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2023 SESSION
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Wayne D. Faison, senior pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, was elected to serve as executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia on November 16, 2022; and
WHEREAS, a native of Ocala, Florida, Wayne Faison earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Florida in Gainesville and spent more than 15 years in the banking industry, beginning as a teller at the former Mid-State Federal Savings Bank and rising through the ranks to ultimately serve as vice president of commercial banking at the former AmSouth Bank of Florida; and
WHEREAS, hearing the call to the ministry in 1992, Wayne Faison was licensed in 1993 and ordained in 1997 at New St. John Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida; he then assumed the position of senior pastor of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Flemington, Florida, from 1997 to 2001; and
WHEREAS, Wayne Faison cultivated his abilities as a spiritual leader by attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, earning a master’s degree in missions, evangelism, and church growth from what is now the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Ministry in 1996 and a doctor of ministry degree in Black church leadership from the seminary’s School of Theology in 2001; and
WHEREAS, Wayne Faison settled in the Commonwealth in 2001 after taking a position with the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) as part of its Virginia Baptist Mission Board, providing training and assistance to churches and pastors within the organization’s network; and
WHEREAS, Wayne Faison served as the pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk in an interim capacity beginning in 2013 and was later confirmed as the church’s full-time pastor in 2014, while he also continued to carry out his duties with the BGAV on a part-time basis; and
WHEREAS, as pastor of East End Baptist Church, Wayne Faison has provided his congregation with uplifting spiritual guidance and abundant opportunities for community outreach, including a local food bank, school partnerships, and global mission trips to distant locales such as South Africa, Haiti, and Central America; and
WHEREAS, Wayne Faison’s background in architecture and banking proved especially valuable at East End Baptist Church in recent years as the historic church was in the process of constructing a new building on its property; and
WHEREAS, upon being elected executive director of the BGAV, Wayne Faison made history as the first African American to lead the organization in its 199-year history; and
WHEREAS, Wayne Faison has worked tirelessly to be a positive and transformative influence in his community, helping to make Suffolk and the Commonwealth a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Reverend Dr. Wayne D. Faison, senior pastor at East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, on the occasion of being named the executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Reverend Dr. Wayne D. Faison as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his leadership and service.