
Copyright (c) 2011 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
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