The awards program of ABPnews, an initiative of the Board of Directors, recognizes individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to Baptist life, to Baptist values, to religious journalism and to the mission and vision of ABPnews. Recipients are chosen by the Board of Directors.
Founders Award
This award, established in 1998, recognizes individuals and organizations that have embodied the founding principles of ABPnews through significant professional and/or financial contributions to the organization.
Founders Award recipients:
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (Inaugural Award), Atlanta, GA, 1999
Virginia Boyd Connally, Abilene, TX,1999
Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas, TX, 2000
Patricia Ayres, Austin, TX, 2001
Baptist General Association of Virginia, Richmond, VA, 2003
Northminster Baptist Church, Jackson, MS, 2004
Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas, TX, 2007
Baptist General Convention of Texas, Dallas, TX, 2008
Dan Hobbs, Norman, OK, 2010
Bob Stephenson, Norman, OK, 2011
Ed Vick, posthumously, Raleigh, NC, 2012
Greg Warner Lifetime Achievement Award in Religious Journalism
This award, bearing the name of ABPnews' former executive editor, was created in 2009 to honor journalists whose body of work has contributed in significant ways to the understanding of religion in American society. It recognizes persons who with courage and integrity have addressed important issues related to matters of faith, whose writing and reporting have consistently reflected the highest standards of journalism, and whose work is consistent with the mission and values of ABPnews. Greg Warner was named the inaugural recipient in 2009.
Lifetime Achievement Award recipients:
Greg Warner (Inaugural Award), Jacksonville, FL, 2009
R.G. "Gene" Puckett, Raleigh, NC, 2011
Toby Druin, Dallas, TX, 2012
The lifetime achievement award replaced a previous honor known as the Writers Award. Recipients of that award were Mark Wingfield, Dallas, TX, 2003, and Ken Camp, Dallas, TX, 2006.
Religious Freedom Award
Established in 1994, the Religious Freedom Award honored individuals whose achievements advanced the principles and practice of religious freedom. In 2011 the Board of Directors voted to suspend the award in deference to an award with the same name and similar criteria sponsored by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
Recipients of the Religious Freedom Award:
Jack Brymer Sr., former editor, Florida Baptist Witness, 1994
Religion News Staff of The Dallas Morning News, 1995
Gus Niebuhr, former national correspondent for religion for The New York Times, 1996
Will Campbell, ordained minister, author and civil-rights activist, 1997
Walker Knight, founding editor of Baptists Today newspaper and former editor of Home Missions magazine, 1998
James Dunn, retired executive director, Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, 1999
Peggy Wehmeyer, former religion reporter for ABC News, 2000
Jim Jones, retired religion editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2002
Chet Edwards, United States Representative, Texas 11th District, 2003
Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar, The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 2004
Wilmer C. Fields, retired director of Baptist Press and vice president for public relations, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, 2006
Cecil Sherman, retired pastor, first coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 2008
Walter Shurden, professor of Christianity, Mercer University, 2008
Herbert H. Reynolds (posthumously), former president of Baylor University, 2009
Melissa Rogers, director of Wake Forest University's Center for Religion and Public Affairs, Wake Forest Divinity School, and nonresident senior fellow within the governance program of The Brookings Institution, 2011
For more information about the criteria and nomination process for these awards, contact Lindsay Bergstrom, operations director, at 800-340-6626, ext 1, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Current board members and ABPnews staff are ineligible for these awards.
