ENROLLED 2018 Regular Session HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 78 BY REPRESENTATIVE EDMONDS A RESOLUTION To commend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on its one hundredth anniversary celebration. WHEREAS, it is appropriate to commemorate the historic occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; and WHEREAS, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary began its centennial anniversary celebration October 3, 2017, with the annual Founders Day chapel service, during which seminary president, Chuck Kelley, reminded believers of the message of Jesus to take the gospel to all nations; and WHEREAS, President Kelley asks Southern Baptists to join in spreading the word by reaching 100,000 gospel conversations during the centennial celebration of the seminary; and WHEREAS, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has created a smart phone app to assist evangelists in tracking the 100,000 conversations about the good news and to help connect individuals with a local church; and WHEREAS, President Kelly's sermon marked the first sermon in the series that will continue throughout the year-long celebration which closes on October 4, 2018; speakers will include Southern Baptists Theological Seminary president, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Gateway Seminary president, Jeff Iorg, and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president, Russell Moore; and WHEREAS, goals for the centennial celebration include fifty million dollars for scholarship endowments, campus renovations, and other expenditures and one hundred mission trips during the year; and Page 1 of 2 HR NO. 78 ENROLLED WHEREAS, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was initially founded as the Baptist Bible Institute in 1917 by the Southern Baptist Convention and is the only seminary to be created by direct action of the Southern Baptist Convention; it was intended as a training school for missionaries in New Orleans as a gateway to Latin America; and WHEREAS, a century ago New Orleans had fewer than ten Baptist churches; today Baptists make up the second largest religious group in the city, and the New Orleans Baptists association encompasses more than one hundred twenty-five churches; and WHEREAS, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's beautiful campus has more than one hundred buildings and has prepared more than 20,000 men and women for ministry; and WHEREAS, Dr. Charles S. "Chuck" Kelley was unanimously elected as the seminary's eighth president and has been proudly leading the faithful since 1996. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary upon the historic occasion of its anniversary celebrating one hundred years of faith and service and does hereby extend best wishes for the school's continued vitality and success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the New Orleans Baptists Theological Seminary and Dr. Chuck Kelley. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Page 2 of 2.