ALASKA -
NORTH TO THE FUTURE
There is a mystique about the name Alaska that
is hard to explain or to understand. The 49th
state was admitted to the Union in 1959 and is
known as the "the Great Land" and "the Last
Frontier." The land mass of Alaska is equal to
one fifth of the 48 contiguous states or to put
it another way, equal in size to the twenty six
smallest states in the lower 48. Alaska has one
million acres for every day in the year and
33,904 miles of coastline, more than the rest of
the United States combined. Juneau, the capital,
is farther from Point Barrow than Seattle is
from Mexico.
Alaska is a beautiful and most interesting state
with its snow capped mountains, blue-hued
glaciers, sweeping plains, winding rivers,
Northern Lights, mirror-like lakes, verdant
evergreens, and flourishing, colorful flowers
(in Spring and Summer).
The population of Alaska, is over 600,000.
Alaska is a mixture of Eskimos, Indians,
Caucasians, African Americans, Russians, Asians,
Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and
Hispanic. Immigrants from the South pacific and
others continue to add to the diversity of the
state's population.
Tourism is steadily becoming a major contributor
to the states economy which is anchored in oil,
mining, fishing, government, military, and
timber. The most visited tourist attraction is
the Denali State Park featuring Mt. McKinley,
the tallest mountain on the North American
Continent soaring to an elevation of 20,320
feet.
Three times in her history Alaska has
experienced sudden growth. The discovery of gold
in 1880 brought on the Gold Rush resulting in
the creation of the cities of Juneau, Skagway,
Nome, and Fairbanks. Secondly, the 1942 invasion
of the Aleutian Islands by Japanese accelerated
the building of the Alaska-Canada (Alcan)
Highway. The third great influx came with the
discovery of oil and the construction of the
Trans Alaska Pipeline in the 1970's, stretching
from Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Circle to Valdez
in the south, a seaport in Prince William Sound.
Alaska has the longest days and nights even up
to 24 hours of daylight in mid-summer and 24
hours of darkness in mid-winter in Barrow.
Temperature ranges from a low of minus-80
degrees in winter at Ft. Yukon to a high of 100
degrees in summer at Prospect Creek Camp.
Snowfall varies from year to year and area to
area but the heaviest annual snowfall at
Thompson Pass approaches 1,000 inches.
Alaska is the "flyingest" state in the Union
since this is the only practical way to reach
the "bush" country. The state has more licensed
pilots per capita than any other state. Most of
the major U.S. airlines service Alaska; namely
American, Continental, Delta, United, Alaska
Airlines, Northwest, Reeve, and others. Several
international carriers also use the Anchorage
International Airport. Numerous small commuter
airlines service the villages and bush country.
Unique to Alaska is the Alcan Highway stretching
from Mile Post 0 at Dawson Creek, British
Columbia, Canada, 1520 miles through Canada and
Alaska to Delta Junction and on to Fairbanks.
The building of this highway is recognized as
one of the greatest engineering feats of the
20th Century. Driving this highway is an
adventure which many motorist experience each
year.
Alaska is rich in minerals such as silver,
copper, zinc, nickel, gold, and platinum.
Several non-metallic materials are mined namely
coal, sand, gravel, stone, peat, and jade.
Historically, the presence of the military has
added greatly to the economy of Alaska. Some of
our Southern Baptist churches and missions were
begun by military personnel and their families.
Other congregations have been and continue to be
greatly strengthened in their ministry because
of airmen, soldiers, Marines, and Coast Guard
personnel stationed here.
Southern Baptists presence in Alaska was not
manifested before 1943. A sketchy record
indicates that a Baptist preacher ministered in
Skagway during the Gold Rush and that a Mrs.
Black conducted a mission Sunday School in
Juneau. No other information is available
regarding these early ministries.
In 1943, Southern Baptist chaplains stationed at
Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage preached a
revival at the church of the open door. This
revival and other ministries led to the
formation of the First Baptist Church of
Anchorage. The new church constituted on
September 19, 1943 with 17 charter members
including 15 servicemen. During World War II
servicemen stationed in Alaska were not
permitted to be accompanied by wife or family.
In 1944 First Baptist Church Anchorage, under
the leadership of Pastor Felton Griffin,
extended their ministry to Fairbanks. This
ministry resulted in the establishment of the
first Southern Baptist church in Fairbanks in
1945. About this same time and with the support
of First Baptist Anchorage the First Baptist
Church of Juneau was constituted. The Alaska
Baptist Convention was organized in 1946 by
messengers of three Southern Baptist Churches.
As of October 1, 2002, Alaska Baptists reported
71 churches, 28 missions, and 12 preaching
points. For a current listing of Alaska Baptist
Convention staff, please click on the "ABC
Staff" link at the top of this page. The
churches and missions are organized into five
associations: Chugach, Hatcher Pass, Tongass,
Tanana Valley, and Kenai area. For more
information on these individual associations,
please click on the "associations" link at the
top of this page.
Serving under the umbrella of the Alaska Baptist
Convention are the Alaska Baptist Foundation,
the Alaska Baptist Family Service. Serving in
Alaska with locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks
and Wasilla is the Wayland Baptist University of
Plainview, Texas although they have no official
ties to the State Convention.
Alaska Baptists are greatly indebted to the
thousands of volunteers who have come and
continue to come to help with construction,
revivals and many and varied other ministries.
Baptist working together to do collectively what
they perhaps could not do individually.
Persons interested in 2 short-term or extended
mission ministry in Alaska are invited to
contact the Alaska Baptist Convention office at:
1750 O'Malley
Anchorage, AK 99507
907-344-9627
Fax: 907-344-8754
email: messenger@akbaptist.alaska.com
--History
compiled by W.C. Garland, Interim Executive
Director 1995; edited 2005.
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