February 23, 2000
NAMB links with Retton, Bernalls
___ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--The announcement of two high-profile broadcast media projects--a new children's program featuring gymnast Mary Lou Retton and a potential theatrical or television movie based on the life of Columbine High School martyr Cassie Bernall--highlighted the regular meeting of North American Mission Board trustees Feb. 9.
___Also introduced was another program for FamilyNet titled "Open House," a talk show featuring hosts Chuck and Jennie Borsellino. The show will focus on strengthening the home and family through the discussion of Christian truths.
___The announcements came during an address by NAMB President Bob Reccord that touched on a variety of projects currently under way through the board and its partners.
___In other business, trustees learned that 72 new missionaries have been appointed or approved since Jan. 1, joining more than 5,000 missionaries currently serving in the United States and Canada. They also learned that the agency's Chaplains Commission had endorsed 24 new chaplains and pastoral counselors this year.
___The Mary Lou Retton television show--titled "Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop"--will combine the educational concept of "creative movement" for preschool children with Christian values, Reccord said.
___Retton will be joined by a cast of costumed characters, each with unique characteristics that reinforce particular values. Also part of the team will be a group of children who will participate in the activities.
___"My show will create a foundation for kids, teach them the values of honesty and truthfulness," Retton said in a news release announcing the program. "We will educate and entertain through the use of physical movement. This will be an interactive program that will be both educational and fun."
___Retton, and her husband, Shannon Kelley, are active members of Second Baptist Church of Houston. Reccord said discussions about producing "Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop" arose after Retton was featured in an evangelistic television commercial produced by NAMB.
___A multiple gold medallist in the 1984 Olympics, Retton even today is "one of the top 10 most admired people in North America," Reccord said.
___"She wanted me to tell you she is ecstatic about the opportunity to work now and in the future with Southern Baptists and the North American Mission Board broadcast team to bring values-based programming to children."
___The long-distance telephone company LifeLine has been enlisted as a corporate sponsor for the program.
___NAMB has negotiated an agreement with Cassie Bernall's parents, Brad and Misty Bernall, to acquire all motion picture and television rights to Cassie's story as described in Misty Bernall's recently published book, "She Said Yes."
___"I just knew the North American Mission Board was a group of really good folks, and we shared the same beliefs, values and morals," Brad Bernall said. "Right away I knew that was the right path to take."
___Bernall, a member of West Bowles Community Church in Littleton, Colo., said his hopes for the movie are the same as for the book--that others might benefit from their story.
___"We felt Cassie's story before her death needed to be shared, and by doing the movie we would be able to encourage parents and young people with her story," he said. "They can see how much trouble she was in, and how she made a conscious decision to turn away from the dark and follow the light."
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