A matter of potential

January 2006

Speaking recently about the campaign to establish a Center for Religious Liberty on Capitol Hill, Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker said the agency needed a facility "worthy of our potential to make a difference in the fight for religious liberty."

Since 1936, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has waged its fight in the nation's capital. In that time, it has built a solid reputation as a bridgebuilder, bringing together strong coalitions of diverse groups for a common cause. Yet, it provides a unique voice as the only religious group devoted solely to religious liberty and church-state separation.

Gazing back through 70 years of history is a time-worthy exercise only in its ability to build excitement about the future—to shed light on the BJC's potential. Making headway in the struggle for religious liberty for all requires technology, partnerships, expertise and an emphasis on education. The Center for Religious Liberty on Capitol Hill will expand the BJC's capacity in all of these areas by providing a state-of-the-art training center where it will lead, listen and learn, engaging in dialogue with pastors and lay people, coalition partners and legislators. These activities are not an end in themselves, however; they are an expression of our ministry. The Baptist Joint Committee's mission is to defend and extend God-given religious liberty for all.

It's a matter of looking forward and celebrating our history, while paving the way for another 70 years of leadership in the nation's capital.

• • •

The Baptist Joint Committee's campaign to raise $5 million was bolstered recently with an anonymous $100,000 gift. For more information on the Campaign or the Center for Religious Liberty, or if you would like to make a gift, please contact the BJC at 202-544-4226 or by e-mail at bjc@BJConline.org.