Every Church Member Has a Seat at the Table—Nationally and Regionally
Members of the BCNE Board of Directors gather for one of their regular meetings
By the standards of most Southern Baptist “state conventions,” the Baptist Churches of New England is uncommon.
Despite its relatively small size when compared to Texas, for example, BCNE leaders—and by representation every church member—have an equally important seat at the table and an outsized voice on what is decided in Baptist circles across the nation.
Not only does the church network in Northborough, MA, serve six states rather than just one but, with 388 congregations in various stages of growth, it has fewer churches and church plants than some citywide associations in the South such as the Dallas Baptist Association, which serves 446 congregations.
However, as BCNE Executive Director Terry Dorsett reported at the annual meeting last year, BCNE is a majority-minority network of churches. “In the last thirty years, two million internationals have moved to New England and at least 100 languages are spoken across the region.”
“BCNE congregations worship in twenty-four languages other than English” and, he said, “fifty-two percent of the BCNE’s 388 churches worship in a language other than English (in 2022 that total was 44 percent), making the BCNE a majority-minority convention of churches.”
The Nashville-based denomination is taking notice. The “only region where Southern Baptist churches are growing numerically is in New England,” reported Lifeway Research in September 2023.
The national Southern Baptist agency and seminary trustee boards, as listed online, are served by BCNE-appointed representatives. In keeping with the cultural diversity of the region, many of them are Korean, Chinese, or Haitian. This is thanks in part to Paul Kim and the pastors of Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA.
“Though many say we are living in a post-denominational era, I am thankful that New England Baptists still have a significant number of leaders willing to step up and make a difference by leading at the national and regional levels. Our continued growth as a mission entity is dependent on leaders like these. Leadership matters!” Dorsett commented.
The BCNE representatives on national SBC trustee boards are:
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Mitch Kimbrell
Christ Memorial Church, Williston, VT
Term expires 2027
Mitch Kimbrell is the senior pastor of Christ Memorial Church, Williston, VT. He earned an MDiv and a PhD from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, before moving to Vermont in 2017 to be part of the NETS Internship Program. While in seminary, he was an associate pastor and an interim senior pastor. He taught Greek and Old Testament at MABTS.
Executive Committee
Jay Ridenour
First Baptist Church, Sudbury, MA
Term expires 2025
Jay Ridenour, who received an MDiv in 1999 from Beeson Divinity School, is the pastor of First Baptist Church, Sudbury, MA. Originally from the South, he has been part of New England churches for two decades. With an emphasis on authentic community and ambitious mission, the church emphasizes glorifying God while living on mission locally, regionally, and globally.
Gateway Seminary
Kevin Scott
Church at The Well, Boston, MA
Term expires 2025
Kevin Scott is the lead pastor of Church @ The Well, Boston, MA. He is a California native who moved to Boston in July 2011 to plant the church. Previously, Scott served at a camp for inner-city children in upstate New York. He is a graduate of Liberty Theological Seminary and is studying for a doctorate from Gateway Seminary.
Guidestone Financial Resources
Evens Chrysostome
New Birth Evangelical Baptist Church, Holbrook, MA
Term expires 2027
Evens Chrysostome has been the senior pastor for a decade of New Birth Evangelical Baptist Church, Holbrook, MA. A former Sunday school teacher from Haiti, he has preached throughout the United States and abroad at conferences and church revivals for over a decade. He was CFO of New Life Counseling and Wellness Center, Randolph, MA.
International Mission Board
Allison Blessen
City on a Hill Church, Brookline, MA
Term expires 2026
Allison Blessen has lived in Boston for nineteen years and works as a dietitian in private practice, specializing in the care of eating disorders. She and her family have been members of City on a Hill Church, Brookline, since 2010 and have served the church as community group leaders and in children’s ministry. Blessen has family serving as IMB missionaries.
Lifeway Christian Resources
Joseph Han
Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
Term expires 2028
Joseph Han grew up in Minnesota. He is the Pastor of International Student Ministry at Antioch Baptist Church. He earned an undergraduate degree from University of Minnesota, two master’s degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and MDiv and DMin degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Emmanuel Fontaine
Grace and Faith Christian Church, Saugus, MA
Term expires 2026
Emmanuel Fontaine is pastor of Grace and Faith Christian Church, Saugus, MA, which he founded in 2007 in Melrose, MA. Previously he was associate minister of New Jerusalem Evangelical Baptist Church, Randolph, MA. A second-generation preacher from Haiti, he graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), and Newburgh Theological Seminary (Doctor of Theology).
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
David T. Um
Antioch Baptist Church. Cambridge, MA
Term expires 2025
David T. Um has roots in New York before moving to Boston. He is senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, a university-focused congregation in Cambridge, MA. He graduated with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before earning a DMin in 2022 from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
North American Mission Board
Heather Kirk
Renewal Church. Boston, MA
Term expires 2026
Heather Kirk and her husband, Jared Kirk, moved to Boston in 2013 to plant Renewal Church “for the glory of God and the good of the city.” She is a mother to four children and a literacy specialist. Kirk, who received a master’s degree from Gordon College, has a passion for discipling young women seeking their true identity in Christ.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Edward Kao
Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
Term expires 2028
Edward Kao has roots in Houston. He is a deacon of Antioch Baptist Church, a university-focused congregation in Cambridge, MA. He received an undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD from Harvard University. Kao works on the research staff of the AI Software Architecture and Algorithms Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Paul Kim
Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
Term expires 2025
Paul Kim is pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA. An avid walker of some 5,000 miles, he is a native of Daegu, South Korea, and a veteran of the US Army. He planted a network of more than forty churches around the world. Since 2020 Kim has been national chaplain for the Korean War Veterans Association.
Currently, only The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) do not include a BCNE representative on their boards.
The same multiculturalism may be found on the thirty-two-member Baptist Churches of New England Board of Directors and the eleven-member Baptist Foundation of New England Board of Trustees.
BCNE Board of Directors
Franco Albano, Celebration Church, Middleton, MA
John Brownlee, Family Church, Framingham, MA
Luke Callender, Grace Harbor Church, New Bedford, MA
Bob Cote, New Hope Bible Chapel, Templeton, MA
Mark Crossman, Grace Harbor Church, Providence, RI
Roberto De Sousa, Vida Abundante Baptist Church, Saugus, MA
Terry Dorsett, BCNE Executive Director, Northborough, MA
Bashier Doss, Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church, West Roxbury, MA
Lynne Ellis, FaithBridge Church, Manchester, NH
Jerry Erlandson, First Baptist Church, Marlborough, MA
Jim Fontaine, Friendship Baptist Church, Brimfield, MA
Jose Garcia, Iglesia Camino de Fe, Monroe, NY
Phillip Ibrahim, Arabic Baptist Church, Newton, MA
William Jones, The Baptist Fellowship, Randolph, VT
Ari Keller, Small Point Baptist Church, Phippsburg, ME
Walter Mayorga, Iglesia Bautista La Nueva Jerusalem, Bridgeport, CT
Ademi Mirabal, Seacoast Community Church, Portsmouth, NH
Rudy Montano, Iglesia Bautista Nuevo Comienzo, Torrington, CT
Jonathan Moseley, King’s Hill Church, Boston, MA
Charlotte Mullane, Hope Chapel, Sterling, MA
Michael Nerney, Maine Baptist Association, Waterville, ME
Rebecca Pellegrini Faith Community Church, Barre, VT
J. Jack Peterson, Washington Baptist Church, Washington, VT
Josh Rowley, Celebration Church, Middleton, MA
Juan Saa, LifeWay Community Church, Derry, NH
Javed Siddiqui, Calvary Baptist Church, Caribou, ME
Jan Smith, New Creation Fellowship, Chelsea, VT
Lierte Soares, New Life Community Church, Georgetown, MA
Scott Terry, Christ Fellowship Church, South Portland, ME
David Um, Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
Tim Vamosi, Cider Mill Christian Fellowship, Tolland, CT
Matthew Vandeleest, Faith Baptist Church, Warwick, RI
BFNE Board of Trustees
Paul Biswas, International Community Church, Boston, MA
Bridjo Cobbs, The Church on Seven Hills in Worcester, MA
Neal Davidson, Hope Chapel, Sterling, MA
Sweyden Dibble, First Baptist Church Manchester, CT
Lucky Dimmick, Jr., Cornerstone Church, Bethel, VT
Terry Dorsett, BCNE Executive Director, Northborough, MA
Larry Green, Sr., Timothy Baptist Church, Boston, MA
Diane Miers, Faith Church, Auburn, MA
Kelsey Presley, Lakeside Community Church, Waterboro, ME
Jesse Smith, First Baptist Church of Greater Rochester, Rochester, NH
Shaunna Varin, Frenchtown Baptist Church, East Greenwich, RI