OXFORDSHIRE, England (ABP) -- In a move members will approve April 28, the Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain has nominated Jonathan Edwards as its next general secretary. The nomination followed the retirement announcement of former General Secretary David Coffey.

Coffey, president of the Baptist World Alliance, said he supported the nomination.

“I have known Jonathan as a fellow minister and friend for a number of years and observed first-hand his excellent gifts of servant leadership, spiritual wisdom and pastoral care that have proved such a rich blessing to many people,” Coffey said in a statement.

Edwards, 50, has served as a South West Baptist Association regional minister since 1998 and became a team leader for the group in 2002. Prior to serving with the Church Missionary Society in India, he studied law at St. John's College, Oxford, and trained for Baptist ministry at Oxford's Regent's Park College.

After his nomination, Edwards told the council he felt “a complete sense of peace” about accepting the committee's recommendation.

“This is not because I am confident in myself but because I am now firmly convinced this is of God," Edwards said.

Upon approval by the Baptist Assembly of his nomination, Edwards will begin his new position next fall.

The fifth-largest Christian denomination in the United Kingdom, the Baptist Union of Great Britain has more than 2,100 churches in England and Wales.

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