A deep and abiding love for the church--
the gifted body of Christ

That is the heartbeat of Kenneth S. Hemphill, who became the seventh president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on July 28, 1994 after a unanimous vote by the board of trustees.

A groundbreaker in the area of church growth, Dr. Hemphill came to the presidency after serving as director of the Southern Baptist Center for Church Growth in Atlanta, a joint venture of the Home Mission Board and the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He previously served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Virginia, taking the congregation from a membership of less than 1,000 in 1981 to almost 7,000 in 1992.

A native of Morganton, North Carolina, Dr. Hemphill was born April 17, 1948, the son of Carl Roderick and Ruby Kincaid Hemphill. Dr. Hemphill inherited from his father a deep love for the church, as well as pastors. The single greatest human influence in Dr. Hemphill's life, Carl Roderick Hemphill dedicated 55 years of his life to pastorates in North Carolina, serving Carolina Memorial Church in Thomasville for 33 years.

Dr. Hemphill is married to Paula Moore Hemphill of Greenville, South Carolina, a registered cytotechnologist, a former trustee of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board and past president of the Virginia Baptist Ministers' Wives.

The Hemphills share a commitment to and passion for home and foreign missions, having participated in partnership missions to Brazil, Kenya, the former Soviet Union and England. Together they have served in schools of evangelism and church growth for the Home Mission Board, targeting pioneer mission areas.