The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Regional Secretary for North America, Alan Stanford, has recently been appointed to the position of Director of Mission Advancement.

In a move that reveals the BWA's desire to continue to develop and progress, Stanford will take over from Ron Harris, who was the Director of the Advancement Division from July 2005 to 30 September 2006. Harris now works as a consultant with the BWA.

Stanford is pastor of First Baptist Church Clarendon in Arlington, Virginia, and previously served the BWA as Director of Promotion and Development (P&D) from 2001 to 2004.

The Advancement Division was created at the July 2005 Centenary Congress of the BWA in Birmingham, England, and is an amalgamation of the Communications and P&D divisions.

One of the core reasons behind the appointment seems to be to ensure the financial viability of the BWA, through fundraising activities and cultivating relationships with donors.

One of Stanfords major aims is to raise funds for the creation of a new freedom and justice division to address violations of religious freedom and human rights around the world.

"Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the BWA, will also get priority attention as the international organisation positions itself to respond even more effectively to disasters and become engaged in community development projects," the BWA has said.

Stanford will lead one of the six continental fellowships that make up the BWA. The North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF) represents approximately 21 million members spread throughout the United States and Canada, and consists of 25 conventions, unions, and national Baptist organisations.

Stanford has been credited with reviving the NABF as a regional body and is one of the major planners of a large conference of North American Baptists to be held in 2008, done in collaboration with former US President Jimmy Carter, a Baptist from the state of Georgia.

A graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary, Stanford has pastored churches in Texas and Virginia.

The new Director of Mission Advancement testified, "I am excited to have the opportunity to return to the BWA to help financially strengthen this important ministry as it works to support Baptists around the world as they strive to share the Good News and meet pressing needs in the name of Christ."


For more information on the BWA, please visit: www.bwanet.org


[Source: BWA]