“The numbers speak for themselves,” said Melba Brown, who serves on the Alabama Baptist Education Commission. She asked all those in attendance at the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting Nov. 15 to stand if they were in some way involved (either by attending, giving financially or have family members that attend) one of the three Baptist institutions in the state: Judson College, Samford University or the University of Mobile (UMobile).
“(You who are standing represent) a myriad of callings, vocations, locales and backgrounds,” Brown said. “Many of you would express that your current Christian worldview was shaped by your experience in the (Christian institutions).”
The commission, established in 1979, “seeks to be an effective advocate on behalf of Alabama Baptists for Christian higher education in Alabama,” according to the Book of Reports.
The commission’s responsibilities include serving in an advisory capacity, reviewing the distribution of Cooperative Program funds for Christian higher education, serving as a liaison between the three Alabama Baptist schools, serving as a vehicle of communication between the schools and serving as a catalyst for prayer support.
Brown gave a visible example of all that the commission exists to accomplish as she invited the presidents of Samford, Judson and UMobile to join her at the podium as those in attendance stood in prayer for the three men and the institutions they lead.
“It’s all about team work,” Brown said. “People working together for common goals … that’s what we’re all doing. Serving, training and giving so that others may know Christ and His love.”
Bill Goodwin, chairman for the Board of Aid to Students in Church-related Vocations and pastor at Lincoln Baptist Church, also spoke at the annual meeting.
The Board of Aid provides students who are “preparing for the Lord’s work” with scholarships to the three Alabama Baptist institutions.
Goodwin said Lincoln Baptist is an average-sized church with an average-sized budget that “could never provide students with scholarships … but when (Alabama Baptists) work together with other (Baptists) through the Cooperative Program, we are able to accomplish things we could only dream of doing alone.”
“Thank you for giving (in the past),” he said. “And (thank you) for giving now.”
According to the Book of Reports, the board awarded 210 scholarships in the amount of $254,294 to students in the 2010–2011 academic year. (TAB)
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