A Word about our Sponsor

Bob Stephenson, a Baptist layman and deacon is the major sponsor for the Midwest Regional meeting of the New Baptist Covenant.  He and his wife, Norma, have two children, Robert and Sandra and seven grandchildren.Bob graduated from Blair High School in Blair, Oklahoma. While at Blair, he played baseball and basketball.  His High School basketball team won the class "C" state championship in 1946.  He also played baseball with the first Altus American Legion team which won the state title in 1945.  His team was defeated by a New Orleans team in the American Legion's regional finals that were held in Austin, Texas.   That game was played on V.J. day.  The euphoria following the announcement during the game that WWII had ended overshadowed everything that happened on the field.Bob went on to play baseball for the University of Oklahoma from 1947-50.  Playing shortstop, he lettered in '48, '49 and '50.  In 1950 he was a second team All American.  After he earned his Bachelor's degree in Geology from O.U., he signed a contract to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals.  He played with the Houston Buffs in the Texas League in 1950.  In 1951, he played for Omaha and his team won the Western League Championship.  After two years of service in the U.S. Army during the Korean war, Bob returned to professional baseball 1n 1954.  He played shortstop for Columbus in the American Association and made the league's All Star Team.  In 1955 he played with the St. Louis Cardinals.  In the winter of 1955 he played baseball in Havana, Cuba.   In 1956 he played for Omaha until he was traded to Minneapolis, at that time, a Triple A farm team for the New York Giants.  He retired from professional baseball in 1957 and began his career as a geologist.

After working for ten years as a geologist for the Pure Oil Company, Bob co-founded the Potts-Stephenson Exploration Company based in Oklahoma City.  Involved in community affairs, Bob is a member of the Association of American Petroleum Geologists and the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.  In the past, he has served as a member on the boards of the Petroleum Club and the Norman Regional Hospital Foundation.  He is currently a member of the Nominating Committee of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, a member of the Executive Committee of Alumni for the School of Geology and Geophysics at Oklahoma University and served as a member of the Search Committee for Oklahoma University’s Director for the School of Geology and Geophysics.

Deeply involved in Baptist affairs, Bob has served on the Coordinating Council of the Cooperating Baptist Fellowship and as a member of the Executive Boards of Associated Baptist Press, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Texas Baptists Committed and the national Mainstream Baptist Network.  He is the founder of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists.  Stephenson’s commitment to the New Baptist Covenant movement is evidence by the scholarships he provided to all of the more than 170 seminary students who attended the inaugural 2008 New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta and participated in accredited course work and studies.