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Voddie Baucham
Voddie Tharon Baucham, Jr. (March 11, 1969 – September 25, 2025) was an American pastor, author, and educator. He served as Dean of Theology for nine years, from 2015 to 2024, at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.
Baucham was the founding president of Founders Seminary in Cape Coral, Florida, in January 2025.
Baucham was born in Los Angeles in 1969. His mother, Frances, was a teenager at the time, and his father left the family not long after his birth. Voddie grew up in Los Angeles with his Zen Buddhist mother, but the two moved to South Carolina when he was twelve to live with an uncle who was a Vietnam War veteran. Baucham then attended a Texas high school with the dream of attending the United States Air Force Academy.
Instead of studying at the Air Force Academy, Baucham studied at New Mexico State University for the 1986-1987 school year, playing football as a tight end. While there, he learned about Christianity and eventually converted. He transferred to Rice University for his sophomore year and continued playing football there. During this time, he also began preaching and was ordained as a Baptist minister. After completing his sophomore year, he married Bridget Wilson and started having children shortly thereafter. He later transferred to Houston Baptist University, where he graduated with a B.A. He went on to earn an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Baucham also pursued post-graduate study at the University of Oxford. He founded Voddie Baucham Ministries in 1993.
Baucham was active in itinerant preaching for many years, primarily in Texas, and spoke at some of the early Passion Conferences in the late 1990s. He later served as pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, (a congregation within the Southern Baptist Convention) until moving to Zambia in 2015. He was a board member of Founders Ministries.
In February 2021, Baucham experienced heart failure and had to travel to the Mayo Clinic Florida for treatment. A GoFundMe campaign for his medical expenses raised more than a million dollars.
In March 2022, Baucham confirmed that he had been asked to accept a nomination for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, though he noted that, as an overseas missionary, he was unsure of his eligibility. He also received the 2022 Boniface Award from the Association of Classical Christian Schools, given to recognize "a public figure who has stood faithfully for Christian truth, beauty, and goodness with grace." In 2024, he moved back from Zambia to the United States. In January 2025, it was announced that he would be one of the founding faculty of Founders Seminary in Florida. Baucham remained in the position until his death in September 2025.
He and his wife Bridget had nine children. He was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Baucham died on September 25, 2025, at the age of 56, after suffering an emergency medical incident.
Voddie Baucham
Voddie Tharon Baucham, Jr. (March 11, 1969 – September 25, 2025) was an American pastor, author, and educator. He served as Dean of Theology for nine years, from 2015 to 2024, at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.
Baucham was the founding president of Founders Seminary in Cape Coral, Florida, in January 2025.
Baucham was born in Los Angeles in 1969. His mother, Frances, was a teenager at the time, and his father left the family not long after his birth. Voddie grew up in Los Angeles with his Zen Buddhist mother, but the two moved to South Carolina when he was twelve to live with an uncle who was a Vietnam War veteran. Baucham then attended a Texas high school with the dream of attending the United States Air Force Academy.
Instead of studying at the Air Force Academy, Baucham studied at New Mexico State University for the 1986-1987 school year, playing football as a tight end. While there, he learned about Christianity and eventually converted. He transferred to Rice University for his sophomore year and continued playing football there. During this time, he also began preaching and was ordained as a Baptist minister. After completing his sophomore year, he married Bridget Wilson and started having children shortly thereafter. He later transferred to Houston Baptist University, where he graduated with a B.A. He went on to earn an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Baucham also pursued post-graduate study at the University of Oxford. He founded Voddie Baucham Ministries in 1993.
Baucham was active in itinerant preaching for many years, primarily in Texas, and spoke at some of the early Passion Conferences in the late 1990s. He later served as pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, (a congregation within the Southern Baptist Convention) until moving to Zambia in 2015. He was a board member of Founders Ministries.
In February 2021, Baucham experienced heart failure and had to travel to the Mayo Clinic Florida for treatment. A GoFundMe campaign for his medical expenses raised more than a million dollars.
In March 2022, Baucham confirmed that he had been asked to accept a nomination for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, though he noted that, as an overseas missionary, he was unsure of his eligibility. He also received the 2022 Boniface Award from the Association of Classical Christian Schools, given to recognize "a public figure who has stood faithfully for Christian truth, beauty, and goodness with grace." In 2024, he moved back from Zambia to the United States. In January 2025, it was announced that he would be one of the founding faculty of Founders Seminary in Florida. Baucham remained in the position until his death in September 2025.
He and his wife Bridget had nine children. He was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Baucham died on September 25, 2025, at the age of 56, after suffering an emergency medical incident.