Videos of New Baptist Covenant Speakers Here.

The New Baptist Covenant is an informal alliance of more than 30 racially, geographically and theologically diverse Baptist organizations from throughout North America that have come together to demonstrate a common commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

At the invitation of former President Jimmy Carter and Mercer University President William D. Underwood, a core group of Baptists representing 18 organizations that are members of the North American Baptist Fellowship met at The Carter Center in April 2006 and ratified a statement called "The North American Baptist Covenant." Among its key tenets are commitments to speak out and work together from the position of traditional Baptist values, including:

• Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality
• Promoting justice and peace
• Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering the homeless
• Caring for the sick and marginalized
• Welcoming strangers
• Promoting religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.

A follow-up meeting attended by more than 80 representatives of 40 Baptist organizations was held January 9, 2007, at The Carter Center. At the conclusion of the January 9 meeting, a news conference was held to announce a major celebration that was held January 30-February 1, 2008, at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.

The 2008 Atlanta Celebration program was based on Jesus’ first sermon in Nazareth, as recorded in Luke 4:18-19. The overall theme was "Unity in Christ" and five plenary sessions focused on the following themes:

• Unity in Seeking Peace with Justice
• Unity in Bringing Good News to the Poor
• Unity in Respecting Diversity
• Unity in Welcoming the Stranger
• Unity in Setting the Captive Free

The following speakers participated in the 2008 Atlanta Celebration:

• Dr. Charles G. Adams, Pastor of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit
• Dr. Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University and founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education
• Former President Jimmy Carter
• Former President Bill Clinton
• Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund
• Former Vice President Al Gore
• Dr. Joel Gregory, professor of preaching, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University
• U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
• Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, pastor of First Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia
• Dr. William J. Shaw, pastor of White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia and president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

The issues-centered, non-partisan event drew over 10,000 Baptists from throughout North America in what was the broadest convocation of Baptists in the U.S. since before the Civil War.

In addition to the plenary sessions, the convocation featured special-interest sessions dealing with topics such as racism, religious liberty, poverty, the AIDS pandemic, faith in public policy, stewardship of the earth, evangelism, financial stewardship, and prophetic preaching.

Participating Baptist organizations included:

• American Baptist Churches, USA
• Associated Baptist Press
• Baptist Center for Ethics
• Baptist Covenant of Ontario & Quebec
• Baptist General Convention of Missouri
• Baptist General Convention of Texas
• Baptist General Association of Virginia
• Baptist Heritage Council of Georgia
• Baptist History and Heritage Society
• Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
• Baptist Standard
• Baptist Union of Western Canada
• Baptist World Alliance
• Baptists Today
• Baylor University
• Buckner International
• Canadian Baptist Ministries
• Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
• Ethics Daily
• Fellowship of Baptist Educators
• General Association of General Baptists
• Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society
• Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists
• Mainstream Baptist Network
• Mercer University
• National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
• National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.
• National Baptist Voice
• National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
• North American Baptist Conference USA & Canada
• North American Baptist Fellowship
• Progressive Baptist National Convention
• Texas Baptists Committed
• Virginia Baptists Committed
• Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches