ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Clint Clifton, senior director of resource and research strategy at Southern Baptist’s North American Mission Board (NAMB), died Jan. 12 in an airplane crash in Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County, Ga., about 60 miles north of Atlanta.
According to the Dawson County News in the county seat of Dawsonville, “at about 9:12 a.m. on Jan. 13, the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office E-911 Center received a call reporting a possible plane crash near the wildlife management area’s Shoal Creek and Dawson Forest roads, [Dawson County Sheriff Jeff] Johnson said. He later clarified…that the crash occurred in the evening of Thursday Jan. 12 but was not reported until the morning of Jan. 13.”
Clifton was the only person in the small plane and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, the newspaper reported.
NAMB President Kevin Ezell announced the loss to the NAMB family in an email saying, “God generously gifted Clint in so many ways. He had a pastor’s heart and was a talented church planter with a passion for reaching people for Christ.
“He loved what we do here at NAMB and poured his heart and life into it… We miss him already and he leaves a void that can’t be filled.”
“Our team is stunned by this loss,” said Trevin Wax, NAMB vice president for research and resource development. “Clint was a gifted leader who loved pouring his life into mentoring and resourcing church planters. His passion for the kingdom was always on display, and he devoted ceaseless energies into seeing pastors strengthened and equipped for mission.”
According to Clifton’s Linkedin profile, the Florida native was a graduate of Florida Baptist Theological College (2001) in Graceville, Fla., and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (2004) in Lynchburg, Va. He served in several pastoral roles in Florida, Alabama, and Virginia.
Clifton is survived by his wife of 22 years, Jennifer, and five children: Noah, Ruthe, Isaiah, Betchina, and Moses.
