Rev. Ronald B. Poythress 

Ron Poythress came to Triangle Baptist Church on October 15th, 2006.  During his ministry he has served churches in Indiana, Maryland and North Carolina. Ron has also worked as chaplain in both hospice and hospital settings.   He received a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Campbell University in 1978, a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY in 1981, and a Master of Theology in 1984.  He completed five units of Clinical Pastoral Education at WakeMed in 1990-91.  Ron was ordained by his home church, West End Baptist, in Henderson, NC in 1980. 

While at Southern Seminary, Ron was Garrett Teaching Fellow for the Department of Christian Preaching.  Ron has several publications and in 1987 he received the Norman W. Cox Award for the best article published by the Baptist History and Heritage Society, formally known as The Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.  He currently serves on the Board of Ministers for Campbell University, and on the board of the Help Center, the only community agency for Carolina and Kure Beaches to meet the needs of the marginalized in those communities. 

Ron’s personal interests include writing and recording songs, playing guitar, singing, poetry, cooking, and traveling and playing board games with his family.  In 2003 he was a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest Music Festival, Wilkesboro, NC.  

Ron’s passion for ministry lies in empowering persons to discover their unique God-given gifts and then employing those gifts to serve Christ and others. He believes deeply in the capacity of every individual to discern God’s voice in his/her life through the reading of scripture, listening to God in prayer, and listening to fellow strugglers in the community of faith. He celebrates diversity in the church and desires to nurture the image of God in all persons. The freedom of the individual as a priest before God coupled with the freedom of the church as priests to one another are at the heart of Ron’s ministry. He cherishes the marvelous heritage of Baptists as champions of religious liberty, the priesthood of believers, the authority of Scripture, and the autonomy of the local church.