The New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Radcliff, Kentucky, called on Friday, October 16, to register their young preacher: Andre Morton. He became the 96th and final registrant for the first annual Festival of Young Preachers.
Registration opened in January of 2009 and moved slowly throughout the spring and summer. As the initial deadline of October 1 approached a flood of registrations came in and the deadline was extended to October 14; even after that a half dozen trickled in, until the phone call from New Hope Missionary Baptist Church asked: “Are we too late to register?”
Of the 96 registrants, only one has withdrawn, and she was the very first registrant: Caela Wood. She is to be ordained that very weekend but still hopes to attend the Festival. We have created a Waiting List for any other young preacher as we expect that a few others now registered will have a change of plans.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are represented by the churches and schools named by our young preachers: KY, TN, IN, OH, GA, SC, NC, FL, VA, PA, MD, NY, MA, MI, MO, TX, KS, WA, and OR.
At least 40 colleges, universities, and seminaries are represented by our 96 young preachers, plus 4 high schools. Among the institutions are 2 in Oregon (Multnomah and Maryhurst), 4 in Tennessee (Trevecca, Fisk, Vanderbilt and Belmont), 7 in Indiana (Earlham and Hanover colleges, Christian Theological, Bethany and St. Meinrad seminaries, and Oakland City and Ball State universities), and 13 in Kentucky (Boyce, Georgetown, Lindsey Wilson and the Kentucky Mountain Bible colleges, Asbury, Baptist, Louisville Presbyterian, and Southern Baptist seminaries, and Campbellsville, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and Northern Kentucky universities and the University of Kentucky). Other schools of note include: Harvard Divinity School, University of Tampa, Baylor, and three schools in Atlanta (Candler and McAfee seminaries and Morehouse College).
A more complete report of the registration information will be printed in the program of the Festival.