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Meet our new Senior
Pastor
Dr. Jim Somerville
Begins May 11
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First Baptist Church has called Dr. James Green Somerville as
its 16th Senior Pastor in the church's 228-year history. He will begin on
Sunday, May 11, 2008.
Jim Somerville is a gifted preacher and a seasoned pastor.
He has preached on the Chicago-based
30 Good Minutes, the
internationally broadcast Day 1
radio program, and was one of the featured preachers at the
Festival of Homiletics at the Washington National Cathedral in 2004. His
articles and sermons have been published in
Christian Century,
Leadership,
The Upper Room,
Preaching,
Lectionary Homiletics,
and Preaching Great Texts.
He was awarded the Clyde T. Francisco Preaching Award while a student at the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
For the past seven years, Jim has served as Pastor of the First
Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC. During that time the average
Sunday morning attendance has nearly doubled, with most of that growth coming
from young adults and families who live in the city.
Before moving to Washington in July, 2000, Jim served as Pastor
of Wingate Baptist Church in Wingate, North Carolina, for nine years. He saw
membership increase twenty percent in a two year period. He led the church’s
first building program in 30 years, led the church to call their first female
associate pastor, and initiated a mission at a nearby trailer park.
While attending seminary, Jim was pastor of First Baptist Church
in New Castle, Kentucky.
Jim was a Boy Scout, earning Eagle Scout at the age of 13. At
age 15 he began his studies at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. In
college he was an All-Conference distance runner and was editor of the
Georgetown College campus newspaper. He was recognized as the Outstanding Senior
in Art and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown.
In his time off, Jim enjoys traveling, backpacking, sailing,
reading, watching movies, and spending time with his family.
Jim and Christy Somerville celebrated their 25th wedding
anniversary on New Year’s Day, 2008.
Christine Treadwell Somerville earned a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Psychology from Georgetown College. She is a natural teacher, and currently
works as Pre-K teacher at Ben W. Murch Elementary School in Washington. Her
interests include marriage and family, friends, current events, gardening,
reading, homemaking, and spending time at the beach and in the mountains.
Christy is the daughter of well-known Baptist educator Bill Treadwell, who
taught Christian Education and Leadership/Administration at both Southern and
Truett Seminaries.
The Somervilles have two daughters. Ellie is in her third year
as a student at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Catherine is a
junior in the School Without Walls, a DC magnet high school.
Born March 14, 1959, in Selma, Alabama, Jim moved with his
family to Wise, Virginia, in 1961, and to Boone County, West Virginia, in 1967.
He grew up as the third of six sons of a Presbyterian minister who had a special
ministry to the poor in West Virginia.
He earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, in 1991. His major was New
Testament and his minor, Preaching. He earned the Master of Divinity from
Southern Seminary in 1987 with a concentration as a Pastor/Teacher.
Jim was an Art major and minored in English when he graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, in 1981.
He was ordained (1986) by First Baptist Church, New Castle, KY
and licensed (1984) by Faith Baptist Church, Georgetown, KY.
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