Consortium takes stock of Hispanic surge
With the tripling of the U.S. Hispanic population since 1980, from 15 million to nearly 47 million today – or 16 percent of the U.S. population – the Southern Baptist Convention Hispanic Consortium continues to focus on the challenge of sharing Christ with this largely unreached people group. A dozen Hispanic leaders attended the consortium’s 2010 session Oct. 7-9 at the North American Mission Board. Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, and Kevin Ezell, NAMB’s new president, also attended, along with a representative of the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C. The group’s consensus is that the SBC needs more Hispanics in mainline convention positions; more Hispanics on the boards of trustees of SBC entities; more Hispanics in academia – especially those with Ph.D. degrees; more Hispanic seminary students; and most importantly, many more than the 3,200 existing Hispanic churches if the SBC is to make a difference among this exploding ethnic group.
Southeastern Seminary celebrates 60th year
Southeastern Seminary celebrated its 60th year during the fall meetings of the board of trustees and the board of visitors at the Wake Forest, N.C., campus. Trustees and BOV members, as well as friends and guests of Southeastern, also attended the installation of the Johnny Hunt Chair of Biblical Preaching. Sixty years after its founding, Southeastern has more students than at any other time in its history, with nearly 2,700 students in its graduate and undergraduate programs. During the Oct. 12 chapel service, president Daniel Akin announced the completion of the fully funded Johnny Hunt Chair of Biblical Preaching, a $1-million endowed chair which will provide growing, annual salary support for a professor of preaching to enhance the training of students. Hunt is an alumnus of Southeastern and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Crash destroys N.Y. church sanctuary
The sanctuary of Bellewood Baptist Church in North Syracuse, N.Y., was destroyed by fire Oct. 17 when a man crashed his pickup truck into the building just before 5 a.m. Florindo A. Pascarella, 24, of Mattydale, N.Y., crashed through a street sign, two lawns and plowed into the church, the Post-Standard newspaper reported. When his vehicle burst into flames, Pascarella was pulled from the burning vehicle by a bystander. Pascarella then tried to escape in another vehicle but was caught by police. Pastor Matt Hallenbeck told a reporter: “We know this isn’t going to stop us. We know we’re going to do what God calls us to do, whether we have a building at this time or not.”