By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent

Fred Luter, Jr.

Fred Luter Jr. is senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Church in New Orleans, La. A former street preacher, Luter’s vision and leadership helped Franklin Avenue grow from a membership of 65 members on roll to its current membership of 7,000-plus worshippers, making it the largest Southern Baptist church in the city and state.

Pastor Luter is also a respected speaker across the country who made headlines as the first African-American to be elected to the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (in 1992) and the first African-American to preach the Southern Baptist Convention Message (in June 2001).