PROFILE

PROFILE
Gary Frost
Personal: Lives in Coitsville with his wife of 22 years, Lynette Bentley Frost. They have six children and two foster children and have taken in more than 45 foster children. The native of Youngstown's East Side was an All-City quarterback in football and also played basketball. He played football at Mount Union College in Alliance and was all-conference quarterback and the conference's most valuable offensive player in his senior year.
Education: Graduate of East High School, 1972; Mount Union College with a bachelor's degree in psychology, 1976; Central Bible College with a bachelor's in religious education, 1980; Ashland Theological Seminary with a master's in pastoral psychology, 1984.
Pastor of Rising Star Baptist Church on Youngstown's East Side since 1983. Rising Star was 2 years old when he took over. It now has 900 members.
Served two terms as President of the State Convention of Southern Baptists in Ohio, in 1991 and 1992. He was the first black to hold the positions.
Served two terms as second vice president of Southern Baptist Convention, from 1994 to 1996. During that time, he promoted the racial reconciliation motion approved in 1995 by the denomination formed by Baptists that supported slave ownership.
Member of the National Executive Committee of the SBC in Nashville, Tenn.
Co-chairman of the spiritual board of overseers of the Greater Youngstown Coalition of Christians.
Board member of Southside Community Development Corporation that operates Oak Hill Renaissance Place.
President of the Board of Eagle Heights Academy on Youngstown's South Side. It has about 860 students.