Dr. Walter Lumpkin, recepient of 2008 Nehemiah Award.

March 05, 2008

"A life for Houston"

In 2008, Mission Houston was privileged to honor a man who likewise served as a pioneer in calling for healing the divisions in the Body of Christ and restoring the city and people of greater Houston. For many years, Dr. Walter Lumpkin served as one of the forerunners - as well as friend to many in greater Houston's city-reaching process. A man of deep passion for God and prayer, like Nehemiah, Walter saw that it was going to take the vastness of all God's gifts and graces to see a city rebuilt for the glory of God.

In the early days of Houston's community transformation process, Walter expressed his God-given vision through his work as the founding director of Houston Baptist University's Antioch Institute, whose primary focus was the completion of The Great Commission through strategic research, united prayer, evangelism, city reaching and missions. While various community transformation initiatives were happening in and around our city, Dr. Lumpkin was a renowned host of many city-reaching collaborations for the Body of Christ in Houston. His zeal for research - that is, knowing the "state of the Church in Houston, and the broken state of our communities" - had become a primary focus for Walter.

Walter's work served as the ground-breaking beginnings of what eventually became the Houston Profile Project - a massive, comprehensive body of research, initiated by Mission Houston, and later developed as a city reaching tool by a team of leaders in conjunction with Baylor University.

Walter knew that research, in and of itself, was only one piece to the transformational puzzle. He helped initiate united intercessory prayer, calling on leaders from across denominational lines to meet, develop relationships and engage in strategic prayer. Community transformation leaders across Houston developed a deep appreciation for Walter's integration of community discovery, fervent, informed prayer, and social justice while being the consummate caring pastor.

An eagle was the trophy symbol for the award that was given to Carol Lumpkin in Walter's honor. A symbol of strong, courageous, visionary leadership necessary to engage proven biblical transformation principals in a city as diverse and complex as Houston. Walter was a faithful "bridge-builder" among denominations, ethnicities, social classes and across the generations. As an ordained Baptist pastor, Walter had a unique calling to "major on the majors" and leave the unimportant issues "at the door." He was regularly invited to congregations spanning the breadth of the theological diversity found in Houston. He was passionate about reaching the "next generation" with the Gospel of Jesus as he engaged and mentored students at the University in the same principals of community transformation which he was practicing.

Walter had boundless energy, infectious enthusiasm which was contagious in his work and life. He was a perpetual optimist, with "Noah-like faith", that God was going to see his city discover the road to community transformation. His faith and fight never wavered despite the life-threatening cancer that eventually took him home to be with the Lord, just five years ago. Many gathered here knew Dr. Lumpkin, and were recipients of his gifts, encouragements and contributions to Greater Houston's city-reaching movement.

It was with great pleasure - on behalf of the staff and board of Mission Houston, and many community transformation leaders gathered on March 5 to present the Nehemiah Award - 2008 award to Carol Lumpkin and Dr. Walter Lumpkin's family.

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