By Kevin Bumgarner
Dr. Corey Abney has been named the new senior pastor at Bell Shoals Baptist Church. Bell Shoals has been without a senior pastor since February 2019, when Dr. Stephen Rummage was called to pastor a church in Oklahoma City after serving in Brandon for nearly 10 years.
As senior pastor, Dr. Abney will lead the multi-campus congregation’s vision and strategy and will preach on Sundays at the Brandon campus, located at 2102 Bell Shoals Rd.
His first Sunday at the Brandon campus will be December 22. Service times are 9:15 and 11 a.m. Dr. Abney also will lead Christmas Eve services scheduled for 3 and 5 p.m.
44-year-old Dr. Abney is currently the lead pastor of Florence Baptist Church in Northern Kentucky, where he has served since 2012.
“I am eager to start serving at Bell Shoals,” Dr. Abney said, following the church’s unanimous affirming of his call on November 24. “This is a church with a rich history in West Central Florida, and I know that God wants to guide our church toward even better days in the future.”
At Florence Baptist, Dr. Abney led the church to see a 32 percent increase in worship attendance while increasing its giving by 35 percent and reducing its debt by nearly 50 percent.
He also has led the church to start two new churches and establish multiple partnerships in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. He also launched a second campus for Florence Baptist as part of a revitalization effort.
“Our Senior Pastor Search Committee did an excellent job of bringing Corey Abney to us,” said Gary Payne, Bell Shoals’ executive pastor. “We are all looking forward to his leadership.”
Dr. Abney and his wife, Christina, have four children. He has a Doctor of Philosophy in Preaching, Old Testament and New Testament from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
For more information about Bell Shoals, visit www.bellshoals.com or call the office at 689-4229.
