VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 3/16/22)—American Baptist Churches USA has called the Rev. Soozi Whitten Ford to serve as part-time interim associate general secretary for Regional Ministries beginning May 15, 2022.
In 2021, Ford retired from the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky, where she served as executive minister for more than nine years.
Dr. C. Jeff Woods, General Secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, said, “I am delighted that Dr. Ford has agreed to fulfill this interim assignment. Her knowledge of regional ministry, her character and competencies, and her deep love for the American Baptist family will be a tremendous asset to our regions, our staff, and our denomination.”
Ford is a graduate of Ottawa University and Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and was ordained by Prairie Baptist Church (Prairie Village, Kan.). Ford’s previous ministry experiences include faculty positions with Sterling College (Sterling, Kan.) and Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Shawnee, Kan.); pastoral positions with First Baptist Church (Casper Wyo.) and Calvary Baptist Church (Cheyenne Wyo.); regional ministry with Mid-American Baptist Churches (Iowa and Minnesota); and national stewardship ministry with American Baptist Churches USA. International mission experiences have included the opportunity to preach and teach, and work alongside local leaders, in Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Northeast India, and South Africa. She is currently serving as volunteer Chaplain with International Ministries.
Throughout her ministry journey, Ford has served on numerous teams, task forces, and boards – at local and national levels. She recently completed terms with the Nehemiah Leadership Network and served as vice chair of the board for Green Lake Conference Center (Green Lake, WI); and on the American Baptist Women in Ministry Advisory Team. Along with Dr. Tom Wiles, she co-chairs the planning team for the 2022 conference, “Radical. Redeemed. Ready.”
Ford has shared her life with Rev. Homer Ford (pastor of First Baptist Church, Franklin, Ind.) for forty years, and together they have two daughters and a son-in-law: Ashley Ford, and Holly and Michael Kelly.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.