Virginia Baptists were hard at work behind the scenes at the 20th Baptist World Congress, enriching the experience of more than 4,000 global Baptists.
Children from around the world sing for participants at the World Congress. (Photo by Pete Traynham)
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HONOLULU — About 40 children from eight nations were introduced to the world Baptist family while their parents attended the 20th Baptist World Congress in July.
The children, who ranged in age from 5-11, engaged in Bible stories, handcrafts, mission activities and games.
Leading the program was Deborah Upton, associate pastor for spiritual formation at Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Upton’s husband, John, was elected to a five-year term as Baptist World Alliance president during the Congress.
Deborah Upton of Richmond, Va., leads children in a computer based Bible story. (Photo by Pete Traynham)
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Upton recruited other Virginia Baptists to assist, including Tom Ingram, who coordinates worship and music for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Each day, Ingram rehearsed the children for a singing performance of He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands on the last night of the Congress. While performing, the children wore leis they had made, and mixed with their voices was an audio recording of the same song sung by children at the Precious Children’s Home, an orphanage in India with long-standing ties to Virginia Baptists.