David received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior as a nine-year-old during Vacation Bible School at Westwood Baptist Church in Live Oak, Florida. He was nurtured in a loving and caring family, church, and youth group and surrendered to God’s call to full-time Christian service at the age of seventeen. Graduating from Suwannee High School in 1977, David went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Stetson University in Deland, Florida (1981) and a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (1986).
David became the Mission Strategist for the Middle Florida Baptist Association on November 1, 2022. Prior to that, he served churches and Associations in North Florida for 35 years, including serving as a NAMB Missionary (Church and Community Ministries Director) with the Jacksonville Baptist Association for 17 years.
David exists to help people connect with God’s purpose, clarify God’s plan, and conduct lives filled with meaning. He and his wife Donnie reside in Live Oak and have 3 grown children. His hobbies include reading, watching movies, solving puzzles, and spending time with family, especially his four grandchildren.
Lauren is a 6th generation Floridian and a native of Madison County. She began her tenure with the Middle Florida Baptist Association in March of 2019. She is a graduate of North Florida College and the University of Florida, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
She and her husband Josh are raising three boys: Jacob, Jackson and Jonathan. They are members at Fellowship Baptist Church. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors, exercising, traveling, antique shopping and participating with her "Circle of Sisters" women's retreat team.
North Region Catalyst with the Florida Baptist Convention
Phillip Herrington
Send Email • (386)590-6251Phillip Herrington’s call to the ministry came when he was a junior in high school and a member of First Baptist Church of Live Oak. After high school, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and then received his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
His first job out of seminary was back at his home church in Live Oak serving as pastor to students and children. He served in that role about five years before answering God’s call to become senior pastor at the church and served there for the past 18 years.
Herrington began working with the Florida Baptist Convention in July 2023 as the north region catalyst.
Herrington and his wife Cristina have been married for 26 years. Cristina works as an academic coach at a local middle school. They have two children, Emma, 20, and, Jack, 15, whom they adopted from Haiti in 2012.
Phillip’s role as regional catalyst is to connect with and engage churches, pastors and staff in areas of church planting, church revitalization, community ministries and other ways the convention can be “right beside” the churches. The partnership with local associations is an important relationship in serving churches throughout the Middle Florida Baptist Association and all of north Florida.
