Richmond-based International Mission Board president steps down

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The president of the International Mission Board has announced he is stepping down. The board says David Platt is resigning to focus on his church in Northern Virginia.

Platt has been the president of the Richmond-based organization since 2014. The IMB is the ‘missionary arm’ of the Southern Baptist Convention.

In September 2017, Platt started working as the pastor of McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia. Back in February, he told the board to begin searching for a new president. Platt told the board he would continue to serve as president of IMB until a successor was found. He will be replaced by interim president Dr. Clyde Meador.

“Recently, however, in light of trustee concerns about me serving as a pastor in a church while finishing my service as president of the IMB, trustee leaders asked me to consider stepping down from my position in the near future rather than waiting for my successor to be in place,” Platt said in a statement. “I want to honor the authority God has placed over me in every way I can, and I want to do whatever is best for the IMB.”

Two months ago, 8News exposed the International MIssion Board failed to report child sex abuse allegations. 

Mark Aderholt, a prominent Southern Baptist leader was arrested on July 3 and charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Texas back in the late 1990s. But 8News investigator Kerri O’Brien uncovered that the International Mission Board knew about the abuse for more than a decade and never reported it to police.

“This decision has absolutely nothing to do with the outside examination into IMB’s past,” Julie McGowan, IMB spokeswoman, told 8News. “Dr. Platt is the one who initiated that examination because he believes it is important, and he has ensured that trustees will continue that examination under the leadership of IMB’s interim president.”

Platt’s resignation will be effective September 27, and Meador will become the interim president, pending the full board’s approval. 

Click here to read more of 8News’ previous coverage.