Rev. Jeremy Shoulta, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Gainesville, Georgia, who previously served as pastor of the church attended by former President Jimmy Carter, has died after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 42.

Shoulta died Sunday at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, surrounded by his family, First Baptist Church of Gainesville said in a statement. He had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit in the days before his death. Funeral arrangements are not finalized and will be announced by Memorial Park Funeral Home, according to his obituary.

"Jeremy served as a faithful, caring, and creative pastor who cared deeply for this church as you all have cared deeply for him," the church said in a statement. "The Shoulta family remains grateful for the immense and generous care you have offered him and his family through his cancer journey."

He is survived by his wife, Valarie; his daughters, Maggie and Macy; his parents; and his siblings.

Shoulta revealed his cancer diagnosis in July 2025. By August, the church announced on its Facebook page that he had been diagnosed with a blood cancer and was receiving treatment at Emory Hospital, having already undergone two blood transfusions and awaiting a bone marrow biopsy.

Before coming to Gainesville, Shoulta served from 2014 to 2016 as pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, the congregation attended by the late Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Carter taught Sunday school at the church one to two times a month until stopping because of health complications. He and the former first lady also participated in Sunday evening services and church events.

“It was a joy to walk with [Carter] on this Christian journey and to experience his teachings up close,” Shoulta said in 2020, according to The Gainesville Times. “Also, to see him live out his faith locally and with his neighbors in Plains was inspiring as well. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

After Plains, Shoulta served for three years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Black Mountain, North Carolina, before being called to Gainesville in April 2020, a process that unfolded amid the opening weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call weekend, ordinarily an in-person process in which a candidate preaches to the full congregation and the membership votes, was converted to a virtual format. Shoulta filmed his sermon on March 29, 2020, in a nearly empty sanctuary and recorded a video answering questions about his ministry philosophy. 

Shoulta, who was raised in Louisville, received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Georgetown College and a Master of Divinity from the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky. He also completed the Doctor of Ministry program at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. 

In January, Shoulta spoke with BBC News about his years in Plains, describing how Carter once noticed a broken stair rail at the church, carried it to his home workshop, repaired it and returned to reinstall it.

“And that’s just one example of the way that he served his church,” Shoulta said. “When the cameras were not on, he took joy and found meaning and purpose in even doing those seemingly small tasks.”

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/jeremy-shoulta-who-pastored-jimmy-carters-church-dies-at-42.html