VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 9/5/18)—The Mid-American Baptist Churches has announced that the Rev. Jacquline (Jackie) L. Saxon has been called to serve as the next Executive Minister of Mid-American Baptist Churches (American Baptist Churches of Iowa and Minnesota). The Executive Minister Search Committee presented Saxon as the candidate for Executive Minister to the Board of Region Ministries at their board meeting on August 25. She will begin her work with the region on October 1, 2018.

Coleen Remick, Region Board president and Search Committee chair said, “We are excited to call Rev. Jacquline Saxon as the new executive minister of Mid-American Baptist Churches. Her warmth and caring will shine through as she builds relationships with pastors and congregations and brings a fresh spirit to the Region as well as maintaining and building upon the remarkable success of the Mid-ABC Region.”

“Jackie has a real love for God and love for the Church, skills in institutional leadership, a fresh and imaginative approach, and a delightfully engaging presence,” said Rev. Dr. David Russell, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ames, Iowa. “We are delighted to welcome her as the next leader for Mid-American Baptist Churches,”

Rev. Dr. C. Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for Regional Ministries, ABCUSA, said, “Rev. Saxon brings a wide range of experience to this position, including spending time in the corporate world and as dean of students at a seminary. She is also a high energy and creative person. I look forward to seeing how these unique skills will shape the ministry of this region in the years to come.”

Saxon comes to Mid-American Baptist Churches after serving at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary as Vice President for Student Affairs and Vocation and prior to this, as Admission Counselor and Recruiter.

A gifted leader with proven competencies in administration, pastoral care, financial management, and communication, Saxon has been very active in American Baptist life both nationally and regionally. She served as a nationally nominated representative from the American Baptist Churches of the South to the General Board, was the Convener of the American Baptist Women in Ministry Strategy Team, and also co-directed several National Youth Gatherings and was a part of the National AB GIRLS leadership team. She currently serves as the Vice Chair for the American Baptist Foundation Board of Directors.

As an active lay member in American Baptist churches in both New York and Texas, Saxon grew up in Rochester, New York. She is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Banking. She began her career as a Financial Analyst at IBM in Endicott, New York, later transferring to Austin, Texas where she became an Advisory Financial Analyst. While working for IBM, she began to contemplate attending seminary and pursuing a call to ministry. Following over 12 years and much prayer and discernment, Saxon left the company and enrolled as a full-time student and Presidential Scholar at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While she was a seminarian, she was called to be Associate Pastor of University Baptist Church of Austin. She received American Baptist ordination at the church in 2001, and served as Associate Pastor for eight years before leaving to serve at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Saxon left her role at the seminary in March of 2017, and has since walked the Way of St. James (which is also known as the Camino de Santiago), a 500-mile hiking/walking path that starts in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, and ends in Santiago de Compostela in the northwest region of Spain. She has completed this trek twice in the last year and a half and is finishing a manuscript about her experience, to be published in Fall 2018. When not on the Camino she has been sought-after for pulpit supply in the Austin area.

Saxon has said she is delighted, humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve the Iowa and Minnesota ABCUSA family as the next Executive Minister for the Mid-American Region.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.