Dr. Gideon Zimmerman was ordained on May 23, 1943, by the North American Baptist Conference. He served for twelve years as a pastor with North American Baptist churches in Auburn, Michigan; Grand Forks, North Dakota; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also served for twelve years as General Secretary for the Commissioned Baptist Youth and the Sunday School Workers Union, which later becamethe Department of Christian Education. From May 1968 until July 1979, he was Executive Secretary of the North American Baptist Conference. In 1971, North American Baptist Seminary (now Sioux Falls Seminary) conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. The Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in Washington, DC, elected Dr. Zimmerman as its new chairman in 1978. Dr. Zimmerman had previously served as chairman of the agency's finance and personnel committees. Dr. Zimmerman also wrote the foreword to Frank H.