Second edition of Younger Leaders Summit set for Greensboro

What began in Nashville at the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention continues in Greensboro when the Younger Leaders Summit II commences Monday, June 12, following the annual pastors’ conference.

The event will be held at War Memorial Auditorium beginning at 10 pm. Marty Duren, Pastor of New Bethany Baptist Church in Buford, GA, the event’s principle organizer and author of the Weblog, SBC Outpost, said the intention is for the summit to conclude by 10:45.

“We really want this to be an interactive time,” Duren said. “We want those attending to have time to interact with the speakers as well as network with each other and hope that the fellowship following the meeting is as beneficial as the meeting itself. I think last year we saw the value of bringing younger leaders together. There were some beneficial relationships established.”

Last year’s Younger Leaders Summit was hosted by then-president of LifeWay Christian Resources James T. Draper Jr. Draper challenged the denomination during the 2004 SBC in Indianapolis to “pull a chair to the table” for younger leaders, allowing them to get more involved in the SBC. He then spent the next year encouraging cross-generational interaction through commentaries and personal appearances. The culmination of that effort was the Younger Leaders Summit in Nashville. Draper said at the time that the summit was an opportunity to give younger leaders a platform from which to speak.

Draper, who retired from LifeWay in February, will be one of the speakers at this year’s summit. Also appearing are Doug and Kiki Cherry, Mission Service Corps Campus Directors at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, Tim Sweatman, Pastor of Jackson Grove BC, Bowling Green, KY, Wade Burleson, Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Enid, OK, and IMB trustee, with the main address being given by Jeff Iorg, president, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

“We’ve seen a lot of positive things happen in the two years since Dr. Draper called the denomination to reach out to younger leaders,” Duren said. “It seems as things have accelerated in our denomination just since last year’s summit in Nashville and interest continues to build toward Greensboro. I appreciate that Dr. Draper expressed the leadership he did. It was timely and providential.

“I believe we have a great lineup. I believe each will bring a challenge for calling our denomination to focus its energies on reaching a lost world with the gospel. We wanted speakers who were relevant and could address the need for missional living in our churches.”

A praise team will lead in a time of worship. Registration is not necessary and updates will be provided between now and the convention.

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