Southern Nazarene University

BETHANY, Okla. (September 13, 2010) - Southern Nazarene University will be hosting a free public lecture featuring Dr. John Perkins in Herrick Auditorium on Monday, September 27th at 7:00pm.

Dr. John M. Perkins grew up in New Hebron, Mississippi amidst dire poverty. Fleeing to California at age 17 after his older brother’s murder at the hands of a town marshal, he vowed never to return. However after converting to Christianity in 1960 he returned to Mendenhall, Mississippi to share the gospel of Christ.

While in Mississippi, his outspoken nature and support and leadership in civil rights demonstrations resulted in repeated harassment, beatings and imprisonment. He again was arrested in 2005 year while protesting in Washington D.C. against U. S. Government defunding of programs aiding the poor.

Perkins and his wife, Vera Mae, have founded multiple community development ministries. Their first was the Voice of Calvary Ministries in Mendenhall, Mississippi. It includes a church, health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development and training center.

Years later they founded the Harambee Christian Family Center in Northwest Pasadena, a neighborhood that had one of the highest daytime crime rates in California. Harambee runs numerous programs including after school tutoring, Good News Bible Clubs, an award-winning technology center, summer day camp, youth internship programs, and a college scholarship program. They also established the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation & Development, Inc for the sole purpose of supporting their mission of advancing the principles of Christian community development and racial reconciliation throughout the world.

For information regarding this event please contact Stacey Porterfield, 405-717-6216.

Southern Nazarene University's mission is to transform lives through higher education in Christ-centered community. As a Christian community of scholars, we model the hospitality of grace, the pursuit of truth and the practice of discipleship, all within the Wesleyan-holiness tradition, as we prepare graduates who THINK with clarity, ACT with integrity and SERVE with purpose.