Historic announcement: Converge welcomes new president, thanks Scott Ridout

In a historic vote, the Converge Board of Overseers has unanimously approved the appointment of Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr. as President of Converge. Pastor Jenkins, who is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, is the first African American to lead our 170-year-old movement.

He succeeds Scott Ridout, who resigned as President, effective September 1, 2022. As Scott has said, through a clearer “understanding and expectation of the president’s role, it has become very apparent to me that while many of my skills would be essential to this role, some of the expectations do not land in my areas of strength. I want Converge to have the best possible leadership for the future of the movement.”

During his eight years in leadership, Scott served admirably and brought many gifts to the organization. He has been a great ambassador for Converge and has successfully promoted the overall vision. Moreover, during Scott’s leadership, we planted a significant number of churches in our network thereby expanding Converge’s footprint in the United States and internationally.

Converge is a spiritually dynamic, missionally driven, relationally devoted, and culturally diverse movement of leaders who together start and strengthen churches worldwide. We believe that ministry is best accomplished when services, ministries and programs are implemented as close to the local level as possible through our regions.

Over the last year, the Board of Overseers has clarified the role of the President to ALIGN VISION, INSPIRE EVERYONE and MULTIPLY RESOURCES. We all believe that Pastor Jenkins is the right leader to unite us together to start and strengthen more churches and to send more workers out to advance the gospel.

The Converge bylaws allow for an appointment of a new President when a vacancy occurs between biennial meetings. In the interim period until our next biennial meeting in 2024, the Board of Overseers unanimously voted to appoint Pastor Jenkins as the next Converge President. Pastor Jenkins will remain the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden International in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Additionally, the Converge Board has approved a chief operating officer to oversee the day-to-day operations of the national office. Converge Northeast Regional President Tim Ponzani is currently serving in this role in an interim capacity.

Pastor Jenkins is a 25-year member of Converge and has served in various leadership positions for our movement. Previously, he served as the Vice President of National Ministries. Recently, he joined the Board of Overseers and its Executive Committee.

In Converge, God has united us, providing us with the right people in leadership at the right time. We are excited about the future, and we are BETTER TOGETHER!