Note - Rev. William Frederickson, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Freehold, is ABCNJ's representative on the ABCUSA Board of General Ministries. This is his summation of the Board's first meeting.  

On January 20-23, 2012, I attended the Board of General Ministries orientation in Orlando, Florida. The passage of the new by-laws for the ABCUSA in San Juan, Puerto Rico in June 2011 put into effect a new structure for our national denomination beginning January 1, 2012. As a regional representative, I no longer serve on a program board and the General Board. I was asked by our General Secretary A. Roy Medley to serve on the new Board of General Ministries. I am honored to represent ABCNJ in this way.

Our orientation schedule included a session on Baptist identity by Everitt C. Goodwin, author of Down by the Riverside. Several seminars on board development based on a survey we completed for Duke University were conducted. Updates and reports on "Transformed by the Spirit," Baptist-Muslim dialogue and Burma-Burmese immigration were given to us. The Board of General Ministries members were also informed of the administrative services handled by the Office of the General Secretary. On our final day in Orlando, we conducted some necessary business items.

The President of ABCUSA, Ruth Clark from Kansas, presided over our time together. Worship services were conducted by our Chaplain, Jeff Savage from Oregon and Vice President Don Ng from California. The orientation for this new Board of General Ministries was very well done and a very positive, spirit-filled feeling permeated our time in Orlando.