1964 Southern Baptist Convention For Release: 7:20 P.M. Convention Hal 1, Atlantic City, 11. J. Tuesday, May 19 W. C. Fields, Press Representative Theo Sommerkamp, Press Room Manager IJISLCOPfE ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN BAPTIST COIWENTION By Roy D. Gresham On bebalf of the Baptist Convention of Maryland I wish to extend to you a cordial welcome. You have learned already, as you have traveled from all parts of our country, that this is a choice section of God's great vineyard. You are guest of Southern Baptists in the State of Maryland and the great North- east. Our constituency extends from the Virginia and District of Columbia lines in the south to the Canadian border in the north;. from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the mountains of Mid-Pennsylvania and New' York to the west, From this vast terri- tory 237 churches, 240 missions, 14 associations and 67,271 Southern Baptists greet you. Within our territory live some 48 million people--more than 1/4 of the popu- lation of the United States. Some of our state conventi~nscan boast that the ratio of Baptists in their con- vention is 1 to 3. In our area we can lay claim to only 1 to 675. In some areas such as Metropolitan New York our number is 1 to 5,290. New York City is known as "The Crossroads of the World." Here more different: national, religious and racial groups impinge on each other than anywhere else on earth. Sixty different nationalities are to be found. There are more Catholics than live in Rome, more Puerto Ricans than inhabit San Juan and four times as many Irish as reside in Dublin. From the top of the Empire State Building you view the world's second largest concentration of humanity. Fifty-six per cent of these people go to no church what- ever; yet these citizens contra1 much of the nation's business, industry, finafice, art, culture and communications. Cmly 10.7 per cent: of New ~ork'speople are Protestant. To be as well churched from a Baptist standpoint as many of our state conventions are, the Northeastern region needs 30,000 white Baptist churches, In the city of Philadelphia where there are three million people we have only one mission and no Southern Baptist Church. Seven years ago there was no Southern Baptist work in the area, but now we have 36 churches and as many chapels: ~&thernBaptists through the Home Mission Board working in connection with the Baptist Convention of Maryland, are making an investment of mission funds in the strategic area. Recause Baptists have an historic witness to the fact that the church is a fellowship and is not a sectional or a national thing, we covet your increasing support, We need large financial resources immediately and we need the most capable workers we can get. Many of us believe that the world's greatest mission field is the Northeast. Surely one of the most significant things Southern Baptists are doing in this hour is the work being undertaken in this area. Into this field of need 17e have moved, not as invaders but as allies with all who are seeking to promote the cause of Christ, Many established churches of other states could find here a worthy mission enterprise. You are guests this week of an area, the history of which, is not surpassed by any other part of our country. It might come as a surprise to some of you that Maryland was one of the eight state conventions that sent representatives to Augusta, Georgia, in 1845 to organize the Southern Baptist Convention. The trophies of our area include l%e Declaration of Independence, The Act of Toleration, The First Baptist Church of America, Philadelphia Association (the first organized association of Baptist: Churches in America), The Triennial Convention, American Baptist Publication Society, the first Baptist Sunday School in the United States and the first Baptist School of Religious Education (Brown University). FJe take pride in our heritage from such personalities as Roger Williams, Isaac Backus, John Leland, tdoniram and Ann Judson, Luther Rice, Annie Armstrong, Joshua Levering, Richard Fuller, etc. Indeed this is holy ground on which we meet. We welcome you to our midst and ask that you note the opportunity and need for an enlarged Baptist wiwess in this region and that you join us in prayer and generous concern that together we may make Christ: Lord in this Northeastern area of our nation. (over) 2. ..Welcome Address to SBC It is not without significance that this historic meeting of Baptists comes at: such a time and place. Dr. Chauncey Daley, editor of the Western Recorder, points out that "interestingly enough Flay 19, beginning of the celebration this year, misses by only one day the exact date of the first session of the Triennial Conventi~non llay 18, 1814. And Atlantic City is only about 50 miles from Philadelphia where the historic 1814 meeting convened. That meeting was specifically for the purpose of beginning American Baptist foreign mission efforts, and the 1964 meeting will also have strong emphasis upon foreign missions. The similarities between 1814 and 1964 are interest- ing, but the contrasts are even more interesting. The 1814 meeting recorded a total of 33 delegates; Southern Baptists will have more than 15,000 messengers in 1964 and limerican Baptists, also meeting at the same time in the same hall, will swell the number to 20,000 or more. In 1814 eleven states were represented; Baptists from all 50 states and many foreign countries will attend in 1964." "As fresh winds stir smouldering Eire into flame, so God's Spirit swept through Baptist Churches in North ~Zmerica one hundred and fifty years ago to stir Baptist people to a world encircling mission." It is the humble and sincere prayer of the Baptists of our state convention that this same Holy.Spirit will stir our hearts afresh and anew and that: we shall be empowered once again to carry out the mission God 'has given to Southern Baptists. As we come, let it: be in thanksgiving for all that God has done and is doing 'for us. Let us come in prayer that His Spirit will guide us, and His will be revealed to us as we consider His work. Let us come in repentence, seeking God's forgiveness for the failures of this year and the past, and praying for strength to do better in the work ahead. , , Lee us come in joy, with gratitude for the privilege of working in His Kingdom. Let us cone in humility, considering each before the other, giving the glory for all that has been done. Let us 'come in expectancy, ready for the rich blessings that He will bestow. Let us come in faith claiming his promises and ready to advance as He leads. Let us come in dedication, withholding not one thing, but giving our all to Him, that He may use us to do His will. If we come in this spirit, this should be a Convention session long to be remem- bered. \JeLcome, Southern Baptists, to Maryland and the great Northeast. Roy D. Gresham is executive secretary, Baptist Convention of Maryland. The Maryland Convention has acted as hos't group to the 1964 Convention. 1964 Southern Baptist Convention For Release: 7: 25 P. ivl. Convention Hall, Atlantic City Tuesday, iL'iay 19 bi~, C, Fields, Press Representative Theo Sommerkamp , Press Room idanager RESPONSE TO ADDRESS OF vvELCOiIIE, 1964 SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION by Cr. 0. Norman Shands, Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church Kansas City, hlissouri iVlr. President, lvlr. Gresham, fellow messengers, and honored guests, as a matter of courtesy each messenger to this convention would wish to say, "Thank you," for the gracious welcome he has just received. As impractical as it may seem to attempt such a heroic re- sponse, I think we shall have a try at it anyway. Each messenger and guest who wishes to say, "Thank you, " may prepare now to give a Chautauqua salute. For the benefit of those who have never given such a salute, you take a handkerchief by one corner and wave it up and down three times. Now, if you are ready, we shall salute together. It is fitting that Southern Baptists should rneet in Atlantic City in 1964. Even more important than its proximity to the kt orld's Fair is the fact that no city has more experience in providing the facilities essential to the success of a large convention. If we fail, how- ever, to use the facilities considered by some to be necessary, we beg our hosts and host- esses ta look on this as one of the more creative ways in which we live up to our reputation of being a peculiar-people. ' There are also i-risrcric and spiritual reasons for corning toAtlantic City. Here, in the region which gave us Adoniram and Ann Judson and Luther Rice, we can- more easily7"look to the rock whence (we) are hewn and to the hole of the pit whence (we) are digged. " I\hile tfrey happily committed themselves to the spiritual insights and doctrinal convictions of Baptists, they committed the Baptists of America to an effort to share Christ with the entire world. The sharing of their vision by their fellow 4aptists led to the establishment of colleges, seminaries, and institutions of mercy--not to speak of local churches--which have been sources of light and fountainheads of liberty for the world. On the one hundred fiftieth a'nniversary of the fourrding of the first nationwide organization of Baptists we come together in the spirit a£ gratitude and rededication.