Description

Panelists
1. Emily Hull McGee serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church on Fifth, a delightful community of saints practicing bold love and boundless compassion in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The beloved community of First on Fifth has modeled courageous leadership over the past few years, as they addressed familiar challenges among historic churches with aging facilities by tearing down two-thirds of their existing buildings and realigning their landscape of ministry with a renewed sense of vision for the community. Prior to her calling to Winston-Salem in July 2015, Emily served for six years as Minister to Young Adults at Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Among other commitments in Baptist life and in the broader community, Emily enjoys being close to her alma mater of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, hiking the trails of North Carolina’s state parks, and running around after her three precious (and precocious) young kids. Emily is married to Josh, and their children are Liam (8), Annabelle (5), and Silas (4).

2. Kyle Thompson is the lead pastor of SouthPark Church in Charlotte, NC. He has pastored churches for 25 years. Kyle is a graduate of High Point University and Harvard University. His main responsibilities at SouthPark Church include casting vision for the direction of the church, teaching at the weekend worship services, and leading the staff. Kyle is married to Lora. They have two sons, Luke and Nathan.
Having served the community for 50 years, the church felt led to love and to serve the ever-changing, dynamic SouthPark community in a more dynamic way. In order to do this, the church relaunched with a new name and a new mission. To use the property to its full potential, God instilled a vision in the congregation to give up the current iconic building and to take on the Love SouthPark initiative. Love SouthPark creates a place for the church and community to intersect, leading people into the rich life found in Jesus Christ. Click here to watch an in-depth video about the project.