[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–An anonymous gift of $1 million has been given to assist in positioning Glorieta (N.M.) and Ridgecrest (N.C.) Baptist Conference Centers for effective ministry into the 21st century.
The gift, the first pledge in a national conference center capital campaign, “Renewing the Place of Renewal,” was announced May 30 as the campaign cabinet and steering committee met at Ridgecrest.
“We have known all along that for this campaign to succeed, the Lord would have to get into the hearts of Southern Baptists to see what a valuable asset we have in our conference centers at Glorieta and Ridgecrest,” said Jim Henry, chair of the campaign cabinet and pastor of First Baptist Church, Orlando, Fla. “The anonymous gift of $1 million gives us a tremendous lift in that direction at this stage of our efforts.
“We are praying that others of our fellowship will ‘second the motion’ and in a few months we can see a successful conclusion to this visionary and exciting venture of faith,” Henry, immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, added.
Official campaign solicitation is slated to begin at the end of June, according to Mike Arrington, executive director for corporate affairs at the Baptist Sunday School Board and campaign coordinator. The campaign targeted to about 1,500 donors and seeks to raise as much as $67 million to improve facilities and programming and provide scholarships for conference center events. “It is exciting and satisfying to know the vision this donor has of the lives that will be impacted in the name of Christ through the ministry of these conference centers,” Arrington said. “We believe and pray that this will be the first of many gifts to endow the future of Glorieta and Ridgecrest.”
In addition to national gifts solicitation led by Kirk Humphreys, an Oklahoma City businessman, efforts will be launched in 15 regions nationwide. Regional chairs include: Mississippi –Frank Pollard, pastor of First Baptist Church, Jackson, and Henry Holman, businessman; North Carolina — Ed Coates, retired director, Baptist Foundation of North Carolina, Raleigh; South Carolina — Hewlett Sullivan, president of Hale’s Jewelers, Inc., Greenville; Arizona — Dan Stringer, retired executive director, Scottsdale; Dallas-Fort Worth — Wayne Allen, pastor of First Baptist Church, Carrollton; California — Rob Zinn, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, San Bernardino.