- Baptist Press - https://www.baptistpress.com -

NAMB promotes 3, hires 3 new staff

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ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–A chaplaincy associate, special ministries associate and the manager of employment services of the North American Mission Board have transitioned to new positions at the agency.
Bob Vickers, formerly the military chaplaincy associate for NAMB, has been named as the chaplaincy manager. Vickers has 30-plus years’ experience providing religious ministry to individuals and congregations in the local church and to members of the armed forces and their families. This includes more than 20 years of supervising chaplains, chaplain assistants and volunteers in programs around the world.
As military chaplain associate, he has been responsible for managing the endorsement and support of more than 1,000 SBC chaplains and chaplain candidates in the armed forces around the world. As chaplaincy manager for NAMB, Vickers will seek to provide chaplaincy in all settings (military, business/industrial and hospitals). He fills the position vacated by Huey Perry who retired last October.
Jane Bishop has transferred to the position of special ministries manager. She was formerly special ministries associate for NAMB’s ministry evangelism team. Bishop joined the Home Mission Board in 1984 and from 1994-97 was director of project development for the HMB’s ministry section. Prior to joining the agency, she was a teacher and coach at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Ga.
As special ministries manager, Bishop will lead her unit to evangelize and minister to people in non-traditional settings through specialized ministries, including resorts, truck stops, seaports, race tracks and flea markets.
Lura Sheppard will assume the responsibilities of alternatives to abortion ministries specialist. She is currently NAMB’s employment services manager. Sheppard first joined the Home Mission Board in 1994 as director of employment services, a role she kept through the transition to NAMB. She has more than 20 years’ experience in personnel and benefits management.
As the alternatives to abortion ministries specialist, Sheppard will develop and implement strategies for assisting churches, associations and state conventions in providing alternatives to abortion ministries; produce related materials for these ministries; and lead conferences on the ministries. She replaces Sylvia Boothe who retired in December.
Joining NAMB as youth missions education strategist is Alan Huesing, who has taught in public schools, international schools and on the collegiate level. He comes to NAMB from East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, Texas, where he developed and led the international education emphasis for the school and served as director and associate vice president for international education.
As youth mission education strategist, Huesing will develop and recommend strategies for assisting Southern Baptist churches in planning missions education organizations and opportunities for youth. He is responsible for missions education of high school young men, including Challenge magazine. Huesing holds church ministry as a high priority, having served as the regional RA/Challengers director for the east Texas region from 1991-98.
Ken Ellis has assumed the role of chaplaincy associate, institutional and business-industrial. He has been serving as a chaplain at the Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Fla. Ellis has been a chaplain in Florida, Alabama and Illinois, serving in state and federal correctional institutions. In addition, he serves as a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain.
As a chaplaincy associate, Ellis will be responsible for managing the endorsement and support of more than 760 full- and part-time and volunteer chaplains serving in institutions as well as business-industrial settings.
Also joining NAMB as chaplaincy associate, military, is David Mullis. He is retired from a 23-year career in the Navy with the rank of lieutenant commander. He served 14 years as a naval chaplain along the U.S. East Coast and around the world.
As a chaplaincy associate, Mullis will be responsible for managing the endorsement and support of more than 1,000 SBC chaplains and chaplain candidates in the armed forces around the world.