Beloved SBC President Steve Gaines Enters Hospice as Cancer Spreads to Lungs

Former SBC President Steve Gaines Enters Hospice After Two Year Battle With Kidney Cancer

Former Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines has entered hospice care, marking a solemn turn in his more than two year battle with kidney cancer. Gaines, who served two terms as SBC president from 2016 to 2018, was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in November 2023.

In March 2024, Gaines reported encouraging news, saying his cancer was "really, really going away." However, the disease eventually spread to his lungs, making treatment increasingly difficult.

Gaines served as lead pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, one of the largest congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention, for nearly two decades beginning in 2005. He announced his transition out of pastoral ministry in September 2024 and was given the title of pastor emeritus.

Ben Mandrell, who previously served as chief executive officer of Lifeway Christian Resources, was elected by the Bellevue congregation in July 2025 to succeed Gaines as lead pastor.

Steve has faithfully served the Lord and shepherded so many people through the years. He's been a great pastor, mentor and friend.

Mandrell shared those words about his predecessor as the church community rallied around Gaines and his family during this difficult season.

Gaines also served on the committee to revise the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000, a foundational doctrinal statement for the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition to his cancer, he has been battling myasthenia gravis, a condition that causes severe muscular weakness.

Steve Gaines Hospice Care: SBC Leader's Family Asks For Privacy During Final Days

The Gaines family has requested that visitors refrain from coming so they can focus on spending meaningful time together and caring for him during these days. The announcement has prompted an outpouring of prayer and support from Southern Baptists across the country.

The Crusader's Opinion

Pastor Steve Gaines gave his life to shepherding God's people. Nineteen years at the helm of one of America's great churches. Two terms leading the largest Protestant denomination on earth. And now, in his final season, he faces it the same way he lived: with faith, with family, and with the Lord. This is a man who ran the race well. Let every believer lift this family in prayer. When one of ours suffers, we all feel it. That is the Body of Christ.

Take Action

• Pray: Lift up Pastor Steve Gaines and his family during this difficult time. Pray for peace, comfort, and the presence of God in their home.
• Support Bellevue Baptist Church: Send words of encouragement to the church community at www.bellevue.org as they rally around their pastor emeritus.
• Share: Post this story and encourage your church community to pray for the Gaines family and for all pastors who give their lives in service to God's people.
• Donate: Support pastoral care and ministry through www.TheShepherdsShield.org to help ministers and their families during times of crisis.