Bryan C. Loritts (born February 11, 1973) is an American pastor, author, and speaker known for his work building multiethnic churches and his leadership at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. The son of respected pastor and author Crawford Loritts, Bryan has spent more than two decades preaching, planting churches, and writing books focused on race, culture, and the gospel, becoming one of the most sought-after voices in American evangelicalism on the subject of multiethnic ministry.
[IMAGE: Bryan Loritts preaching at The Summit Church]
Bryan Loritts at a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Bryan C. Loritts |
| Born | February 11, 1973 |
| Age | 53 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Korie Loritts |
| Children | Three sons: Quentin, Myles, and Jaden |
| Father | Crawford W. Loritts Jr., pastor and author |
| Education | |
| Bachelor’s | Cairn University, Biblical Studies (1995) |
| Master’s | Talbot School of Theology, Biola University (1998) |
| Doctorate | D.Min., Liberty University (2021) |
| Ministry | |
| Title | Teaching Pastor |
| Church | The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina |
| Since | 2020 |
| Other roles | VP of Regions, Send Network; President, The Kainos Movement; Board of Trustees, Biola University |
| Career | |
| Books | 10+, including Right Color, Wrong Culture and Saving the Saved |
| Founded | Fellowship Memphis (2003); The Kainos Movement |
Who Is Bryan Loritts?
Bryan Loritts is a pastor, author, and multiethnic-church advocate who currently serves as teaching pastor at The Summit Church, one of the largest and most influential Southern Baptist congregations in the country. He’s spent his ministry pursuing a single, consistent vision: seeing multiethnic churches become the norm rather than the exception in American Christianity. That mission has taken him from planting a church in Memphis to pastoring in New York City and California, and now to a multi-campus preaching team on the East Coast.
Is Bryan Loritts Related to Crawford Loritts?
Yes. Bryan Loritts is the son of Crawford W. Loritts Jr., a widely respected pastor, national evangelist, and longtime staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru). Bryan has spoken often and openly about growing up as the son of, in his own words, “not just a preacher but a great preacher, and not just a great preacher but a great person.” He has credited his father as one of the three biggest influences on his life and ministry, and the two have appeared together on stage and in interviews discussing legacy, fatherhood, and preaching.
[IMAGE: Crawford Loritts and Bryan Loritts father and son preaching]
Where Does Crawford Loritts Preach?
Crawford Loritts served 15 years as senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia, joining the congregation in 2005 and retiring from full-time pastoral leadership around 2020. Before that, he spent 27 years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ and helped co-found Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. He has also been a frequent speaker at major national platforms, including three Super Bowls and the NCAA Final Four Chapel.
Where Does Crawford Loritts Live?
Crawford Loritts and his wife Karen live in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Since stepping back from the day-to-day pastorate at Fellowship Bible Church, he has continued ministry work through Beyond Our Generation, an organization he founded to encourage and equip the next generation of Christian leaders. He and Karen have four grown children and 11 grandchildren.
Early Life and Background
Bryan Loritts was born on February 11, 1973, into a family with deep roots in ministry. His father’s calling to preaching shaped much of his childhood, and Bryan has described watching his father weep in the pulpit and give generously to those in need as formative memories that shaped his own approach to ministry. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies from Cairn University, then pursued graduate theological training at Talbot School of Theology, part of Biola University, earning his master’s degree in 1998.
Ministry Career and Professional Journey
Fellowship Memphis (2003–2015)
In 2003, Loritts moved to Memphis with a clear goal: plant a multicultural, multigenerational church from the ground up. He co-founded Fellowship Memphis and led it for twelve years, building it into a recognized model for multiethnic church planting in the Southern Baptist world and beyond. During this period, he also co-founded The Kainos Movement, an organization dedicated to helping churches reflect the full diversity of the communities around them.
Trinity Grace Church and Abundant Life Christian Fellowship
After leaving Fellowship Memphis in 2015, Loritts pastored Trinity Grace Church in New York City before moving west to serve as lead pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountain View, California, a congregation affiliated with the Church of God.
The Summit Church (2020–Present)
In June 2020, Loritts joined the pastoral staff at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, one of the country’s largest and most influential Southern Baptist congregations. Then-senior pastor J.D. Greear, who went on to serve as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, called Loritts “one of the most gifted pastors and preachers in the United States” when announcing his hire.
[IMAGE: The Summit Church campus Raleigh Durham North Carolina]
At The Summit, Loritts serves as teaching pastor, working across the church’s multi-campus preaching team, overseeing leadership development, and leading the congregation’s ethnic diversity initiatives. He remains active in that role today, regularly preaching at Summit campuses and traveling to guest-preach at churches around the country.
What Are Bryan Loritts’ Most Memorable Quotes?
Across his books, Loritts consistently returns to themes of grace, gospel-centered identity, and honest conversations about race within the church. A few of his most quoted lines include:
“Competence isn’t enough, there has to be the right culture as well.” — Right Color, Wrong Culture
“Any leader who is unwilling to transfer power to others has a failed view of the incarnation.” — Insider Outsider
“There can never be any true reconciliation horizontally without our first being vertically reconciled to God.” — Insider Outsider
These lines capture the throughline of his ministry: gospel-first thinking applied to some of the hardest conversations in the American church, particularly around race, leadership, and grace.
Books and Publications
Loritts has authored more than ten books over his career, several of which have won industry recognition.
- Right Color, Wrong Culture: The Type of Leader Your Organization Needs to Become Multiethnic — a practical guide for churches and organizations pursuing genuine diversity rather than surface-level representation.
- Saving the Saved: How Jesus Saves Us From Try-Harder Christianity into Performance-Free Love — winner of the Christianity Today Award of Merit, this book argues against a performance-driven approach to faith.
- Insider Outsider: My Journey as a Stranger in White Evangelicalism and My Hope for Us All — a personal and pointed account of navigating race within predominantly white evangelical spaces.
- Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- A Cross-Shaped Gospel and God on Paper.
- The Dad Difference, his most recent release, focused on fatherhood.
Ministry Philosophy: The Multiethnic Church
Loritts’ central conviction, repeated across nearly every platform he’s had, is that multiethnic churches should be the norm, not the exception, in American Christianity. Through The Kainos Movement and his role with the Send Network, he has spent years training church planters specifically in how to build congregations that reflect the diversity of the communities around them, rather than defaulting to homogeneous congregations shaped by convenience.
He’s been careful to frame this vision as gospel-driven rather than politically motivated, arguing in his own writing that an effective multiethnic leader talks about Jesus Christ far more than he talks about race, and connects any conversation about ethnicity directly back to the gospel.
Personal Life
Loritts is married to Korie Loritts, and the couple has three sons: Quentin, Myles, and Jaden. He has spoken publicly, including alongside his father, about the value of fatherhood and the kind of legacy he hopes to pass down, themes that show up directly in his book The Dad Difference.
Addressing the Fellowship Memphis Investigation
When Loritts joined The Summit Church in 2020, past events at Fellowship Memphis resurfaced publicly. In 2010, the church’s worship director, Rick Trotter, who was also Loritts’ brother-in-law, was found to have secretly recorded women. Loritts has said he fired Trotter immediately upon learning of the misconduct and instructed his team to notify authorities.
The Summit Church commissioned an independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions, released in March 2021. The 20-page report, based on 21 interviews and a review of police records and Loritts’ communications, found no convincing evidence that Loritts covered up the abuse. Investigators noted that on more than one occasion, Loritts had encouraged victims to consider pressing criminal charges. The report did identify areas where Loritts, in hindsight, wished he had handled things differently, including more thorough documentation and preventing any future ministry role for his brother-in-law. The Summit Church stated publicly that the review “solidified its support for Loritts.”
Influence and Legacy
Loritts has built a reputation as one of the leading voices in the American church on multiethnic ministry, a topic he’s approached from the pulpit, in print, and through direct church-planter training via the Send Network. His books, particularly Right Color, Wrong Culture and Insider Outsider, are frequently cited in conversations about race and the American evangelical church. As part of a well-known multigenerational preaching family, alongside his father Crawford, Loritts also represents a continuation of a family legacy in ministry that spans decades.
Interesting Facts About Bryan Loritts
- He interned under Dr. Tony Evans at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas early in his ministry training.
- His book Saving the Saved won the Christianity Today Award of Merit.
- He and his father, Crawford, both hold seats at the intersection of preaching and public speaking on major national stages, a rare father-son pairing in American evangelical ministry.
- He serves as Vice President of Regions for the Send Network, the Southern Baptist Convention’s church-planting arm, training the next generation of multiethnic church planters.
- He sits on the Board of Trustees at Biola University, where his father also has deep ties through Talbot School of Theology.
Bryan Loritts Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1973 | Born February 11 |
| 1995 | Graduates from Cairn University with a B.S. in Biblical Studies |
| 1998 | Earns M.A. in Theology from Talbot School of Theology, Biola University |
| 2003 | Co-founds Fellowship Memphis |
| 2015 | Leaves Fellowship Memphis; becomes pastor of Trinity Grace Church, New York City |
| 2016 | Publishes Saving the Saved, winner of the Christianity Today Award of Merit |
| 2020 | Joins The Summit Church as executive/teaching pastor |
| 2021 | Independent Guidepost investigation finds no evidence of abuse cover-up at Fellowship Memphis |
| 2021 | Completes D.Min. at Liberty University |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bryan Loritts?
He is an American pastor, author, and multiethnic-church advocate currently serving as teaching pastor at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
Is Bryan Loritts related to Crawford Loritts?
Yes, Crawford Loritts is his father. Crawford is a well-known pastor, author, and former national evangelist who spent 27 years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.
Where does Crawford Loritts preach?
Crawford Loritts served as senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia, for 15 years before stepping back from full-time pastoral ministry around 2020.
Where does Crawford Loritts live?
He lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with his wife, Karen.
Where is Bryan Loritts a pastor?
He serves as teaching pastor at The Summit Church, a multi-campus Southern Baptist congregation based in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
What are some of Bryan Loritts’ most memorable quotes?
He’s widely quoted for lines like, “Competence isn’t enough, there has to be the right culture as well,” from Right Color, Wrong Culture, and “Any leader who is unwilling to transfer power to others has a failed view of the incarnation,” from Insider Outsider.
