We, the undersigned Christian Ministers, publicly condemn, not only the unjustified killing of George Floyd by the arresting officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but also all the lost lives of people of color due to racism.

We want all people of color to know, and at this time in our nation, specifically the African American community, that we see you, we stand with you, and we value your lives, just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does.

We believe God loves and values all people, as evidenced by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross, not for a select group of people but for all people. As it is written in the Scriptures, “For God so loved the World, that He gave His one and Only Son, and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We believe that God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).  We agree with the U.S. Declaration of Independence of 1776 “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”  We agree with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that we ought to equitably “judge one another not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.”

For these reasons, we condemn racial discrimination in any form and prayerfully support the peaceful and lawful protests demanding justice for George Floyd and the equitable treatment of all people by law enforcement departments.  We condemn the violent and unlawful actions of opportunists who seek to use the lawful protests protected by the First Amendment Right to Free Speech to perpetrate crimes.

We understand that the unlawful and hateful actions of a few law enforcement officers do not represent the vast majority of officers of all color who protect our communities with justice and fairness every day.  To those officers we stand with you in this most difficult time.

We, the ministers of the Nevada Baptist Convention, believe the solution to racism and all other sins of our nation, both individually and as a nation, is found in the personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus has the power to help us to repent of these sins and turn to Him in faith, which will change our hearts and our nation to live with each other in love, compassion, and justice for all people.

Therefore, we, the undersigned Christian Ministers, want all the people of all colors in the State of Nevada and around the world to know you are loved, wanted, valued, and welcomed in our Churches.

Finally, we want to express our deep pain and sorrow and join you in this time of grief. May God heal our nation, in Jesus’ name.

Mario Alsina Fernando Argumedo J Ballard Rob Boyd Bruce Brown Ed Brown Frank Bushey Leo Castro Randy Collins William Cox Neal Creecy Sam Crouch Jim Disbro Dennis Draves

Don Edwards Roberto Estrada David Fee Tony Forehand Earl Greene Martin Haghani Jim Hunter Jose Irias Brian Jenkins Mike Katz Theodore Scott Kern William Lyons Greg McCabe Eddie Miller Joseph Montoya

Mark Morton Jeff Muehleisen Oscar Munguia James L. Reamer Jarrod Reed Jim Ricks Giovanni Rivas Tim Royal Norm Sahm Joe Salcedo Hoyt Savage John Mark Simmons David Simpson Sam Stanton

Bill Stevenson Mike Stewart Robin Stork Wilbert Talice Joe K. Taylor Gus Torres Ron Tuit Barry Tweedy Doug Vaughan Harry Watson Larry Webb Jon Wellman Austin White Kevin White