Tom Elliff, longtime pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, has resigned as senior pastor, to go back in to the mission field. His last Sunday will be Oct. 23.

It is always difficult for any church to lose their pastor, however, as strong as First Southern is, they will survive and God will send them the right man to be their leader.




Pastor follows his preaching to new post



By Carla Hinton
The Oklahoman

With his new post with the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, the Rev. Tom Elliff is putting into practice what he has been preaching for years.

That's true in more ways than one, he said this week.

During his Aug. 7 sermon, Elliff told his congregation at First Southern Baptist Church of Del City about his plans to resign as their senior pastor to become senior vice president for spiritual nurture and church relations for the mission board.

"It was the best of days and the worst of days. We did a lot of crying," Elliff said, describing his dialogue with church members.

"It's just hard to say goodbye to those you love."

His final Sunday at the church will be Oct. 23, and he will start in his new post Nov. 1.

Elliff said the decision to make the change was difficult because of his love for the church where he has served as pastor for 20 years. Elliff served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1996-98) but continued to serve as leader of First Southern.

"It's so hard for me to imagine being anywhere but First Southern. It's just in my DNA," he said.

But the longtime preacher said he and his wife, Jeannie, and their children have always been huge supporters of missionary work and have encouraged church members to do the same. The couple has traveled extensively over the years on overseas mission assignments.

Elliff, 61, said he and Jeannie served as missionaries to Zimbabwe more than 20 years ago, "and as a result of that, we have always had strong ties to them" (the International Mission Board).

He said the family left the African country after Jeannie and the children were involved in a car accident, and the long-term medical treatment needed for one of his daughters was only available in the United States.

Elliff said in addition to their missionary work with First Southern, he and his wife have conducted several training conferences for the mission board. Last month, the two traveled to Poland, Thailand and Moscow on behalf of the mission organization.

Elliff said the mission board first approached him about 12 years ago, requesting that he consider becoming president of the organization. Elliff said he and his family prayed about the offer and decided to stay put.

He said the recent developments came from several conversations with Jerry Rankin, International Mission Board president, and the Elliffs' commitment to service through missionary work.

Elliff said the major emphasis of his ministry with the International Mission Board will be teaching and training outgoing missionaries and serving as pastor to the mission board's staff. He said he will also work to encourage Southern Baptist pastors to continue their efforts on behalf of missions.

Rankin said he was pleased when Elliff decided to accept the post.

"We are thrilled that Tom and Jeannie Elliff have felt God's leadership to join the IMB team at this point in their ministry," Rankin told the Baptist Press, the daily news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

"The Elliffs have reflected a call to missions throughout their ministry. They each have been an adviser and encourager to our leadership and have already been involved extensively in ministering to our missionaries and training national leaders around the world," Rankin said.

Elliff said his family and friends were equally thrilled, particularly his children, who share his heart for overseas missionary work.

He said two of his three daughters and their spouses are longtime missionaries, serving in places including Thailand and Cambodia.

"I think our entire family loves to do mission work," he said.

While his congregation can see him become immersed in the mission effort he has long preached about, there is another of his frequent sermon topics that Elliff is bringing to life: Age doesn't matter when it comes to serving the Lord.

"I would never have thought at the age of 61 that we would be making this type of major decision, but this is something that I constantly preach," he said.

"I guess it's time for me to practice what I preach."

Elliff said he hopes his new endeavor will cause others to ask God what they should be doing with the balance of their lives.

"If there are to be waves of people sharing the Gospel around the world, there is going to have to be a shift in people's thinking -- that people really do need to know Jesus."

Meanwhile, who and what are next for First Southern?

Elliff said he and his wife will maintain a home in Oklahoma City, although they will be traveling much of the time, particularly to the Richmond, Va., headquarters of the mission board.

Still, he said he's just as excited as anyone else to see who God will choose to lead First Southern, especially since he will attend the church when he is in the metro area.

Elliff said the church soon will select a search committee that will begin the process of finding a senior pastor. He said the history of the church is that it has always continued to grow during interim times. Also, the church's senior pastors, Jimmy Draper and Bailey Smith, plus himself, have been Southern Baptist Convention presidents.

"This church has a great legacy, and I just can't wait, frankly, to see who the next guy is going to be, because he is going to be my pastor. "No one knows who that is going to be but God. God knows."