By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent

Gary Hollingsworth

Gary Hollingsworth is senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., where he has served since Nov. 2007.

Prior to that, he served as senior director of cultural evangelism at North American Mission Board. While there, he directed five teams: Apologetics and Interfaith Witness, Collegiate Evangelism, the International and Multi Ethnic team, the Evangelism Response Center and Christian Ministry to the United Nations in New York. In the months preceding Hollingworth’s call to Immanuel, God had been redirecting him back to the local church where his heart and passion is to serve as a pastor. As he likes to say, “Being a pastor is not what I do, it’s who I am.”

He had served for nearly 10 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Trussville, a bedroom community to Birmingham. The church experienced great growth necessitating several building programs. The highlight was the completion of a 2,000-seat worship center and full remodeling of the former sanctuary as a student center, preschool area and administrative complex.

Hollingsworth also has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Alabama State Board of Missions and was elected both President of the Pastor’s Conference and Vice President of the State Convention.