Pastor Steve Gaines leads a group at a Bellevue Baptist Church event. – Bellevue Baptist Church photo
NASHVILLE (BP) – Friends, family, and numerous others impacted by the ministry of Steve Gaines poured out their thoughts and remembrances after learning of his death. Gaines, 68, died on March 20 after a battle with cancer.
Bellevue Baptist Church, where Gaines served as senior pastor from 2005-24, announced his death on social media at 3:57 p.m. EDT.
“After a two-year long battle with cancer, Bro. Steve stepped into eternity earlier this afternoon, and he is now fully healed in the presence of the Lord,” it read.
“Please join us as we lift the entire Gaines family up in prayer during this difficult time. The Lord is faithful, and we trust in His goodness to be near Donna and the family and encourage them every day. Thank you for praying with us for Bro. Steve’s family.”
Gaines served as SBC president from 2016-2018.
Current SBC President Clint Pressley called him “an outstanding husband, father and pastor.”
Gaines was, “always gracious, humble and a lot of fun,” Pressley wrote on X.
Longtime friend and fellow Southern Baptist leader, Jeff Iorg, told Baptist Press, “Steve Gaines was a remarkable example of family leadership, pastoral effectiveness, preaching power, and evangelistic zeal.”
Iorg, SBC Executive Committee president, thanked God for Gaines, saying, “He inspired me and encouraged me to be a better husband, father, friend and leader.”
Gaines was pastor at Gardendale Baptist Church just outside of Birmingham, Ala., before being called by Bellevue.
“We all saw Steve as a premier preacher, as a leader of leaders and as a man of deep conviction,” said Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions Executive Director Rick Lance.
“The most outstanding attribute I recognized in his life was his walk with God,” he told Baptist Press.
Lance called Gaines “a true difference-maker for Christ.”
“I know for certain he made a huge difference in my life, and I am grateful to God for him,” he said. “My walk with God was positively impacted by his example of intimacy with the Lord.”
Leaders from across the Southern Baptist Convention also weighed in on this significance of Gaines’ life and ministry.
International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood told Baptist Press that Gaines’ passion for evangelism extended far beyond the southeast and North America, and that he cared deeply for getting the Gospel to the nations.
“Dr. Gaines was a great encourager to me and to our Southern Baptist missionaries,” Chitwood said. “More so than any pastor in the history of Bellevue Baptist. He led the church to greater generosity and partnership with the IMB to share the gospel around the world.”
Gary Hollingsworth, interim president for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the impact of Gaines’ ministry “is hard to measure in human terms.”
Hollingsworth called him “a gift” to Southern Baptists. “His kingdom impact will continue long after his earthly passing.”
North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell wrote on X, “So thankful for life & ministry of Steve Gaines.”
Ezell remembered how Gaines would often look for ways to encourage pastors, “He always sought out the ones others would often overlook. Grateful for his friendship & the genuineness of his walk with Jesus.”
Seminary presidents also weighed in on how Gaines made an impact on the coming generation.
“I am grateful for the commitment of Steve Gaines to proclaim the Good News. He was always ready, even doing door-to-door evangelism with @NOBTS students as a part of our Serve Days. The faith of Steve Gaines is now sight. Praise God we are a people who grieve with hope,” Jamie Dew, New Orleans Seminary president, wrote on X.
Southern Seminary’s Albert Mohler said he would greatly miss Gaines and hopes many will pick up the torch passed by Gaines. “When a preacher dies, who will now answer the gospel call?” Mohler asked. “We need more young men ready to answer the call to preach and to serve God’s people for the generations ahead.”
Southwestern Seminary played a significant role in Gaines’ life. He earned two degrees from the school and received numerous recognitions as a student.
“Steve Gaines was an exemplary Southwesterner, a faithful preacher of the gospel, a gifted leader, a man of prayer, a joyful encourager, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and a special friend to many,” Southwestern Seminary President David Dockery wrote on X.
Former SBC President J.D. Greear will always be linked with Gaines. At the 2016 SBC Annual Meeting, repeated votes for the two presidential candidates ended in draws. Greear eventually withdrew. He shared on X that the story could have gone differently.
“What most people don’t know is that he first insisted it be him to drop out,” Greear said. “But it was clear that he was God’s choice for that hour. Stepping aside to serve and follow him was one of the easiest decisions I’d ever made.
“May God give us 10,000 more like him. We certainly need more of him in this hour. You are loved and will be missed, brother.”
Countless pastors and fellow believers took to social media in the immediate hours after the announcement of Gaines’ passing to share how he made a personal impact on them.
In Memphis, knowing Gaines’ homegoing was near, Bellevue pastor Ben Mandrell dedicated the final minutes of his March 15 message.
Mandrell asked Baptist Press to draw from the sermon as he remembered his predecessor and friend. His sermon was based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
“I chose this passage because it reminds me so much of Pastor Steve,” Mandrell said.
“Steve Gaines, the Ph.D, who found more joy in being with the everyday person than he did in walking among the elites.
“Steve Gaines, who never grew tired of talking about being just a West Tennessee country boy, called by God, to preach the Gospel.
“Steve Gaines, who loves Bluegrass and Ricky Skaggs more than any other man on Earth – a man who was likely to break out in song on any given Sunday.
“When I think of 1 Cor. 2, and the Apostle Paul’s heart to see people saved through the clear proclamation of the Gospel, I think of Steve Gaines.”
Almost every reflection is undergirded with a call for Southern Baptists to lift up Gaines’ family as they grieve.
He is survived by his wife, Donna; four married children — Grant (Melisa) Gaines, Lindsey (Ryan) Wingo, Allison (Gentry) Hill, and Bethany (David) Golding— and 18 grandchildren.
A public visitation will be held at Bellevue Baptist Church on Sunday, March 22, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The service celebrating Steve’s life will follow at 6:00 p.m. The family has planned a private burial.
