Michael Blackwell

Blackwell was born to Clitus Shelly Blackwell (March 15, 1909 – January 1988)[3] in Gaston, North Carolina. As Blackwell would later describe, his father Clitus Blackwell was "Hollywood handsome" and although he quit school in 1925 at the age of 16, he would later return to school and graduate at age 21. It was through him that Michael Blackwell would learn to preach, and to do so in a way that "the person on the back row could hear [him]."

Michael Blackwell started his career at Baptist Children's Homes in July 1983. Under his leadership, the church has become accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. He has contributed to and led to the successful completion of two major capital campaigns, and the creation of public-private partnerships to better serve youth and families. The Biblical Recorder named Dr. Blackwell as one of the "30 most influential Baptists in North Carolina in the 20th century."[4] Blackwell has written countless uplifting, spiritual, devotional blog posts on the church's blogging website, including a June 25, 2020 post in which he praises the church for its resilience, and "beating with one heart" to the glory of God.[5] On March 17, 2020, Blackwell, along with other staff members of the church, committed to helping those in need who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]