Alaska Baptist Convention
The first Southern Baptist church in Alaska was First Baptist Church, Anchorage, organized in September 1943.
The new church had 17 members, including two civilians and 15 soldiers.
The church was founded by soldiers at nearby Fort Richardson, and later started a number of sister churches in Alaska.
The ABC was formed in 1946 as the union of several Alaskan Baptist churches. Although it petitioned the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) for recognition as a state convention in 1947, the SBC did not formally recognize the ABC until 1951, after the ABC had submitted a second petition for recognition in 1950. 
An amendment to the SBC's constitution had been required in order to allow the ABC, and several other small state conventions, to become associated with the SBC. In the meantime, in 1948, the ABC had received assistance from the SBC's Home Mission Board.
Edward J. Noble
Noble was the first chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Authority. He also served as Undersecretary of Commerce under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939-1940. Following the Federal Communications Commission's order that RCA divest itself of one of its two radio networks, he founded the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) when he purchased the Blue Network (formerly part of NBC) on October 12, 1943. He tried to build ABC into an innovative and competitive broadcaster, but was hampered by financial problems and the pressure of competing with long-established NBC and CBS. By 1951, he entered negotiations to merge the network with United Paramount Theaters, headed by Leonard Goldenson; Goldenson became chairman of the ABC network, while Noble sat on its board of directors for the rest of his life.