MMBB SPONSORS 20,000-BAPTIST CELEBRATION OF UNITY

The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB) is proud to serve as a major sponsor of the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta. This historic gathering, as envisioned by former President Jimmy Carter, will unite 20,000 Baptists from more than 30 Baptist organizations in the Georgia World Congress Center from Jan.30–Feb.1, 2008. The assembly, enriched by a great diversity, sharing a common commitment to Christian obligations such as spreading the Gospel and feeding the hungry, guided by Baptist principles including religious liberty, justice and respect for differences, has the potential to create a powerful and unified Baptist voice for North America.

"MMBB, chartered 'for the better maintenance of the ministry,'" said Rev. Dr. Sumner Grant, Executive Director of MMBB, "has been a steadfast and steadily growing support to the Baptist community since 1911." "Our focus has been financial—helping our members protect their assets, reduce their taxes and build their lifetime retirement incomes—along with member service. But there have been moments in our nation's history—watershed moments—when MMBB has had the opportunity to support an ideal, and we have done so. The New Baptist Covenant call to unity is one of those moments."

The three-day event will feature a keynote address from former President Jimmy Carter. The opening devotional will be given by Dr. William J. Shaw, Pastor of White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia and President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., an MMBB affiliated plan sponsor. A video prepared by MMBB will feature MMBB plan members and sponsors from all over the country. MMBB plan members serving as keynote speakers include: Dr. Charles G. Adams, Pastor of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit; Dr. Tony Campolo, Professor Emeritus at Eastern University and founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education; Dr. Joel Gregory, Professor of Preaching at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University; and Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.

New Baptist Covenant attendees will also work together in special interest sessions to explore core issues including racism, poverty, the AIDS pandemic, faith in public policy and more. MMBB members leading these workshops will include: Lauren Bethell, Global Service Missionary, Prague, Czech Republic; Daniel Carro, Latino/Hispanic Kingdom Advance Ambassador, VBMB, Annandale, Virginia; James Dunn, Professor, Wake Forest Univ. Divinity School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; James Forbes, Pastor Emeritus, Riverside Baptist Church, New York, New York; Jeffrey Haggray, Exec. Dir., DC Baptist Convention, Washington, DC; Stan Hastey, Exec. Dir., Alliance of Baptists, Washington, DC; Molly Marshall, President, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, Kansas; George Mason, Senior Pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas; Otis Moss, Pastor, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio; Joan Parrott, Exec Min, Univ. Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina; Tom Prevost, CBF Global Missions, Atlanta, Georgia; Julius Scruggs, Pastor, First Missionary Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama; James Brent Walker, Exec. Dir., Baptist Joint Committee, Washington, DC; and Aidsand Wright-Riggins, Exec. Dir. of National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

ABOUT MMBB

The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB) has served the ministry since its founding in 1911. The Board’s mission to ministers, missionaries and lay employees, and to their families, is to manage entrusted resources for its members; and to administer lifetime benefits and services with efficiency, compassion and justice; while promoting the better maintenance of the ministry. In 2000, an Internal Revenue Service private letter ruling allowed MMBB to offer its plans, originally available to churches and other employers of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA), to affiliated groups. Now MMBB serves.

MMBB partners with plan members throughout their lives, providing skilled professional money management and responsive support through knowledgeable member service representatives. MMBB knows the ministry, and MMBB cares.

For more information about MMBB please call 800.986.6222, or visit www.mmbb.org. For media inquiries please contact Janae Raphael at Janae@jjems.biz or (714) 267-1594.