Two pastors have confirmed to The Baptist Courier that they will be candidates for president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention when the convention’s annual meeting is held Nov. 14-15 at First Baptist Church in Taylors.

The first to declare that he would seek the office is Tom Tucker, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Rock Hill. Mike Moody, pastor of First Baptist Church, Honea Path, also has announced his candidacy for president.

The election of officers is scheduled during the convention’s closing session on Wednesday morning.

Tucker will be nominated by a former convention president, Randall Jones, the retired pastor of Langston Baptist Church, Conway. Moody has not yet announced who will nominate him.

Tucker is a member of the convention’s Committee on Committees for 2006 and was president of the South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference in 2005. Moody serves as chairman of the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee of the state convention’s Executive Board.

Tucker formerly was pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Pelzer and has held pastorates in North Carolina — and was in Kannapolis before becoming pastor at Calvary. While in Pelzer, he was moderator of Palmetto Baptist Association and has also served on the Nominations Committee of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He was vice chairman of that committee in 2005. From Shelby, he is a graduate of Campbell University and Covington Seminary. He and his wife Brenda have two children, Krystal and Joshua.

Moody, a Greenville native, graduated from North Greenville and Carson-Newman colleges and Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Since graduating from Southwestern, he has held five South Carolina pastorates — Crossroads in Seneca; Cedar Grove in Belton; Tabernacle in Union; City View First Baptist in Greenville; and First Baptist in Honea Path since 1999. He also has served on the Nominations Committee of the state convention and has held associational positions, including moderator. He and his wife Billie have two sons, Josh and Adam.

Don Wilton, pastor of First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, is the current convention president and will preside at the annual meeting in Taylors.

South Carolina Baptist Convention presidents are elected for one year and are not eligible for a second term until a year has lapsed.

The convention president takes office when the annual meeting adjourns.