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SBC DIGEST: Unzicker to be N.C. exec nominee; Oklahoma Baptist children’s home opens Heritage Room

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NCBSC affirms Unzicker as executive director-treasurer nominee

By Chad Austin, BSC communications, and Liz Tablaron, Biblical Recorder

ASHEBORO, N.C. (BP) – Todd Unzicker, chief of staff at The Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area, has been nominated by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s board of directors to become the next executive director-treasurer of the state convention.

[2]The board voted to approve Unzicker’s candidacy based upon the recommendation of the search committee chaired by Noah Crowe, pastor of Peachtree Memorial Baptist Church in Murphy, during a special meeting held today (April 16) at Caraway Conference Center near Asheboro.

The board also voted to hold a special called meeting of the state convention on Saturday, May 22, at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem to consider Unzicker’s nomination. Details and registration information about the special called convention meeting will be announced soon.

State convention bylaws stipulate that the executive director-treasurer must be elected at an annual meeting or special called meeting of the convention, based upon a nomination from the board of directors. The bylaws also allow for the opportunity for additional nominations to be made from the floor of the convention.

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The position became vacant when Milton A. Hollifield Jr. retired on Feb. 28 after serving nearly 15 years as the state convention’s top executive. Longtime state convention staff member Brian Upshaw has been serving as the interim executive director-treasurer.

Unzicker, 44, has served on staff at The Summit Church since 2012. Unzicker has worked closely with the Summit’s lead pastor, J.D. Greear, during Greear’s current tenure as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Prior to his current role as chief of staff, Unzicker led the Summit’s missions and church planting efforts as pastor of sending and as a campus pastor.

The Summit is the top missions-sending church in the SBC and leads North Carolina Baptist churches in total Cooperative Program support. The Summit also ranks among the leading churches in North Carolina in total baptisms. According to state convention records for 2020, the Summit reported $673,100 in total Cooperative Program giving and 392 baptisms.

Before joining the Summit’s staff in 2012, Unzicker was the director of missions at the Holmes Baptist Association in Bonifay, Fla., and served two years as a missionary in Central America.

A native of the Washington, D.C., area, Unzicker holds degrees from the Baptist Bible College of Florida and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to his salvation and call to ministry, Unzicker worked as a sports reporter covering the nationally ranked University of Georgia football program. He and his wife Ashley have three children.

Read the full story here [4].


Oklahoma Baptist children’s homes celebrate history with Heritage Room

By Heather Clark/Oklahoma Baptists

Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children (OBHC) celebrated the grand opening of the Heritage Room at Baptist Children’s Home in Oklahoma City in March.

[5]“I am excited we get to showcase the history of the Baptist Children’s Home, Oklahoma City campus,” said OBHC President Greg McNeece. “Since 1903 and continuing today, the work and ministry to children has been unwavering. Oklahoma Baptists have no idea of the impact they have made into thousands of children’s lives over these years. Through the generous donations of people, OBHC continues today as the largest not-for-profit provider to children in the state.”

The new and improved Heritage Room provides the history of OBHC through the lens of the Oklahoma City campus. Amy Van Dyke, lead curator of Art and Exhibitions for the Museum of the Bible, was hired to lead the project. The former Heritage Room located in the gymnasium at the Oklahoma City campus was crammed full of memorabilia, making it difficult to engage and accurately tell the story of OBHC. Van Dyke worked for months researching and creating a beautiful and professional display.

“I decided to create a display that was inspired by many history museums I’ve visited,” Van Dyke said. “(The Heritage Room) creates a scene and showcases groups of things that may not necessarily be interesting on their own, but together they tell a story. The planks and underlying structure are from old set pieces we used in exhibitions that toured the U.S., the Vatican, Germany and Cuba.”

Read the full story here [6].