Stephen Davis Pettit, Sr. (born November 27, 1955) is an American

Christian evangelist In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

and academic administrator serving as the fifth president of

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

Early life and education

Steve Pettit was born in

Quitman, Georgia Quitman is a city in and the county seat of Brooks County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,850 at the 2010 census. The Quitman Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Quitman was a home of James P ...

, but his parents, who had met in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, moved to Columbia,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, when he was three. Pettit spent his childhood in Columbia, performing in a workshop theater founded by his mother and playing the tuba in his high school band. He was the captain of the soccer team and was elected class president at his high school three years in a row.BJU website
Pettit attended

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1978. A teammate on The Citadel's soccer team, a devout Christian, witnessed to Pettit; and on Easter Sunday 1975, in response to a radio sermon, Pettit "called on the Lord, and He saved me by His grace.” Believing he was called to preach, Pettit enrolled in Bob Jones University Seminary and Graduate School of Religion, where he graduated with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in 1980.

Career

He served as an assistant pastor at the First Baptist Church,

Bridgeport, Michigan Bridgeport is an unincorporated community in Bridgeport Charter Township, Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes. The population was 7,849 at the 2000 census. Bridgeport i ...

, from 1980 until 1985 and then formed his own Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association with headquarters in

Pembine, Wisconsin Pembine is a town in Marinette County, Wisconsin, Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,036 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Kremlin, Wisconsin, Kremlin is located in the town, The census-designated pla ...

. He and his evangelistic teams of young people in their 20s conducted more than 800 evangelistic campaigns throughout the United States and in more than 21 countries. Pettit also served as staff evangelist (1985–2002) and camp director (2002–2011) at Northland Camp and Conference Center in Dunbar, Wisconsin. In 2011, he became national director of Cross Impact Ministries. Pettit has been featured in a number of recordings playing the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, and he has written several devotional books. The BJU Board of Trustees named Pettit president on May 8, 2014, after the resignation of Stephen Jones, great-grandson of the founder, Bob Jones, Sr. Pettit thus became the first president of the university not related to the Jones family. During Pettit's first seven years as BJU president, the University gained regional accreditation from the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

Commission on Colleges, the University regained its tax exempt status, it launched a new School of Health Professions, and it added eight new intercollegiate sports and gained provisional membership in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

. During the

Covid pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifi ...

, Pettit opted to open the University for in-person classes in the fall of 2020 and organized several task forces to make the necessary adjustments work successfully.. The 2021 yearbook was dedicated to Pettit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Steve American evangelists Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 1955 births People from Greenville, South Carolina People from Columbia, South Carolina Living people The Citadel Bulldogs men's soccer players Bob Jones University alumni People from Quitman, Georgia People from Bridgeport, Michigan Association footballers not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality