John Perkins to Receive 2008 Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award


06/30/2008, Phoenix, AZ -- The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) will present the 2008 Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. John M. Perkins—author, activist and humanitarian during the CBA & ECPA Awards Celebration to be held Sunday, July 13th, opening night of the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, FL. Perkins, author of Let Justice Roll Down and The Preacher and the Klansman, has devoted his life to helping the poor through evangelism and community development. Let Justice Roll Down was selected by Christianity Today magazine in 2006 as #14 of “The Top 50 Books that Have Shaped Evangelicals.”

Born a sharecropper’s son in 1930, Perkins grew up in Mississippi in extreme poverty. His father disappeared and his mother died shortly after his birth. Raised by tough, bootlegging relatives, he never finished elementary school. As a teenager, Perkins held his brother as he died from a gunshot wound from a local police officer. John Perkins left for California and vowed never to return.

Yet in 1960, due primarily to his young son’s invitation to attend a local church, Perkins converted to Christianity and eventually returned to Mississippi to help the poor and the disenfranchised. His goal—Reconciliation, Relocation and Redistribution—became the “Three Rs” used to transform communities via the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) he founded.

Thirty years later, the model of Christian community development John Perkins pioneered has been implemented across this country and around the world. He has influenced countless people to live in community with the poor and disenfranchised. Perkins is also the president of the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development, founder of Mendenhall Ministries, Voice of Calvary Ministries, Harambee Christian Family Center, Harambee Preparatory School and the publisher of Urban Family magazine.

“As an industry, we celebrate the miracle of God’s redemptive power in Dr. Perkins’ life,” says ECPA President Mark Kuyper. “Dr. Perkin’s example of humility and service has inspired Americans of every color and denomination. His legacy, in print and in deed, will inspire generations of believers to come.”

In a recent Christianity Today profile, Perkins commented, “It's amazing, the overpowering number of young people [who are trying to follow CCDA principles]. It's very inspiring to me. It humbles me. I don't read much of their stuff. I don't go to their movies. It just amazes me that [I can influence them] with my old-fashioned reading of the Bible. I see it as my responsibility to keep that message before the people."

The ECPA Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to an individual each year for their exceptional contributions to the Christian publishing industry. Past recipients include author R.C. Sproul, Discovery House founding Publisher Robert DeVries, Billy Graham, Joni Eareckeson Tada and J.I. Packer. The award is named for Christian publishing veteran, Charles “Kip” Jordon (1945-1997).



To schedule interviews or secure images, contact Kirsten Van Peursem, Gospel Light/Regal Books at kirstenvp@regalbooks.com.

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