Robert N. "Bob" Nash

Robert N. (Bob) Nash passed away on August 31, 2017 at Halcyon Hospice in Atlanta, Georgia. A son of the late Andrew and Fern Nash, he is survived by his wife, Janet Carpenter Nash, two sons, Rob Nash, Jr. (Guyeth) and David Nash (Vicki), six grandchildren (Brittany, Lindsay, Courtney, Douglas, Stephanie, and Auden), and four great-children (Cole, Jackson, Mackenzie, and Charlie). He is also survived by his sister, Patricia Nash Millwood.

Born in Athens, Georgia on February 27, 1936, Bob graduated from Jackson County High School, Truett-McConnell College and Mercer University. Called to the ministry during his teenage years, he was ordained at Oconee Heights Baptist Church and served as pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Tiger, Georgia, Musella Baptist Church and Baconton Baptist Church. After graduating from college, he attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC where he received his Master of Divinity degree while also serving as pastor of Oakland Heights Baptist Church in Salisbury, NC. Upon graduating from seminary, Bob was called as the full-time pastor of the Arlington Street Baptist Church in Greenville, SC.

In 1964, the Nashes were appointed to the Philippines as missionaries of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Following language study in Manila, Bob served as a church planter in Cotabato City on the island of Mindanao and in Cebu City in the Visayan Islands and as part-time Philippine mission administrator. Over the course of his thirty year missionary career, he would serve as full-time mission administrator for the Philippine Baptist Mission, associate to the area director for Southern Asia and the Pacific (based in Singapore) and as the president of the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. He also served as interim pastor of the Clark Field Baptist Church in Angeles City, Philippines and the Calvary Baptist Church in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1991, Bob became a human needs and community development consultant at the International Mission Board in Richmond, VA. His last full-time ministry position was as Director of Missions for the Sarepta Baptist Association in Athens, Georgia. After retirement, he also served as interim pastor of a number of churches in the northeast Georgia area and as Development Officer for Heart Ministry, Inc. in Lavonia, Georgia and the Penfield Christian Home in Penfield, Georgia, rehabilitation centers for men and women with drug and alcohol addictions. He and Jan established Nash Ministries, Inc. to promote and implement mission projects in the US and around the world.

Bob received several awards and honors over the course of his career. Mercer University recognized his years of missionary service with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Truett-McConnell College and was recognized as an outstanding alumnus of the College. He was honored in 1992 for his work as Overall Coordinator for Earthquake Relief Efforts in Benguet Province, Northern Luzon, Philippines by the provincial governor and by the Clark Air Force Base Commander for United States Relief Efforts.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to Nash Ministries, Inc. at 322 Summer Drive, NE, Atlanta, GA 30328 and designated for the James and Mary Lochridge College Building. The building is under construction on the campus of Southern Baptist College in Mlang, Cotabato in the Philippines in the area that Bob served as a church planter. The college educates students preparing for the ministry and other professions.

The family will receive friends at Oconee Heights Baptist Church, Monday, September 4, 2017 beginning at 1:00 PM with memorial services following at 3:00 PM.