Baptists groups will gather November 17–19 in Atlanta for the New Baptist Covenant II, a conference to unite disparate Baptists groups around a platform of social justice ministries.
Social activists Marian Wright Edelman and Tony Campolo will join President Jimmy Carter and seven other speakers at the meeting, which will be linked by satellite and Internet to dozens of viewing locations around the country, including sites in San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
The New Baptist Covenant was started in 2008 by President Carter, who led a grassroots effort that brought together Baptist groups of various stripes for the first time in a hundred years at the historic New Covenant Conference, which drew 15,000 participants to Atlanta from 40 different Baptist denominations.
For this follow-up conference, organizers are using technology to unite participants. Most participants will gather at one of eight viewing locations that are linked by satellite feeds. Many more people will watch in smaller church-based gatherings via Internet video streaming. As many as 30,000 to 35,000 Baptists could participate in the November event, said Philadelphia pastor William Shaw, one of two national co-chairs for the event, in a statement.
In addition to worship services and hands-on ministries, NBC II will include breakout sessions to teach strategies to work for justice, fight poverty, and address other human needs. For more information, visit newbaptistcovenant.org.