Three world-renowned speakers will be featured at North Greenville University's (NGU) Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) gatherings this spring.
Clayton King, a teaching pastor at NewSpring Church, and his wife Sharie will be featured Thursday, Feb. 18. Dr. Don Wilton, best-selling author, former NGU Trustee, and senior pastor at First Baptist Spartanburg will speak Thursday, March 18. Dr. Johnny Hunt, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and senior vice president of evangelism and leadership for the North American Mission Board (NAMB), will speak Thursday, March 25. All services are held in Turner Chapel on the Tigerville Campus.
"BCM is both humbled and honored to welcome these incredible ministers to our stage. BCM is currently in a sermon series entitled "Role Models," and I cannot think of any one group more qualified than these individuals to represent "Christlikeness" and to serve as role models among the NGU family than these distinguished individuals," said NGU BCM Director Joshua Gilmore.
For over thirty-three years, Clayton King has been preaching the gospel all over the world. He joined the staff of Newspring Church, the largest church in SC, in 2016, where he currently serves as one of the teaching pastors. He and his wife Sharie will be ministering together as a couple on Feb. 18 through a discussion on romantic relationships.
A native of SC, Clayton mapped out Crossroads summer camp's beginnings in his college dorm room. Over twenty years later, Clayton King Ministries has expanded into a multi-faceted para-church organization that serves students, church leaders, and congregations across the United States. He has also written several books and studies, including "Stronger," "The True Love Project," "Overcome," and "Grounded."
Clayton lives in Anderson and mostly spends his time traveling, preaching, and speaking at churches, conferences, and leadership events. He is the husband to Sharie and father to two sons, Jacob and Joseph. He loves good books, black coffee, four-wheelers, traveling, and anything that gets him outside and in the woods.
Dr. Don Wilton, originally from South Africa and a former member of the NGU Board of Trustees, has served as senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Spartanburg since 1993. He also serves as president of The Encouraging Word television ministry. This ministry reaches thousands of homes through the regional CBS-affiliate, WSPA-TV, and millions of households nationally and globally through The Encouraging Word.
He has written and published many manuals, articles, and reviews for the Southern Baptist Convention, Preaching and Decision magazines, and other publications. Wilton has served as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He is a frequent speaker for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove and the Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism held around the world. Wilton was blessed to serve as Graham's pastor before his passing in 2018.
He is a distinguished Bible expositor, a frequent guest of other TV ministries, guest speaker, and preacher in many Bible conferences, state conventions, seminaries, and colleges across the nation.
Wilton and his wife, Karyn, have three adult children: Rob, Greg, and Shelley. Rob and his wife, Annabeth, have four children, Bolt, Mack, Birk, and Carolina. Greg and his wife, Abby, have four children, Max, Charlie, Oliver, and Gabby. Both Rob and Greg also serve in the Gospel ministry, and Shelley serves with Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse.
Dr. Johnny Hunt, the former longtime pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, GA., and past president of the SBC, joined the North American Mission Board (NAMB) as senior vice president of evangelism and leadership in 2019.
Before Woodstock, Hunt served at Lavonia Baptist Church in Mooresboro, NC, Falls Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC, and his home church, Longleaf Baptist Church in Wilmington, NC.
Hunt's educational credits include a BA in Religion from Gardner-Webb University, where he was voted "Ministerial Student of the Year" in 1979. He continued onto Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity in 1981. Southeastern honored him in 1997 by naming him The Chair of Biblical Preaching in his honor in 1997. He has also received several honorary doctorates over the years for his work in ministry.
Hunt and his wife, Janet Allen Hunt, have two daughters Deanna Carswell and Hollie Hixson, and four grandchildren, Katie, Carson, Hope, and Addie.
"I do not want anyone to miss out on what God is doing at NGU's BCM. Everyone is welcome to attend, and everyone will be blessed in their attending," said Gilmore.
All three events are held on Thursdays from 7-8:30 p.m. in Turner Chapel. The University welcomes all members of the community to attend free of charge. Pastors are encouraged to bring their church staff and members of their congregation.
NGU's vibrant BCM hosts events that provide opportunities for students to grow in faith, build discipleship skills, and develop ministry giftedness. Some of the ways students can plug-in and participate are weekly worship, impact teams, commuter luncheon, IGNITE Conference, REVEAL hands-on community project, and CONVERGE.
To learn more about NGU's BCM, visit ngu.edu/baptist-collegiate-ministry.
