At the grassroots level, Litton said, the work is expected to address the unique needs of each community.
RELATED: Unify Project Allows SBC To Set Gospel-Based Racial Unity Example
“We promised Southern Baptists that we would give simple tools and encourage them, for pastors and leaders in our churches to become leaders in racial reconciliation in their community,” Litton said. “Our hope is it will have a different expression just about everywhere it goes.
“Our hope is that it will begin to reveal to our communities and to the nation the power of the Gospel to heal old wounds, to unify for the sake of the Gospel, so that our churches will serve our communities together. And we believe it will open doors for the Gospel.”
The project will launch at theunifyproject.org with a series of web events for pastors and leaders including discussions, individual experiences and stories of success predating the project. The group is planning a celebration for the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
“The real heart of Unify Project is not to tell people here are the strict rules you have to follow,” Litton said. “We want to give a simple game plan, a lot of encouragement and resource the local pastor and local leader to really be the hero of this story, to really see what God will do in their cities.
“Our goal is to give the SBC the tools and encourage them to promote the cause of racial reconciliation in their community. That’s the only reason we exist.”
Members of the steering committee are:
- Marshall Blalock, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C.;
- Missie Branch, SEBTS assistant dean of students to women and director of graduate life;
- Victor Chayasirisobhon, SBC first vice president, lead pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, associational mission strategist for the Orange County Southern Baptist Association, and president of the California Baptist Convention;
- Brett Golson, vice president for spiritual development and church relations and dean of the Cooper School of Missions and Ministry Studies at William Carey University;
- Charles Grant, SBC Executive Committee associate vice president for African American relations and mobilization;
- Marcus Hayes, lead pastor, Crossroads Baptist Church, The Woodlands, Texas;
- Ramon Medina, lead pastor for Spanish Ministries, Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston and president of the SBC Hispanic Council;
- Greg Perkins, lead pastor of The View Church in Menifee, and NAAF Western Region director
- Keith Whitfield, provost, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS);
- Frank Williams, senior pastor of The Bronx Baptist Church and Wake-Eden Community Baptist Church, both in New York, and president of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC (NAAF).
This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.
