Terry Posey, retired Sun City pastor, dies

Terry Posey, retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Sun City, died Jan. 15. He was 82.

Posey was pastor of the Sun City church for more than 15 years. Prior to that, he was pastor of churches in Oregon and Idaho.

In his 43 years of pastoral ministry, he led the churches he pastored to start more than 20 new churches, either as the sponsoring or supporting church.

“Terry never pastored a megachurch, but tomorrow, thousands will have a place to worship because of what he did,” said Monty Patton, Send Network Arizona missionary, during the message at the memorial service on Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Sun City church.

Ken Belflower, AZSBC church planting facilitator until his retirement Jan. 31, also noted Posey’s church planting efforts.

“Pastor Jerry Bowling from Hillside Baptist in Phoenix and Pastor Terry, First Baptist Church, Sun City, led their churches to form partnerships to start some 22 church plants,” he said. “Some of the more successful plants were Cotton Lane Baptist Church, Black Mountain Baptist Church, Happy Valley Baptist Church, Mountain Ridge Baptist Church, and Cross Church (formerly Palm Vista Baptist Church).”

In the early 1990s, Posey led First Baptist, Sun City, to cosign loans for church plants to construct their first unit buildings, Belflower said. In addition, the church financially supported the new church plants with salary assistance and start-up assistance.

“We owe a debt to him and FBC Sun City for their involvement in church planting in Arizona!” Belflower said.

Both in the Northwest and in Arizona, Posey was active in leadership in his local association and served on the Executive Committee or Executive Board of the state convention. He served as a trustee of the North American Mission Board for eight years.

Posey is survived by Cecile, his wife of 56 years; sons Mark and Wes (wife Melanie); daughter Missy; grandsons Brandon (wife Danica), Brian and Bradley; and great-grandchildren Layla and Camden.

“What I remember about Pastor Terry is his love for his family,” said David Johnson, Arizona Southern Baptist Convention executive director, speaking of Posey’s legacy at the memorial service. “When I was pastor at First Southern Baptist in Phoenix, Missy, Mark, and Wes and his family were all members. I remember several occasions when Pastor Terry would come to dedicate or baptize one of his grandchildren. He did not want to miss out on any significant event in their lives, especially the spiritual steps they took!

“Being the pastor to his kids and grandkids gave me a special connection to Pastor Terry and Cecile, which was a great blessing. While Pastor Terry was a pastor, church planter, and even chairman of the Arizona State Mission Board, being a husband, father and grandfather was by far the most important role in his life! But above all, he was a Christian who loved the Lord, lived out his faith, and shared it with everyone he met!”