John Avant, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, has accepted a position with the North American Mission Board as vice president of evangelization.

Avant moves into the position vacated by Georgia Baptist John Yarbrough, who accepted the role of vice president for the agency's Strategic Initiatives Group.

A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, Avant pastored four churches in Texas before being called to New Hope in 1996. Avant currently serves as a member of the Georgia Baptist Convention administrative committee and the SBC Executive Committee.

Avant currently serves as a member of the SBC's Empowering Kingdom Growth Task Force. He has served as a NAMB trustee and as adjunct professor at Criswell College and Oklahoma Baptist University as well as a teaching fellow at Southwestern Seminary. He has preached and led conferences across North America and around the world and is the author of several books.

Yarbrough, a member of Mt. Yonah Baptist Church in Cleveland, will have leadership responsibility for NAMB's Strategic Focus Cities Initiative, associational strategies team, and leadership development, stated agency president Bob Reccord.

Yarbrough also served on the SBC Executive Committee for eight years and was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention from 1994-1996.

Yarbrough pastored seven churches in Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee before joining NAMB in 1997. He served on the SBC's Implementation Task Force for the Covenant for a New Century which restructured the denomination, including creation of NAMB.

He is an Atlanta native with degrees from Truett McConnell College, Mercer University, Southern Seminary, and Southern California Theological Seminary.