Seeing Beneath the Surface

This conference has opened my eyes to the injustices in society and the need to develop programs that address not just the visible problems but the underlying elements as well.

Carolyn Jordan
Victory Missionary Baptist Church
Las Vegas, Nev.

Energizing and Supportive

This conference has been energizing. It has given me an understanding along with support in my endeavor to be prophetic in my preaching and to engage in those activities that speak truth to power.

Rev. Herbert Carey
Pastor, Martin Luther King Baptist Church
Renton, Wash.

Involvement in Community Issues is Important

I hope [conference] participants will gain a sense of the importance of faith-based organizations being involved in community issues. It is our responsibility, as citizens and as Christians, to be role models and to offer direction and guidance as Jesus would do.

Dolores Lyles
Staff member, J. Alfred Smith Sr. Training Academy, Allen Temple Baptist Church
Novato, Calif.

A Wealth of Information

I have received a wealth of information that I can use to broaden our ministries at Second Baptist Church. I heard a lot about the prison reentry program. Also, I sat in on a [workshop] session on anger management and domestic violence and that’s another area that we definitely need to explore for ministries at our church.

Rev. Venus Butler
Minister, Christian Education, Second Baptist Church
Los Angeles, Calif.

Sleeping Giants

I attended the workshops on prison ministry. We have been sleeping giants. We have really been asleep. [Social] justice is a main theme of scriptures and yet in our [church] services, we spend more time with praise and worship―while there are people all around us, even in our sanctuaries, in our congregations who are literally suffering some kind of injustice.

Dr. Alicia Malone
Moderator, Akron Area American Baptist Association
Founder, Bondage Breakers Prison Ministry
Akron, Ohio

A Real Blessing

This conference has been a real blessing. It’s been an eye-opener. I am really fired up with new insight and new ideas to be more prophetic in the ministry. Although, in terms of encouraging members, I have been doing prophetic ministry―being out there, doing it, and setting an example is truly what it’s all about.

Rev. Jeremiah Price
Pastor, Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church
President, Cleveland Baptist Association
Cleveland, Ohio

Speaking about Injustice to Youth

I have been well fed a lot of information regarding [social] injustice and how we speak of that at the church level. I am going to try to implement it, especially among our young people. We need to find out where they are and where they are going. The only ways we can do this is to get with them in their environments, even if it’s a pizza shop, and give them time to express themselves and listen to them.

Rev. Dr. Gerald Hemingway Sr.
Retired Area Minister
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church
Oakland, Calif.