History

Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servant Network

History

The origin of the Black Southern Baptist Denomination Servants Network may be traced to December 9, 1996, when several African American denominational workers from various state conventions were invited to the December Meeting of the Baptist Sunday School Board by Elgia (Jay)Wells. During this meeting Sid Smith, African American Ministries Division Director of the Florida Baptist Convention had a vision of the possibility of organizing a national fellowship group consisting of Southern Baptist denominational employees specializing in working with African American churches.

On December 9, 1996, Smith convened a meeting at the Club House Inn, located at Broadway and 10th Avenue, North, Nashville, Tennessee, to discuss possibilities of organizing a national fellowship group for Black denominational workers.

The question for consideration was: is there a need for a national fellowship group among Black Southern Baptists denomination workers? The response reveal several needs: a need to know each other; a need to know about each other’s ministry; a need for mentoring relationships; a need for information sharing; a need for news publications sharing; a need for a mechanism for common problem solving. The conclusion of the group was that the time had arrived for organizing a national fellowship group for Black denominational employees in the Southern Baptist Convention.

An organizing committee was established with the commission to enlist support for the participation in an organizational meeting prior to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1997 in Dallas, Texas. Jim Culp of the Baptist General Convention of Texas hosted the organizational meeting June 11, 1997.

~ Excerpt from The Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network: An Historical Perspective

by Dr. Sid Smith