Frank Page

Frank S. Page (born August 23, 1952) was the president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from 2006 to 2008, and the president of the denomination's Executive Committee from 2010 to 2018.

Page was born in Robbins, North Carolina, on August 23, 1952.

He was invited to attend Southside Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he professed faith in Jesus Christ at age 9.

A graduate of Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina, majoring in Psychology.

He was ordained at Immanuel Baptist Church in Greensboro in 1974.

He served as pastor of Live Oak Baptist Church, Gatesville, Texas (1979–81), LaFayette Baptist Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina (1981–87), Gambrell Street Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas (1987–91), Warren Baptist Church, Augusta, Georgia (1991-2001), and First Baptist Church, Taylors, South Carolina (2001–09).

Under his leadership, First Baptist Church of Taylors experienced a period of rapid growth, reaching average worship attendance of over 2,400.

He received the Master of Divinity degree and earned his Ph.D. in Christian ethics from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1980 at the age of 28.

He is the author of several books, has written articles for various publications and was the lead writer for the Advanced Continuing Witness Training material.

Page's election to his current position followed 34 years of church and denominational service.

Page was president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from 2006 to 2008 and served as vice president of evangelism for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 2009-2010.

In June 2006 Page was nominated by Florida pastor Forrest Pollock to become Southern Baptist Convention President.

Pollack stressed how much Page's church contributed to the Cooperative Program, which funds SBC projects.

After his election, Page said the convention would not change its views on social issues like same-sex marriage or abortion.

He said "I do not want anyone to think I am out to undo a conservative movement."

During his two years as president of the SBC, Page was a frequent guest on national and local television networks and programs, including NBC, CBS, CBN, Fox News, and Larry King Live.

In 2007, he was named as one of the Fifty Most Influential Christians in America by the Church Report.

The first year of Page's presidency coincided with a national media focus on clergy sex abuse scandals in numerous Christian denominations.

In April 2007, Page published a First Person editorial after he had been interviewed for an ABC News segment.

He wrote,

"Several days ago, I was interviewed by ABC's "20/20" news for an upcoming program tentatively titled, "Preacher Predators." At the request of several, I agreed to this invitation so as to provide some kind of balance to a program which may well be overwhelmingly negative. . . . As I said to the reporter, we are willing and able to discuss this issue because even one instance of sexual abuse by a minister is too much."

Page called on local churches to "develop written policy guidelines for the care of children and youth," to require background checks for all staff, to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone "who would take advantage of the trust and love of precious children and students," and to take advantage of the resources that are available on the SBC website and through the Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources.

He closed his editorial by saying, "As stated earlier, even one instance of sexual molestation is one too many."

A few months later, during the June 2007 SBC annual meeting, the first annual meeting over which Page presided, messengers adopted a resolution on protecting children from sexual abuse which stated, in part,

"RESOLVED, That we strongly recommend that Southern Baptist churches and Convention entities respond to any suspicions or allegations of child abuse in a timely and forthright manner; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptist churches and Convention entities to exercise moral stewardship by observing responsible employment practices, including performing criminal background checks on all ministers, employees, and volunteers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we renounce individuals who commit heinous acts against children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we renounce individuals, churches, or other religious bodies that cover up, ignore, or otherwise contribute to or condone the abuse of children; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we pray for righteousness and justice to prevail in our land and intercede on behalf of victimized children, asking God to heal their deep emotional and physical wounds, grow them into mature and healthy adults, and stop the cycle of abuse from repeating itself in another generation."

The following year, at the Convention's 2008 annual meeting, the Convention received a comprehensive report from the Convention's Executive Committee encouraging churches to report any instance of sexual abuse to the legal authorities and to exercise due diligence in protecting the children and youth under the care of their ministries.

As part of its report, the SBC Executive Committee announced it had posted a link to the Department of Justice Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender database on the Convention's website, where it remains as a resource for churches and individuals.

Page and his wife, the former Dayle Gibson, have three daughters, Melissa (d. November 2009), Laura, and Allison.

He was a member of the SBC's Great Commission Resurgence Task Force in 2009-2010 and a director of Baptist Global Response from 2008 to 2010.

In 2009, Page was invited to serve on President Barack Obama's Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

A few months later, he was selected to lead the evangelization group with the Convention's North America Mission Board (NAMB).

While serving as SBC president, Page had challenged the mission agency to develop a new evangelism strategy for reaching twenty-first century people with the timeless message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

NAMB's new strategy was called God's Plan for Sharing (GPS).

Page announced his resignation on March 27, 2018, admitting to "a personal failing" that involved a "morally inappropriate relationship."

Frank Page now pastors Pebble Creek Baptist Church in South Carolina.

Page currently serves as Lead Pastor of Pebble Creek Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina (2020-).