President Emeritus, International Mission Board

Born

March 16, 1942, in Tupelo, Mississippi; also lived in Clinton, Mississippi

Education

• Bachelor of arts degree from Mississippi College, Clinton
• Master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas
• Honorary doctor of divinity degree from Mississippi College
• Honorary doctor of missions degree from California Baptist University, Riverside

Married

Bobbye Simmons of Brookhaven, Mississippi

Children

• Lori (daughter) and Chip were appointed in 1999 and are currently serving in Central and Southern Asia in community outreach and encounter. They have three children, Samuel (born in 2002), Miriam Anna (born in 2004) and Gloria (born in 2005).
• Russell (son) and Angela and their three children, Zachary (born in 1995), Joseph (born in 1999) and Anna Grace (born in 2002), currently live in Nashville, Tennessee where Russell is the Manager of Editorial Services/Editor-in-Chief of LifeWay’s Communication Department. They previously served in East Asia from 1999 to January 2005.

Pre-Career Missionary Experience

• Pastor of Sadler (Texas) Baptist Church
• Youth director and associate pastor at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas
• Baptist Student Union director and Bible instructor at Grayson County Junior College, Denison, Texas
• Summer (1962) missionary to New York and Vermont for the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board and summer (1963) missionary to the Philippines for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board

Special Honors

• Mississippi College Hall of Fame
• Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities
• 1972 Outstanding Young Men of America
• Mississippi College Service to Humanity Award, 1976

Authored

• A Journey Of Faith And Sacrifice: Retracing The Steps Of Lottie Moon, written by Jerry Rankin and photography by Don Rutledge. Published by New Hope in June 1996.
• Empowering Kingdom Growth to the Ends of the Earth, written by Jerry Rankin. Published by IMB in June 2005.
• Lives Given, Not Taken, co-authored by Jerry Rankin and Erich Bridges. Published by IMB in June 2005.
• The Challenge to Great Commission Obedience, written by Jerry Rankin. Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN in 2006.
• Spiritual Warfare: The Battle for God’s Glory, written by Jerry Rankin. Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN in 2009.
• In the Secret Place: A Pilgrimage Through the Psalms, written by Jerry Rankin. Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN in 2009.
• Spiritual Warfare and Missions: The Battle for God’s Glory Among the Nations, co-authored by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer. Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN in 2010.

Previous Board Assignments

• Appointed missionary to Indonesia in June 1970.
• General evangelist in East Java and Surabaya, Indonesia.
• Associate to the area director for South and Southeast Asia, Jan. 1, 1982 July 31, 1986, based in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Administrator for Southern Baptist mission work in India, August 1986 May 1987.
• Area Director for Southern Asia and Pacific, May 31, 1987 June 14, 1993. Based in Singapore, he oversaw the work of 480 missionaries in 15 nations.
• President of the International Mission Board June 14, 1993 – July 31, 2010.

Current

President Emeritus, International Mission Board, SBC