Photos courtesy of Chandler Snyder.
Chandler Snyder was named the new senior pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church.
Nearly every Sunday for the past four decades, Senior Pastor Buddy Gray has reminded the congregation that Hunter Street Baptist Church is not a building — it’s a people. Nine months after Gray announced his retirement and one week after his last sermon, that group of people voted to affirm a new senior pastor, Chandler Snyder.
The church has been praying for their next leader and affirmed a pastor search committee in October. Hunter Street also used a search firm to help narrow down the list of candidates for the position, said Bill Decker, executive pastor at Hunter Street who served on the 11-person search committee. By January, about 1,000 people were interested in the position, and the committee narrowed the list down in April to three candidates, which included Snyder.
Photos courtesy of Chandler Snyder.
Chandler Snyder and his wife Kelli have three children: Elodie, 12; Waverly, 16; and Atticus, 10.
“Through a series of asking God to open and close doors, our committee was unanimous the Holy Spirit was leading us to Chandler,” Decker said. “The Holy Spirit authored, directed, led and inspired the entire process going back to October of last year.”
Living in Fort Worth, Texas, Snyder said he was familiar with Hunter Street when he first received an email about the position. While he wasn’t looking to leave his job as vice president for institutional relations at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he said he wanted to follow the Lord’s will for him and knew the 119-year-old Hunter Street was unique.
“The reputation of Buddy Gray and his teaching of the Bible and how he sheltered the flock for so long is what interested me in the opportunity,” Snyder said. “This is a historic church — not just in Alabama but in the Southern Baptist Convention.”
A Lexington, Kentucky, native, Snyder said he felt called into ministry when he was in high school, which is also when he started dating his now-wife Kelli. The couple attended the University of Kentucky and played an active role in a church plant on campus. After graduating, they got married and had three children: Waverly, 16; Elodie, 12; and Atticus, 10.
Starting in 2012, the Snyders began serving as missionaries in various countries in Africa, including Madagascar and Kenya, before moving back to the states in 2022 to work at Southwestern. Now the family is excited about this new chapter in their lives, Snyder said.
“As we walked through the process and met with the search committee and saw their hearts were formed by the Scripture and beliefs, we realized there was no reason we wouldn’t want to be here,” Snyder said. “The Lord has affirmed this is what He wants us to do. The affection has grown over the past few months.”
Decker said that feeling was reciprocated. “The affection was a two-way street,” he said. “There’s been no doubt in the minds of the 11 committee members that Chandler is the man the Lord has set apart to be our next pastor.”
Snyder said it’s an honor to continue the ministry of Gray and the rest of the faithful leadership staff, and there won’t be any “fast, flashy changes” as he steps into the role.
“We’re going to continue glorifying Christ, believing the Bible and pointing each other to the goodness of Jesus,” Snyder said. “The unity that has been cultivated here must remain.”
Throughout this season of change, the committee urges the congregation to continue praying for Gray and his wife Tricia, the Snyders and the entire church family. Members have been following a 40-day prayer guide since Snyder stepped into his new role.
“We have relied on God’s word to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,” Decker said. “We’re confident this is God’s work.”
Snyder’s first Sunday as the senior pastor of Hunter Street was Aug. 16, and he said he’s excited to serve Christ with the rest of the congregation.
“The best part about me is what Christ has done for me,” Snyder said. “It will be my joyful obligation every Sunday and every opportunity I get to point God’s people to Christ.”
