After much prayer and reflection, I want to share some deeply personal news with you: later this year, I will retire from my full-time role as Worship Ministries Strategist for N.C. Baptists. This isn’t just an announcement for me; it is a story of calling, obedience, and the faithfulness of God over many years of ministry. My hope is that my journey encourages you as you seek His direction in your own life.

During my college years at UNC-Chapel Hill, God redirected my life in a way I never expected, turning my plans toward worship and music ministry. After college and seminary, He led my wife and me to an amazing church that became our home for 23 years, where I eventually had the joy of leading both the worship and missions ministries—my two great passions serving side by side.

In 2010, God placed a profound and unmistakable call on my life to leave a church I dearly loved to serve as the worship consultant for N.C. Baptists. I actually said “no” the first time this possibility was raised, but over the next two weeks God made it abundantly clear that not only was I to accept this role, but He also had a very specific path in mind—one that looked different from previous decades of convention work. I am deeply grateful for the freedom I’ve been given in this role to help churches pursue biblical, unified worship that transforms lives and to train and equip worship leaders around the world through this platform.

As I look back, I can see a trail of spiritual markers where God shaped and prepared me for this work long before I knew what He was doing. Leading music in children’s Sunday School as a young teenager, stepping in as church pianist when our longtime pianist moved away, playing with a gospel music group in high school, directing the Baptist Student Union Choir at UNC-Chapel Hill, serving a small congregation outside Louisville during seminary, and later leading a multifaceted worship ministry in a North Carolina church—all of these were classrooms where God was molding my character, skills, and heart. Then He opened unexpected doors globally—being asked by an IMB missionary to lead a team to train worship leaders in Southeast Asia, spending a summer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia equipping church worship leaders and teams, and taking repeated trips to invest in leaders in other nations. At the time, I had no idea how these experiences fit together. Now I can see that each “marker” was part of God’s preparation for the ministry I’ve been able to carry out with N.C. Baptists. Every one of those experiences whispered the same truth: God was preparing me long before I knew why.

I came into this assignment with a burning desire to help churches align with God’s design for worship—worship that is biblical, unified, and life-transforming. Alongside that was a deep passion for the nations and for the beautiful intersection of worship and missions. Over the years, God has allowed those two passions to come together again and again, leading me year by year to new opportunities to serve, learn, and see more clearly the needs of His church both here and around the world.

Having such a clear call to this work has been an anchor for me. Whenever discouragement has crept in, I’ve gone back to those two weeks in 2010 when God made His will so unmistakable. That call has kept me pressing forward in His strength to equip, encourage, and resource churches and worship leaders, and to reach globally through short-term trips and resourcing. If you are in ministry, I can’t overstate the gift of being confident in God’s calling to a place or a work. That assurance steadies you in the hard seasons and reminds you that He has your back—so keep your hands to the plow.

For a long time, “retirement” felt like a distant and even uncomfortable word. I could not reconcile the idea that God would call me so clearly to resource and train worship leaders, only for me one day to say, “Okay, I’m done. Time to rest until heaven.” That felt wrong to me, like I would somehow be stepping away from my calling, not just from my job.

Recently, on a missions trip to Cambodia, God gave me some unhurried time with a missionary friend, Micah, who knows me well and loves me enough to speak honestly. As we talked and prayed, he helped me see something I had struggled to grasp: my calling does not end at retirement. My job title may change, but my calling to worship and missions does not. In reality, I am about to enter another chapter of ministry—one that may open new doors to train, equip, and encourage worship leaders as God provides opportunities, without the constraints of a full-time role.

With that assurance from the Lord, I now move toward retirement with a mixture of tears and joy. There are tears as I think about stepping away from a ministry I love so deeply with N.C. Baptists and from serving alongside what I consider the most amazing ministry team in the world. There is also genuine joy and anticipation about what God has next—new ways to serve, greater flexibility to respond to His leading, and fresh adventures in worship and missions.

I also recognize something about myself: I tend to pour myself completely into my work. I need help creating margin for other important callings in my life—being a husband, a dad, and now a granddad of four wonderful grandchildren, all aged three and under. I am praying that God will teach me a healthier rhythm in this next season, with more time to love and invest in my family, to build a deeper relationship with God daily, to practice Sabbath more faithfully, and to keep my hands open for whatever worship and missions ministry He places in front of me, including opportunities around the world. Let me encourage you not to wait for retirement to pursue a healthier balance. I have tried, but often failed to maintain that balance because I am so driven and passionate about the work. Yet God does not call us to do ministry at the expense of the other vital rhythms of life—resting, serving, loving and discipling our families, caring for our bodies, and tending to our own walk with Him.

On August 7, 2026, I will work my last day as a full-time Worship Ministries Strategist for N.C. Baptists. I expect to walk out that day with both tears and a smile—tears of gratitude for God’s goodness and provision through more than sixteen years of serving with an incredible ministry organization, and a smile because I believe He has a new adventure ahead. I look forward to a season where my life can be more balanced and where I can say “yes” to strategic opportunities to serve Him in worship and missions as He leads.

Some have asked if I feel pressured to retire. The answer is a clear no. I have received nothing but encouragement and support throughout my time here, and my leaders have graciously expressed their desire for me to continue. In fact, I have been offered the opportunity to continue serving through contract work beyond my retirement date, which is another evidence of God’s kindness and the support of this team.

Between now and then, I have a very full final six months planned. There are several resources on my heart that I believe are vital to the global church, and I am working diligently to bring them across the finish line. Some people announce retirement and then coast; I don’t want to do that. My desire is to finish this chapter with the same passion and focus with which I began it—pouring out what God has poured into me, and leaving behind tools that will continue to serve churches and worship leaders long after I turn the worship studio light out.

If you are in a season of uncertainty or transition, my hope is that this story encourages you. God is always at work, shaping your character, skills, and passions for what’s ahead—whether that is right where you are now or in a place you cannot yet imagine. Trust Him, follow His leading step by step, and know that no season of obedience is ever wasted in His hands.

Please join me in praying as I seek God’s will for this next season of life and ministry. I am deeply grateful for a wonderful wife and children who have faithfully supported and encouraged me through all these years of serving. I am also so thankful for the countless relationships God has given me with worship leaders, pastors, and laypeople across our state—friends and partners in the gospel who have sharpened and strengthened me along the way. I truly thank God for the privilege of these years serving N.C. Baptists, and I look forward to seeing how He will continue to use all of us for His glory in the days ahead.

With much love,

Kenny Lamm