Dr. Robert E. Bob Reccord,
President, North American Mission Board

Dr. Reccord was elected as the first president of NAMB by the Board of Trustees on June 19, 1997, in Dallas, Texas. Born in Norfolk, Va., Reccord grew up in Evansville, Ind. He accepted Christ as a young person, but began to seriously consider God's call on his life while in college.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Indiana University. It was there he met his wife, Cheryl Ann. Both began to grow spiritually while involved in Campus Crusade for Christ at the university. Ordained to the ministry in 1973 by Calvary Baptist Church, Evansville, Reccord earned Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry Degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1975 and 1979, respectively. His first full-time service was as minister of outreach and spiritual development at First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Texas. Reccord left First Baptist to serve as director of witness training for the Home Mission Board. Later, he became director of leadership training for Evangelism Explosion International.

In the 1980s, he served as vice president of sales and marketing for a Michigan company as a means of supporting his bivocational ministry. He left that ministry to co-pastor Carmel Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C., and later became senior pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon, Fla. He was called as senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va., in 1992. His graduate dissertation was Equipping Metropolitan Church Leadership for Growing Evangelical Churches. He has done postgraduate work at Regent College, Oxford, England, on the history of revival and great awakenings.

Reccord has served in numerous leadership positions in local associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention, including serving as a member of the SBC Executive Committee. He chaired the task force that provided oversight of the implementation of the SBC restructuring plan called the Covenant for a New Century, but stepped down when he became a candidate for the NAMB presidency. He and his wife have three children: Christy Joy, Bryan Christopher, and Ashley Nicole.