Memphis | Former SBC President Steven Gaines died Friday afternoon (March 20) Bellevue Baptist Church announced. “It’s with a heavy heart that we share with you the passing of our beloved Pastor Emeritus, Dr. Steve Gaines. After a two-year long battle with cancer, Bro. Steve stepped into eternity earlier this afternoon, and he is now fully healed in the presence of the Lord.”
He entered hospice March 12. He has battled kidney cancer since 2023.
Shortly after his death was announced, current SBC President Clint Pressley posted on X, “He was an outstanding husband father and pastor. A generation ahead of me but always gracious humble and a lot of fun. Join me in praying for the family.”
“Bro. Steve has faithfully served the Lord and shepherded so many people through the years,” Bellevue Baptist Church Pastor Ben Mandrell wrote when Gaines entered hospice care. “He’s been a great pastor, mentor, and friend. Let’s honor him and his family by lifting them up before the Lord.”
Gaines, 68, served two terms as SBC president, elected in 2016 and 2017. He won the first term after J.D. Greear stepped aside following a razor thin margin in a three-way race that would have meant multiple run-offs. A photo of Gaines and Greear praying together at the podium remains memorable. Greear followed Gaines in the presidency in 2018.
Gaines followed Adrian Rogers as pastor of the historic Memphis megachurch in 2005, no mean feat that offered bumpy years at the outset. But he endured.
Illinois has two significant connections to Steve and Donna Gaines. His successor in 2025 is Tampico native Ben Mandrell, who left the presidency of Lifeway to accept the pastorate. And one of Gaines’s close friends is Doug Munton, pastor of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon.
“God put Steve Gaines in my life when we were in our 20s,” Munton told the Illinois Baptist. “We were working on our PhDs, pastored nearby churches and often carpooled to seminary together. Traveling 100-mile round trips gave us plenty of time to solve the world’s problems, talk about our families, and sharpen our ministry philosophies. We later joined a small group of likeminded pastors in a prayer group that was exceedingly meaningful.”
Munton and his wife, Vickie, have spoken on several occasions about the value their circle of seminary friends that includes Steve and Donna Gaines.
“You (and should) get many new friends in life. But don’t forget to thank the Lord for the old friends he used to shape and strengthen you,” Munton said. “I’m glad God put Steve in my life—a prayer warrior, bold witness, generous giver, and passionate follower of Jesus.”
Gaines served on the committee that revised the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). He assumed the title “pastor emeritus” on his retirement from Bellevue last year.
The church also requested prayer for the Gaines family. “Please join us as we lift the entire Gaines family up in prayer during this difficult time. The Lord is faithful, and we trust in His goodness to be near Donna and the family and encourage them every day. Thank you for praying with us for Bro. Steve’s family.”
–Eric Reed
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Baptist Press: Former Bellevue pastor and SBC president dies at 68