-- strengthening families and communicating with the world - Southern Baptists are a friend to the family.

In response to the rising concern, our Southern Baptist Convention at its 1998 meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, adopted an historic amendment to our BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE. This amendment established the Biblical foundation for our understanding of the family and the roles God has ordained for each family member. Southern Baptists were encouraged by the overwhelming support for this amendment. This support was further strengthened by the endorsement of numerous evangelical denominations and ministries announced openly through the media.

But There Must Be More!

Much more is required than a simple statement of conviction and concern! Our FAMILY AMENDMENT sounded a note that resonated deep within the heart of our SBC constituency. How could Southern Baptists become known as a friend to the family, God's first and most important institution? During his report to the Convention as it assembled for its 2000 meeting in Orlando, Florida, Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee, urged Southern Baptists to take the next step and "save the family." By executive appointment, he created what was then termed the Southern Baptist Convention Committee on Family Life.

In February, 2001, the SBC Executive Committee authorized its chief executive to appoint a SOUTHERN BAPTIST COUNCIL ON FAMILY LIFE which would have as its purpose the development and recommendation of a strategy to 1) strengthen families within our convention, and 2) communicate with the world at large the Southern Baptists are, indeed, a friend of the family.