More than two months remain until 30,000 Baptists convene in St. Louis for a faith-filled learning experience when the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education hosts its 107th Annual Session.
Host committee co-chair the Rev. Sammie E. Jones could barely contain his excitement as he spoke of the action-packed activities planned for the conference when it comes to America’s Center during the week of June 17- 22.
“Oh Lord, we are going to have a glorious week,” said Jones, Senior Pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church Christian Complex.
“We are coming together and bringing liberation through Christ to the city of St. Louis. It’s about lifting up the name of our Lord to the community and helping them along the way.”
Jones says that playing host to the largest traveling school in the country is no small matter. How could it be, considering that more than 300 classes will take place over the course of the week?
The National Baptist Congress of Christian Education serves as the primary training arm of the National Baptist Convention. It was constituted to fulfill Objective #3 of Article III of the Constitution of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.: “To encourage and support Christian Education.”
Founded in 1886, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. is the nation’s oldest and largest African-American religious convention with an estimated membership of 7.5 million. The National President, Reverend Dr. Julius R. Scruggs, has led the organization since 2009.
And while the premise is learning and growing in the lessons offered through ministry and fellowship through scripture-based education, the experience extends far beyond the lessons.
“We will have a gospel music celebration with a choir that will exceed 500 members,” Jones said. “And our youth explosion will feature more than 5,000 young people. It’s going to be a great, great time.”
He says the week will be jam-packed with classes, seminars, choir rehearsals, health fairs, street services, outreach activities, concerts – and, most importantly, preaching. Attendees will experience life-changing worship and preaching, informative panel discussions and empowering breakout sessions led by some of the Country’s most dynamic pastors, Christian educators and ministry leaders.
“Each day the 30,000-plus Baptists will be in study, prayer, and worship from morning to midnight,” Jones said.
Just as important as the members being spiritually fed in the comfort of hometown hospitality over the course of the session is the impact that the visit will have on the host community.
“We are going to bring millions of dollars in to town that week and we will share with the black community,” Jones said.
“Dollars coming into the city are good to have, but you have to put them in the right place – they have to be going into the right hands. We want to go into the community and spend money, helping reactivate areas where there has been suffering. ”
‘Hands across the Mississippi’
Jones is quick to credit his co-chairs from both sides of the river with working diligently to ensure St. Louis serves as the most gracious of hosts.
The Local Host Committee, led by Jones, also includes Dr. Harold Butler (Pastor of the Northern Missionary Baptist Church, St. Louis) and Dr. Zachary Lee (Pastor of the Mount Paran Missionary Baptist Church, East Saint Louis). They are working with the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission and local churches throughout the metro area.
“We are hands across the Mississippi,” Jones said. “We are working together to do this.”
The National Baptist Congress of Christian Education’s giving will go beyond the exchange of dollars in the city. One of the ways they plan to leave a lasting impression on St. Louis is through teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to build and donate a home to a family. The home is currently under construction in the Carondelet neighborhood and will be presented to the new owners during the 107th Annual Session festivities.
“We are working together to say to the community, ‘We know that we are in difficult times, but through the grace of God we can make it,’” Jones said.
“When our Congress leaves here, I want people to be able to say, ‘Not only did we have a great fellowship and we left something tangible.’ The hope is through our prayers, through Christian education, through the money we spend, the house that is built, that we show that we are a well–rounded convention that wants to prepare to build a better quality of life for our communities, not just by studying, but doing something with what we’ve learned.”
This will mark the fourth time St. Louis has hosted the Congress’ annual session.
National Baptist Congress of Christian Education’s 107th Annual Session will take place at America’s Center June 17- 22. For more information and a full schedule of activities, visit http://www.2012congress-stl.org.
