Throughout most of September, we will have Dr. J.D. Payne bringing us a message from God’s Word. Dr, Payne serves as an Associate Professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University. Prior to this, he was the pastor for church multiplication with The Church of Brook Hills in Birmingham. He served for ten years with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and as an Associate Professor for Church Planting and Evangelism in the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lousiville, Kentucky, where he also directed the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting.
Upon completing his doctoral studies at the age of 27, he became one of the youngest professors to serve in the history of Southern Seminary. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Payne has written extensively in the area of missions, evangelism and church growth. He is the author of ten books. He is the host of “Strike the Match,” a podcast that addresses missions, innovation, and leadership.
J.D. has served as a pastor of five churches in Kentucky and Indiana and has worked with four church planting teams, Originally from Corbin, Kentucky, he came to faith in Jesus Christ as a teenager and soon surrendered to God’s call in his life to full-time service. He has a B.A. from the University of Kentucky, and an M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He is married to Sarah, a physician in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics with Christ Health Center in Birmingham. They have three children: Hannah, Rachel, and Joel. Let’s welcome Dr. Payne to Eastmont as we worship our Lord Jesus Christ together!