Pastor Fred Luter, Jr., the first African American President of the Southern Baptist Convention, is the Senior Pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fred Luter, Jr. began his ministerial journey on what he refers to as his “Damascus Road Experience.” In 1977, a motorcycle accident seriously injured his body but ultimately saved his soul. As a result of the accident, he made a conscious decision to surrender his life entirely to Christ. Every Saturday, on the street corner of Galvez and Caffin Avenue in the Lower Ninth Ward, Luter would preach the gospel to all who wanted to hear.