The first African American President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention is being eyed to lead the Southern Baptist Convention as its second vice president with elections coming up in June during the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.
The Christian Headlines reported that Kingdom of Life Church Founder and Senior Pastor Alex Sands will be nominated by former South Carolina Baptist Convention Presidents Josh Powell and Marshall Blalock in the upcoming national annual meeting. Sands served as the SCBC president in 2021.
Powell, who is the lead pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church, and Blalock, who is pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, say Sands is the best Baptist there is. The two pastors commended Sands for his remarkable service track record in the church where he has served in various levels and positions that would benefit the denomination in the country.
"Alex represents the best of who we are as Southern Baptists, and I cannot commend him enough. Alex is committed to his family, his church, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission in every area of his life. He has served faithfully in our convention life," Powell told the Baptist Press.
"He has served in his association (Greenville Baptist Association), on boards of our state, and most recently as the president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC). His voice will be a benefit for our collective work on the national level," he added.
Powell highlighted that Sands, an engineer by profession, can minister to all people and foster diversity. He revealed that Sands established the Kingdom of Life at Simpsonville in 2003 with only twelve members. The church, a predominantly African American congregation, now has more than 500 members from all walks of life, race, and generations.
Kindom of Life Church has an average weekly attendance of 410 congregants before the pandemic and recorded 10 baptisms last year. The church is also financially prospering with a giving rate of 4.38% based on the Annual Church Profile for 2021. The church received $958,424 last year and gave $41,980 of it through its Cooperative Program.
Sands has two teenage sons with his wife Shanna with whom he has been married to for 27 years. He got his bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering from North Carolina State University and his master's degree for the same course in Georgia Institute of Technology. He then took his Master of Divinity from Gardner-Webb University before the North Greenville University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity.
Sands' nomination comes as presidential nominations for the Southern Baptist Convention have already been announced. Nominees for the next SBC president are Calvary Church Pastor Willy Rice of Clearwater, Florida; Grace Baptist Church Senior Pastor Tom Ascol of Cape Coral, Florida; and church planter Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. of Spring, Texas.
In line with his upcoming nomination, Sands says it was something that never crossed his mind. He shared with Baptist Press that he has not considered running for the post not until Powell and Blalock approached him about it. Sands admitted that he has no idea what the second vice president post entails. What he does know is that, should he be elected to it, he'll do everything he can to help everyone out of his love for the Gospel.
"I hadn't really considered a position, really at all, but I'm humbled obviously to be thought of in that way. But I really believe in the mission of the convention as a whole, the partnership of churches for the sake of the Gospel to make disciples of Christ around the world. I really believe in that, and I believe that can be what unifies churches in the convention, and just to be a part of serving in that way, to see that happen, in a small way," Sands said.
