Charles Jerry Vines (born September 22, 1937) is an American Southern Baptist preacher, author, and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, where he served from 1982 to 2006.
Vines is best known for leading one of the largest Baptist congregations in the country, serving two terms as President of the Southern Baptist Convention (1988 to 1989), and helping steer the denomination through its Conservative Resurgence.
He’s also a prolific author whose books on preaching, including Power in the Pulpit, are still assigned in seminary classrooms today.
Now in his late eighties, Jerry Vines leads Jerry Vines Ministries, an organization built around Bible teaching, sermon resources, and pastor training.
His name still shows up in search results tied to two very different things: his decades of expository preaching, and a single controversial sermon from 2002 that made national headlines.
This biography covers both, along with his family, his theology, and the books that built his reputation as one of the most respected preachers of his generation.
Jerry Vines at a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Jerry Vines |
| Born | September 22, 1937, Carroll County, Georgia, USA |
| Age | 88 (as of September 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Janet Denney Vines (m. December 17, 1960) |
| Children | Jim Vines, Jodi Vines, Joy Vines Williams, Jonathan (Jon) Vines |
| Grandchildren | Seven |
| Parents | Charles Clarence Vines (father); Ruby Johnson Vines (mother) |
| Education | |
| Undergraduate | Mercer University, B.A. (1959) |
| Seminary | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, B.D. (1966) |
| Doctorate | Luther Rice Seminary, Th.D. (1974) |
| Ministry | |
| Title | Pastor Emeritus |
| Church | First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida (1982–2006) |
| Denomination | Southern Baptist |
| Ministry today | Jerry Vines Ministries (founder) |
| Website | jerryvines.com |
| Career | |
| SBC Presidency | 1988–1989 (two terms) |
| Books | 20+, including Power in the Pulpit and Vines: My Life and Ministry |
| Net Worth | Not publicly documented (see note below) |
Early Life and Family
Jerry Vines was born on September 22, 1937, in Carroll County, Georgia, near Carrollton and about 45 minutes from Atlanta.
His father, Charles Clarence Vines, sold insurance and furniture and drove a bread truck. His mother, Ruby Johnson Vines, was a homemaker Vines has described as “the quiet one” in a household his father’s outgoing personality tended to fill up.
Vines felt called to preach as a teenager. At just 16 years old, he took on his first pastorate at Centralhatchee Baptist Church in Georgia, years before he’d even started seminary. That early start became a pattern.
By the time he retired from full-time pastoring in 2006, he’d spent more than 60 years in ministry, most of it behind a pulpit.
Education
Vines built his formal education around preaching, not around it. He earned his B.A. from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1959.
He followed that with a B.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966, then a Th.D. from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville in 1974.
He also picked up honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Criswell College and Liberty University, both in 1991.
What stands out most, though, is what he did decades later: in 2017, at age 80, Vines enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Most men his age are slowing down. Vines went back to school.
Ministry and Career Journey
Vines pastored five churches across Georgia, Alabama, and Florida before landing at the pulpit that would define his career. Each stop built on the last, and each one grew under his preaching.
Early Pastorates in Georgia and Alabama
After Centralhatchee, Vines pastored Second Baptist Church in Cedartown, Georgia (1963–1966), then First Baptist Church in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia (1966–1968).
He moved to West Rome Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia, in 1968, where membership climbed from 1,250 to over 1,500 in a little over a year.
While there, he also hosted a local radio program called What’s the Good Word? and served as chaplain for the local high school football team.
In 1974, Vines took the pulpit at Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, where he was elected President of the Alabama Pastors’ Conference.
He returned to West Rome Baptist for a second stint from 1979 to 1981 before the call came that would change everything.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville (1982–2006)
In 1982, Vines relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, to co-pastor First Baptist Church of Jacksonville alongside Homer G. Lindsay Jr. The two men led the church together until Lindsay’s death in 2000, after which Vines continued as sole pastor until his retirement.
Under their leadership, First Baptist Jacksonville grew into what was then the third-largest Southern Baptist church in the country.
During his first 20 years there, Vines baptized 18,177 people. The church built a $16 million auditorium, an $8 million preschool building, and four parking garages, all funded during his tenure.
He also helped launch the First Baptist Church Pastors’ Conference, which drew thousands of ministers from across the country each year.
Vines retired from the pulpit on February 7, 2006, and was succeeded by Mac Brunson. On February 4, 2007, Brunson formally named him Pastor Emeritus, a title he still holds.
President of the Southern Baptist Convention
In June 1988, delegates in San Antonio elected Vines President of the Southern Baptist Convention by a margin of 692 votes out of more than 32,000 cast.
He was 50 years old and still co-pastoring First Baptist Jacksonville at the time. He was re-elected the following year at the SBC’s Las Vegas meeting and served two full terms, from 1988 to 1989.
His election came during the Conservative Resurgence, a decades-long push by theological conservatives to steer Southern Baptist seminaries and leadership back toward biblical inerrancy.
His 1987 sermon “A Baptist and His Bible,” delivered at the SBC annual meeting, is remembered as one of the defining messages of that movement. One nominator at the time put it bluntly: Vines was
“Baptist born, and Baptist bred, and when he dies he’ll be Baptist dead.”
He also served as President of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference from 1976 to 1977, well before his SBC presidency, which gave him a national platform years earlier than most pastors ever get.
Books and Sermon Resources
Vines has written more than 20 books over his ministry, and several of them are still used to train preachers today. His writing splits into two lanes: books that teach other pastors how to preach, and books that preach the message itself.
- Fire in the Pulpit (1977)
- Interviews with Jesus (1981)
- A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation (1985)
- A Guide to Effective Sermon Delivery (1986)
- Wanted: Soul Winners (1989)
- Wanted: Church Growers (1990)
- Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons (with Jim Shaddix, combined edition 1999, revised 2017)
- Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism (contributing author, 2010)
- Vines: My Life and Ministry (autobiography, with Dr. Paige Patterson)
He’s also general editor of The Vines Expository Bible. His best-known work, Power in the Pulpit, is a homiletics textbook still assigned in Bible colleges and seminaries.
Pastor and author David Platt has credited the book directly, saying it shaped who he became as a preacher.
If you’re searching for Jerry Vines sermon outlines, the clearest source is Jerry Vines Ministries, where his sermon library runs to more than 2,000 messages, alongside books, DVDs, and CDs built around his expository style.
Power in the Pulpit also functions as a working guide for pastors building their own sermon outlines, since it walks through his entire preparation process step by step.
Personal Life
Vines married Janet Denney on December 17, 1960. The couple has four children: twins Jim and Jodi, born in June 1963, along with Joy and Jonathan (Jon).
Joy is married to Evangelist Tim Williams. Jon runs Jerry Vines Ministries today as its CEO, keeping the family’s work going a generation later. Jerry and Janet have seven grandchildren.
Away from the pulpit, Vines is an unapologetic Alabama football fan, calling it “a year-round passion.” He and his family regularly spend time in the Smoky Mountains, where breakfast at The Old Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, has become something of a tradition, especially with his grandchildren along for the trip.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
Vines holds to traditional Southern Baptist doctrine built on biblical inerrancy, a conviction that shaped his entire career and put him at the center of the Conservative Resurgence.
He believes Scripture is without error in its original writing, and that conviction is what drove his opposition to what he saw as creeping theological liberalism inside SBC seminaries in the 1970s and 80s.
Is Jerry Vines a Calvinist?
No. Jerry Vines is not a Calvinist, and he’s been one of the more visible voices pushing back against five-point Calvinism inside the SBC.
In 2008, he delivered the keynote address, an exposition of John 3:16, at the “John 3:16 Conference” in Woodstock, Georgia.
That address became the opening chapter of Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism, published in 2010 alongside contributions from Paige Patterson, Richard Land, and others.
He also produced a DVD on the subject titled A Baptist and His Election. His position holds that salvation is offered to anyone who freely responds to it, not limited to a predetermined elect, which puts him firmly in the traditional Baptist camp rather than the Calvinist one.
Influence and Legacy
Vines’ influence runs through two channels: institutional and personal. Institutionally, his SBC presidency helped cement the Conservative Resurgence, shifting the direction of Southern Baptist seminaries for decades afterward.
His work at First Baptist Jacksonville also became a model for expository, growth-focused pastoral ministry, with 18,177 baptisms in just his first 20 years there.
Personally, his books trained a generation of preachers in how to build and deliver a sermon. Power in the Pulpit is still assigned coursework, and pastors like David Platt point directly to it as formative.
Fellow Southern Baptist leader J.D. Greear, who also served as SBC President decades after Vines, represents the kind of leadership pipeline Vines helped build inside the convention.
Criticism and Controversies
In June 2002, at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference in St. Louis, Vines made remarks about Islam’s founder that sparked a national controversy.
Referencing the book Unveiling Islam by Ergun and Emir Caner, he told the audience that Christianity was founded by “the virgin-born Jesus Christ,” while Islam “was founded by Muhammad, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives, and his last one was a 9-year-old girl.”
The remark referred to Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha, described in several hadith accounts as beginning when she was young.
The comments drew swift criticism from Muslim organizations, Jewish groups, and mainline Protestant leaders, who called the language bigoted.
Evangelist Jerry Falwell publicly defended Vines, calling him “a humble man of God.” The SBC’s then-president declined calls to repudiate the statement.
The controversy played out across national outlets, including CNN’s Crossfire, The Washington Post, and Haaretz, and remains the most widely cited controversy tied to his name.
Vines later reiterated at his own church that “God loves Muslims,” while maintaining that he still viewed Islam as a false religious system. He stood by the substance of his original comments in the years that followed.
Net Worth and Financial Information
There is no reliable, independently verified net worth figure publicly available for Jerry Vines. Unlike televangelists who run large media empires, Vines spent his career as a local church pastor and denominational leader, and his income sources are tied to his pastoral salary during his active ministry years, book royalties, and speaking engagements.
Jerry Vines Ministries operates as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit; public tax filings show the organization’s CEO compensation, but that figure reflects his son Jon Vines’ current role leading the ministry, not Jerry Vines’ personal net worth. Any specific dollar figure circulating online should be treated as an unverified estimate.
Awards and Recognition
- President of the Alabama Pastors’ Conference (1976)
- President of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference (1976–1977)
- President of the Southern Baptist Convention (1988–1989, two terms)
- Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Criswell College (1991)
- Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Liberty University (1991)
- Named Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville (2007)
Interesting Facts About Jerry Vines
- He preached his very first sermon as a pastor at just 16 years old, long before he ever set foot in seminary.
- He enrolled in a Ph.D. program at age 80, decades after most pastors retire from formal study.
- He and Janet’s twins, Jim and Jodi, were born the same year Vines was pastoring his first church in Carroll County.
- His sermon library at Jerry Vines Ministries holds more than 2,000 recorded messages.
- He’s a lifelong, self-described diehard Alabama football fan.
Timeline of Key Events
- 1937 — Born September 22 in Carroll County, Georgia.
- 1953 — Begins pastoring Centralhatchee Baptist Church at age 16.
- 1959 — Graduates from Mercer University.
- 1960 — Marries Janet Denney.
- 1963–1966 — Pastors Second Baptist Church, Cedartown, Georgia.
- 1966 — Earns B.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
- 1968–1974 — First stint pastoring West Rome Baptist Church.
- 1974 — Earns Th.D. from Luther Rice Seminary; becomes pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church, Mobile, Alabama.
- 1979–1981 — Returns to West Rome Baptist Church for a second term.
- 1982 — Becomes co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville with Homer G. Lindsay Jr.
- 1988 — Elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
- 1989 — Re-elected SBC President for a second term.
- 2002 — Remarks about Muhammad spark national controversy.
- 2006 — Retires from First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
- 2007 — Named Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Jacksonville.
- 2008 — Delivers keynote address at the John 3:16 Conference on Calvinism.
- 2017 — Enrolls in a Ph.D. program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, age 80.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Pastor Jerry Vines?
Jerry Vines is 88 years old as of September 2026. He was born September 22, 1937, and turns 89 later this month.
Where is Pastor Jerry Vines from?
He’s from Carroll County, Georgia, near the city of Carrollton, about 45 minutes west of Atlanta.
How many children does Pastor Jerry Vines have?
He and his wife, Janet, have four children: twins Jim and Jodi, along with Joy and Jonathan.
What is Jerry Vines’ net worth?
There’s no verified public figure for his net worth. His income has historically come from pastoral salary, book royalties, and ministry-related work rather than any media or business empire.
Is Jerry Vines a Calvinist?
No. Vines is one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s most prominent critics of five-point Calvinism, and he helped lead the 2008 John 3:16 Conference that challenged it directly.
Who is Jerry Vines’ wife?
His wife is Janet Denney Vines. They married on December 17, 1960.
Does Jerry Vines still preach sermons?
Yes, through Jerry Vines Ministries, which maintains a library of more than 2,000 of his recorded sermons along with books, DVDs, and other teaching resources.
What are Jerry Vines’ most well-known books?
Power in the Pulpit, Vines: My Life and Ministry, and his chapter in Whosoever Will are his most cited works, alongside A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation.
What is Jerry Vines’ theology?
He holds to biblical inerrancy and traditional Southern Baptist soteriology, meaning he rejects Calvinist doctrines like unconditional election and irresistible grace in favor of a free-response view of salvation.
When was Jerry Vines born?
He was born on September 22, 1937.
Who are Jerry Vines’ sons?
His sons are Jim Vines and Jonathan (Jon) Vines, the latter of whom now leads Jerry Vines Ministries as CEO.
