ST. LOUIS (BP)–New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary will launch the alumni portion of its “New Horizons: Equipping Leaders to Change the World” campaign during the seminary’s annual Alumni & Friends Reunion luncheon meeting June 12 in St. Louis.
To begin at noon, the luncheon will be held in the Cervantes Convention Center at the America’s Center on level one in rooms D, E, F and G.
The meeting also will include the annual “State of the Seminary” address by NOBTS President Chuck Kelley, the faculty’s annual presentation of the distinguished alumni awards and keynote speaker Don Wilton, pastor of First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, S.C.
The New Horizons campaign is NOBTS’ fundraising effort to revitalize its campus, provide for a multitude of student needs and continue to carry out its mission to provide Southern Baptists a theological education that will make a difference in the approach ministers use in the revitalization of Southern Baptist churches.
To assist in the alumni division of the campaign, alumni representing seven U.S. regions have been enlisted:
— Jon Beard, a North American Mission Board-appointed missions strategist at the Olympic Baptist Association on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, will serve in the western region. A former pastor of churches in Virginia, Texas and Washington, Beard earned his master of divinity degree at NOBTS.
— Alan Day, pastor of First Baptist Church, Edmond, Okla., will serve in the Southwest region. A former pastor of churches in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, Day earned both his master of divinity and doctor of theology degrees from NOBTS.
— Dino Senesi Jr., director of missions of the Baptist Association of Greater Cincinnati (Ohio), will serve in the Midwest region. A former pastor at First Baptist Church in Marrero, La., for 12 years, Senesi earned both his master of divinity and doctor of divinity degrees at NOBTS.
— James “Jim” R. Futral, past president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the current executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, will serve in the South-central region. A former pastor for 35 years, most recently at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., Futral earned both his master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees at NOBTS.
— John Thomas “Tommy” Green, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Brandon, Fla., will serve in the Southeast region. Green earned both his master of divinity and doctor of theology degrees at NOBTS.
— Ed and Catherine Thiele of Franklin, Tenn., will serve in the Mid-Atlantic region. Ed Thiele recently retired as the director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Seminary Extension, after earlier retiring from NOBTS where he had been professor of discipleship and director of field education. Thiele earned his doctor of theology degree from NOBTS, while his wife, Catherine, earned a doctor of education degree in psychology and counseling.
— Bobby Owings, pastor of Towne Baptist Church, Joppatowne, Md., will serve in the East region. A former youth minister and minister of education and administration at First Baptist Church in Buford, Ga., for seven years, Owings earned his master of divinity at NOBTS.
“God has already blessed our campaign through the participation of our faculty, staff, trustees and friends of the seminary,” said Jerry Pounds, vice president for development for the seminary. “We look forward to how he will use our alumni in this strategic effort of revitalizing our campus and accomplishing our mission to equip leaders to grow healthy churches.”
A four-phase project that will span two decades, the New Horizons campaign was approved by NOBTS’ board of trustees in March 1999, by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee in the spring of 2000 and by SBC messengers during their 2000 meeting in Orlando, Fla. The public phase began with Phase I of the campaign, which has the fundraising goal of $8 to $12 million over the next three years to fund the following priorities: Bunyan classroom building ($2 to $2.5 million); Student Family Village ($4 to $6 million); and endowment ($2 to $3.5 million).
To date, the Bunyan classroom building has been completed and efforts are underway to complete the Student Family Village.
Tickets for the luncheon, at $10 each before June 1, may be purchased by mail by sending a check payable to NOBTS to Rebecca Caston, Alumni Office, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 3939 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70126. Tickets will be $12 per person after June 1 and may be purchased at the NOBTS booth in the SBC exhibit hall.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: NEW HORIZONS CAMPAIGN.
