Katie Frugé announced as new director of Center for Cultural Engagement

DALLAS - Dr. Katie Frugé has been named new director of the Center for Cultural Engagement and the Christian Life Commission (CLC). Dr. Frugé began her service to Texas Baptists in 2019 as the Hunger and Human Care Specialist. She later took on the role of associate director of the CLC. She brings theological depth, compassion for those in need and a heart for justice to the role.

“Dr. David Hardage and I are grateful to add Dr. Katie Frugé to our Texas Baptists leadership team, and we know she will do a wonderful job guiding the Center for Cultural Engagement and the Christian Life Commission into the next phase of its rich and storied history,” Texas Baptists Associate Executive Director Craig Christina said.

Frugé received her Bachelor of Arts from Union University in Jackson, TN, and she earned her Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Her doctorate focused on the image of God, which she believes is foundational to a holistic understanding of advocacy for human dignity and worth. As the parent of special needs children, Dr. Frugé also assisted in the formation of the Fort Worth Special Education Parent Teacher Association.

In her new role, Frugé will oversee all of the Center for Cultural Engagement’s ministries, including the CLC, African American Ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, Intercultural Ministries and Chaplaincy Relations.

"The Center for Cultural Engagement helps equip Texas Baptists to engage in our respective communities. God calls us to be salt and light. We help bring others into community with God’s people through building bridges between groups, seeking justice, healing brokenness, confronting systemic evils and speaking truth to power,” Frugé said. “We do this to bring the secular toward the sacred. I'm honored to help serve God's Kingdom and Texas Baptists in this capacity and look to the future with great joy and anticipation.”

Frugé's Baptists roots in Texas run deep as her grandfather, T.W. Hunt, taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1963-1987. Frugé and her husband, Dr. D.L. Frugé, have lived in Fort Worth for over a decade. They have three daughters. Two of their daughters have special needs, and their experiences with disabilities have been a key reason for her family's work in educational, health and social advocacy.

Frugé will be taking over the role from Dr. Gus Reyes, who is retiring from Texas Baptists after serving for 21 years. Dr. Reyes served in a variety of roles during his time at Texas Baptists, including serving as the director of Congregational Relationships, the Hispanic Education Initiative, Affinity Ministries and the Christian Life Commission (CLC). He has presented a paper at the United Nations in New York on religious freedom and attended Senate committees in Austin and Washington D.C., visiting with senators on Texas Baptists positions and issues. He has also been invited to attend briefings at the White House under the Obama and Trump administrations.

Reyes will continue to serve in a contract capacity with Texas Baptists, helping executive leadership continue to reach the Hispanic community.

Dr. Fruge hopes to continue his legacy of caring for the diverse churches in Texas and carrying out the Micah 6:8 mission of the CLC.

For more information about the Center for Cultural Engagement, go to txb.org/culture.