the king’s academy hosts denominational leader as commencement speaker

Dr. James M. Porch, Executive Director-Treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, will deliver the commencement address as thirty-four seniors receive diplomas in ceremonies at The King’s Academy May 22.

Porch has led the convention, representing approximately 3,000 Southern Baptist churches in Tennessee, since 1993.  The convention has a direct relationship with The King’s Academy, electing the academy’s governing Board of Trustees and providing approximately 12% of the academy’s annual operating expenses through the TBC Cooperative Program, a $39,000,000 annual funding program.

Other TBC affiliated institutions are Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City and Union University in Jackson.  The Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home and Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes, both with multiple locations across Tennessee, also benefit from the financial support of the Cooperative Program and share the same convention-elected governance structure as the academy.

Porch served in a variety of denominational leadership roles before taking the TBC helm.  He pastored churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tullahoma, TN. He served as President of the Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board and Chairman of the Board’s Education Committee.

Porch is a graduate of Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. He earned the M. Div. and Th.D. degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

He has served as a speaker and leader in nationwide Baptist conferences, and led the convention in partnership efforts with Baptists in Iowa and Montana, as well as internationally in Brazil, Canada, Malta, Poland, Venezuela and West Africa.

The ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. in Woody Auditorium on the academy campus.