In response to accepting the nomination as Executive Director and Treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, Hance Dilbeck resigned as an IMB trustee — and therefore as chair of the IMB board of trustees — Monday, Nov. 27. The first vice chairman of the IMB board of trustees, Dr. Rick Dunbar, has assumed the chair role.

Dunbar, who is an emergency medicine physician, is a member of First Baptist Church Madison, Mississippi. He has served as an IMB trustee since 2009. He was re-elected as the board’s first vice chair during the trustees’ June 2017 meeting in Phoenix.

“I thank Hance for his godly leadership, I am humbled to follow his leadership and, together with the other trustees, wish him the best,” Dunbar said. He asked Southern Baptists to pray “that God will be glorified” as he leads the IMB trustees.

Tim Simpson, pastor of Greenridge Baptist Church, Clarksburg, Maryland, will move from the role of second vice chair to first vice chair. Lisa Lovell, a member of First Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas, continues to serve as recording secretary. In response to an email announcing his resignation, Simpson thanked Dilbeck for his willingness to assist Dunbar as he steps up to lead the trustees.

International Mission Board trustee officers, as of Monday, Nov. 27, include chairman Rick Dunbar, a member of First Baptist Church Madison, Mississippi; recording secretary Lisa Lovell, a member of First Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas; and first vice chair Tim Simpson, pastor of Greenridge Baptist Church, Clarksburg, Maryland. (IMB Photo by Chris Carter)

“We will be praying for you and your wife as you transition to this new and important role,” Simpson wrote. “You have led us with strength and grace. Thank you!”

In a letter to the trustees, Dilbeck said he will be assuming the new Oklahoma convention leadership role Jan. 15. He currently serves as senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Dilbeck said that while he was aware of the possibility that he might be asked to lead the BGCO, “the search committee surprised me with how rapidly they progressed. Thus, a transition that I was anticipating might come late Spring is already upon us.”

“I so appreciate Dr. Dunbar and have every confidence in his capacity to carry on as chairman,” he wrote to trustees. “Know that I will be doing all I can to continue and even increase support for the IMB coming from Oklahoma Baptists.”

“By God’s grace, Hance Dilbeck has led our trustees well, and I am completely confident in God’s grace in Rick Dunbar to continue the same,” said David Platt, IMB President. “I am deeply thankful for a trustee board and trustee leaders who love God, who love the nations, and who love missionaries who are spreading the glory of God among those nations.”

The 2018-19 IMB board of trustee officers will be elected during their June 2018 meeting to be held in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. For a full listing of IMB trustees, visit the online Trustee Directory.