Earnest Easley to Nominate Jerry Drace for Second Vice President

Jerry Drace, evangelist and bivocational pastor from Jackson, Tennessee, will be nominated for second vice president of the SBC by Ernest Easley, Professor of Evangelism at Union University, Jackson, Tennessee. Jerry has been a vocational evangelist since 1975. During this time he has served two terms as the president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. For the past eight years, in addition to the ministry of the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association, he has served as the bivocational pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Friendship, Tennessee, located a few miles north of Jackson. 

Friendship Baptist Church gives nine percent of its total budget through the Cooperative Program, in addition to supporting the Lottie Moon Offering, the Annie Armstrong Offering, and the Golden State Mission Offering of Tennessee. Friendship Baptist Church ministers to approximately forty percent of the residents of Friendship each week. 

Jerry grew up as the son of a Southern Baptist pastor. He graduated from Union University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He went on to earn his Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Golden Gate Theological Seminary, now Gateway Seminary.

Jerry is the author of two books: From the Heart of a Father and 44 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage. He is the editor of the Hope for the Home Study Bible published in 2009 and used in churches throughout the United States and Scotland. As an evangelist and pastor, he supports The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.  

Jerry has served as a guest lecturer at a majority of our Southern Baptist seminaries and has spoken on numerous university campuses in the Southern Baptist Convention. He has spoken at the International Congress on Preaching at Westminster Chapel, London, England; Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England; and Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland.  

Jerry has preached in approximately one thousand Southern Baptist churches and conducted numerous international missions and crusades. He has served as a Chaplain Coordinator for the Rapid Response Team with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and has served as the State Director of Tennessee for the Franklin Graham Decision America Tour. 

Jerry has also served as an adjunct professor at Union University, Jackson, Tennessee, and Anderson University, Anderson, South Carolina. Jerry and his wife Becky have two children and five grandchildren.