BPFNA Calls Interim Executive Director
William Moses Summerville
The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is thrilled to announce the call of the Rev. William Moses Summerville as executive director.
Summerville brings over two decades of experience in pastoral leadership, chaplaincy, politics, academia and peacemaking. Currently, he serves as founding pastor of Kingdom Come Community Church in Long Beach, Calif. A graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, he is currently a doctoral candidate at Omega Graduate School in Dayton, Tenn., researching cultural empathy and leadership dynamics.
“In memory of my parents, Willie T. and Valerian Alexander Summerville, I honor this opportunity to lead with passion and compassion,” said Summerville. “My goal for service is to live up to God’s objective that world peace and the kingdom of God really do go hand in hand.”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside William as he nurtures and sustains the resources of this peacemaking organization,” said BPFNA Treasurer Madison McClendon.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of the practice of chattel slavery on June 19, 1865. This holiday was commonly relegated to residents of Galveston, Texas, after the release of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Summerville’s appointment as the first Black executive director in the organization’s 40-year history on the holiday of Juneteenth carries profound symbolic weight. This historic leadership transition both celebrates Black leadership and represents a renewed commitment to racial justice as integral to the work of peacemaking.
“Being Black American, this call to lead highlights this historic moment commemorating Juneteenth,” said Summerville. “For me to be here, I believe this is the desegregated intent of my ancestors and the founders of BPFNA~Bautistas por la Paz.”
Founded in 1984 with roots in the Baptist Pacifist Fellowship organized in 1940, BPFNA~Bautistas por la Paz is the largest Baptist network of international peacemakers. The organization works together to witness to God’s peace rooted in justice by gathering peacemakers for worship and fellowship, equipping them with resources for ministry in their local contexts and mobilizing them in response to pressing concerns.
BPFNA serves over 4,000 individuals and congregations in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Africa. It is the first Baptist organization with a formal commitment to bilingualism, requiring official communication in both English and Spanish.
