Randy Maynard serves as a regional mission catalyst with the Baptist state convention.

Prior to joining the state convention in January 2022, Randy served for 25 years with the International Mission Board (IMB). During his service, he served as a strategy coordinator for 12 years for an East Asian unreached people group. He also served for many years supervising church planting team leaders.

Later Randy served as a cluster leader for the East Asia region and led the Finishing the Task initiative to see every unengaged, unreached people group engaged with the gospel across East Asia. During his last assignment, Randy lived in northern Thailand and served as a mission mobilizer on the connections team. He and his wife retired from the IMB in July 2021.

Prior to mission service, Randy was a registered nurse and spent 13 years as a critical care registered nurse and a life flight nurse.

Randy is a nursing graduate from both Marshall University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also earned a master of divinity with an emphasis in cross-cultural church planting from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Randy was born and raised in the Huntington, W.V. area but moved to Durham, N.C. in 1988. He and his wife, Vickii, have four adult children. They are active members of Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham where Randy was ordained and he and Vickii were commissioned and sent out as IMB missionaries.

Eric Mullis serves as a regional mission catalyst with the Baptist state convention.

Prior to joining the state convention, Eric served for 15 years with the International Mission Board. Most recently, he lived in Bangkok, Thailand, where he served as a church planter and team leader for the Bangkok city team. Prior to moving to Bangkok, Eric lived in Hat Yai, Thailand, where he worked as the team leader/strategy coordinator for the southern Thailand region.

Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a master’s degree in intercultural studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in applied theology (missiology) from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Eric grew up in Concord, N.C. Prior to vocational ministry, Eric lived in Charlotte, where he worked in real estate. He and his wife, Tricia, have three children. In his free time, Eric enjoys reading, spending time with family, traveling, watching Carolina Panthers football and hiking in the North Carolina mountains.

Patti Cardwell serves as a ministry assistant for the Ministry Strategies group. She has been on staff at the Baptist state convention since April 2008.

Patti graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.

She and her husband, Kevin, are members of First Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina, and participate with the Gideons Auxiliary/Gideons International.