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Background of the Heritage CommissionThe DevelopmentThe NAB Heritage Commission was officially established by the NAB Conference at the Triennial Session held in Niagara Falls, New York in 1991.
In more recent years, the key person facilitating the collection of materials has been Dr. George A. Dunger who served as the librarian of the North American Baptist Seminary from 1950-1960. Dr. Dunger's other positions at the Seminary included that of Professor of Missions and Registrar. In 1982, Dr. Dunger was officially appointed by the NAB Conference at its Triennial Session in Niagra Falls to serve as the Conference archivist. Dr. Dunger laid important groundwork for the organizat5ion and operation of the archives. As librarian of North American Baptist Seminary from 1960-1978, Joyce Ringering worked with Dr. Dunger to make an important contribution tot he development of the NAB archives. Dr. Reinhold Kerstand, Director of Publications for the NAB Conference Office from 1971-1980 was also involved in the collection of NAB archival materials. Miss Bernice Westerman worked with Dr. Dunger as his associate from 1992 to the present time.
In 1999, Dr. Ernie Zimbelman assumed the important responsibility as the Chair of the Board of Governors. The other officers and members of the Board can be found on the Personnel page. The archival operation of the Heritage Commision is located on the lower level of the NAB Seminary library. NABS has graciously made available several rooms to be used as workrooms and holding areas. The Heritage Commission is in need of more space, both to provide for its holdings and archival operations as well as for exhibiting its museum-quality artifacts. The NAB Seminary in Sioux Falls made available one room in the lower level of its library. As the space needs of the Archives expanded and as the NABS library expanded, additional lower-level library rooms were made available. The VisionDuring this past decade the holdings of the Heritage Commission have continued to grow. The present space is no longer adequate; in fact the NABS library itself is crowded for space to cover its own needs. Thus the vision for the future is to provide more adequately a home for these important and fascinating pieces of NAB history - for the benefit of future generations. |
Who We Are | Background of NAB Conference | What We Do |
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Before that time, various people worked faithfully to preserve key documents and artifacts related to the ministry of the German Baptists, later referred to as the North American Baptists. Albert Ramaker, dean of the German Department of the Rochester Theological Seminary in Rochester, New York was one of those deeply involved in the collection of such materials. 
Rev. Orville Meth, retired NAB pastor and chaplain of the Baptist Home in Bismarck, North Dakota, became the first chair of the Board of Governors in 1993. By this time the NAB archives has become officially organized as the North American Baptist Heritage Commission. The Constitution, adoped in 1996, provides for a Board of Governors which meets on an annual basis.