Hendersonville Standard
HENDERSONVILLE WEATHER

Chesser named president of TN Baptist Convention




Bruce Chesser

Bruce Chesser

Dr. Bruce Chesser, senior pastor of Hendersonville First Baptist Church, was elected president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention Tuesday, Nov. 19.  He will serve a one-year term.

The Tennessee Baptist Convention is comprised of over 3200 Southern Baptist churches with over 1.1 million members. The churches cooperate together in missions, ministry, disaster relief, higher education, children’s homes and more.  

Chesser is a native of Alabama, with a degree in Psychology from the University of Mobile. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Married to Joy, they have two sons, a daughter-in-law and a 4-year-old granddaughter.

In over 40 years of ministry, he has served churches in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and for the last 10 years at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville.  

Since 2009, the church has experienced significance growth. Chesser has led the church to baptize over 1,700 people. He has led the congregation to focus on the Next Generation, while at the same time honoring and loving the Cornerstone Generation, making First Baptist Hendersonville a multi-generational church.

As pastor, Chesser has led the church to focus outwardly. Hendersonville First replanted a church in Castalian Springs that disbanded and is now a healthy self-sustaining congregation. Hendersonville First Baptist is presently planting a church in Hell’s Kitchen community of New York City and partnering with Jesus is the Truth Baptist Church in Hueheutenango, Guatemala and First Baptist Church of Jutiapa, Guatemala.  

In addition to missions nationally and internationally, the church serves in a variety of ministries locally.  Included is the backpack ministry that provides food for school age children.  Over 650 backpacks of food are delivered weekly to 14 Sumner County schools for children to take home for the weekend.

First Baptist Church of Hendersonville celebrated its 75th anniversary in October.  The church facilities are located at 106 Blue Grass Commons.

Leave a Reply