Dr. Mark Dance selected as next ABSC executive director. (Submitted)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Dr. Mark Dance has been selected as the next executive director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC).
The ABSC Executive Board unanimously approved the recommendation of the Operating Committee, which served as the search team, during a meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 19. The decision makes Dance the 36th executive director in the 177-year history of the Convention that began in 1848.
The executive director leads the ABSC staff in serving the needs of and assisting the Convention’s nearly 1,500 churches and encouraging missions cooperation among them. The search for the next executive director began in the spring, following Dr. Rex Horne’s announcement that he would begin the process of transitioning out of the role.
Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro Senior Executive Pastor Dr. Bill Panneck led the search at the request of Operating Committee Chairman Eddie Morgan. Panneck called it a “tremendous honor” to serve on the search team.
“Each man on the team would tell you what a blessing it was to have a front row seat as we watched God direct us to Dr. Mark Dance,” Panneck said. “Every recommendation we received, every reference we interviewed, and every moment we spent in prayer confirmed that Dr. Mark was God’s choice for this position at this time. When we had the face-to-face interview one of the team members exclaimed, ‘Today’s visit has brought 100% clarity and confirmation.’”
Dance comes to the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from GuideStone, where he served as director of Pastoral Wellness. Prior to that he was an associate vice president at Lifeway and served as a local church pastor for 30 years and 10 as a pastoral ministry leader.
Additionally, Dance is the co-founding leader of the Care4Pastors Network and author of “Start to Finish.” He earned degrees from Howard Payne University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dance said his prayer is that God will use what he has learned to “help Arkansas Baptist pastors, churches, and various ministries fulfill their mission.”
“Dr. Mark Dance has been a faithful advocate for pastors and local churches throughout his ministry. His work at GuideStone built on a lifetime of service, and his leadership in pastoral wellness has helped strengthen the very people who strengthen our churches,” said GuideStone President/CEO Dr. Hance Dilbeck. “I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside Mark both at Oklahoma Baptists and here at GuideStone, and I’ve seen firsthand his heart for shepherds and his commitment to helping them finish well. Arkansas Baptists are gaining a leader who understands the weight and joy of ministry — and who will serve them with wisdom, energy, and grace.”
Throughout his four decades in ministry, Dance has had the privilege to pastor churches in four unique contexts: a revitalization, a replant, a relocation, and two interims. He served as the lead pastor of Second Baptist in Conway for over 13 years. His adult children, Holly and Brad, were both Conway Wampus Cats. They grew up attending JoyWorks, PraiseWorks, and Super Summer.
Dance grew up in Tyler, Texas, at Green Acres Baptist Church with a father who was a faithful deacon, and a mother who was a Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) secretary. The BCM building at University of Texas at Tyler is named after her.
At 15 years of age, Dance gave his life to Christ at Camp Ozark in Mt. Ida on June 12, 1980. One year later, God clarified His call to ministry in the solitude of Dance’s bedroom. Dance and his wife, Janet, met in college and were a “bonafide BCM couple,” he said. She has helped him lead about 120 marriage events for ministers in the last decade.
Dance shared with the search team that his heart would be to minister to pastors and their churches in such a way that they would feel like the most important church in the Convention.
“It seems that with Dr. Mark’s leadership, the ABSC and its churches are poised for great things in the future,” Panneck said.