Fellowship News

CBF, Tennessee CBF name Maples field coordinator for Tennessee

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have partnered to employ a field coordinator for the state of Tennessee. Terry Maples has been named to this position and will begin work June 1. He will be based out of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

“Terry brings to this position a wealth of experience in congregational ministry as well as a passion for missions,” said CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal. “We are privileged to have him as a part of the leadership team for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Tennessee.”

For many years, CBF and Tennessee CBF have actively cooperated in the promotion of their complementary mission and vision throughout Tennessee. As field coordinator, Maples will work to advance both the mission and identity of CBF and the purpose and goals of Tennessee CBF. He will serve Christians and churches in Tennessee, providing resources, support and encouragement and facilitating opportunities for fellowship and missions service.

“After 27 years of meaningful local church ministry in Florida and Virginia, I am excited to serve as field coordinator for the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,” Maples said. “The Fellowship is my theological home where I find kindred spirits. TCBF folks are deeply committed to historic Baptist principles and values embraced by The Fellowship. I believe the future of TCBF is bright, and I look forward to serving alongside free and faithful Baptists in Tennessee.”

Maples currently serves as associate pastor for education and discipleship at Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Previously, he served at Westwood Baptist Church, Springfield, Va., and East Hill Baptist Church, Pensacola, Fla. He has also been an adjunct professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, a CBF partner, since 2001. Maples, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Alabama, has been involved with CBF since its inception.

“At the beginning of our search when the Coordinating Council first articulated its vision of the characteristics of the ideal field coordinator, we had no idea that we were exactly describing the life and ministry of Terry Maples,” said Dr. John Rohde, chair of the search committee and moderator of TCBF. “Among the numerous impressive candidates that were under consideration, we are convinced that Terry is exactly who we have been looking for. In returning to his home state to lead our Fellowship, he is bringing a combination of new energy and mature leadership to our efforts to support churches and individuals as they seek to be the presence of Christ in Tennessee.”

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Editor’s note: A high resolution version of this photo is available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefellowship/4436279516/.

New hymnal editors expect resource to be useful to all Baptists, other denominations

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – A new hymnal, Celebrating Grace, debuted March 7-8 at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta with packed-house concerts during a national conference for church musicians.

Leaders of the hymnal project, which also includes online music and worship planning resources, dubbed it as a comprehensive mixture of treasured hymns and songs that have been sung by generations as well as new ones by many of the nation’s best-loved composer and arrangers.

Tom McAfee, who was project chairman, said the new volume was five years in the making and was culled down to about 700 from more than 2,500 submissions.

John Simons, coordinating editor of the hymnal and director of The Townsend-McAfee Institute for Church Music studies at Mercer University, said the project was successful in large part because of the grass-roots effort involving churches, music ministers and laity in the creation of a new hymnal. With an editorial board composed of seven people and more than 70 other committee members, leadership involved a broad group of contributors.

"At the beginning and the heart of our project was the driving philosophy that through the power of the Holy Spirit, music changes lives," Simons said. "This very grass roots organization was distinctive because it cuts across denominational barriers, and it unites us in this philosophical cause through the power of the Holy Spirit."

McAfee said a goal from the beginning of the project was to be intentionally inclusive of all Baptists and folks from other denominations.

"One of the things that makes our hymnal unique in the Baptist family and in hymnals in general is we included the Cooperative Baptists, the National Baptists, American Baptists, Canadian Baptists, Southern Baptists – if you are Baptist, we wanted you involved in this," McAfee said. "We also wanted to involve people from the Methodist tradition, the Presbyterian tradition, we wanted it to be something that is yes, Baptist, built by Baptists with Baptists in mind, but we also wanted to bring in these other traditions so others can use the book as well."

Along with the new hymnal, project leaders have developed The Worship Matrix™ and online Supplemental Music Resources, which will provide church leaders planning tools and online access to worship materials that are designed to create cohesion between music elements, scripture readings, sermon illustrations and other worship elements.

Mark Edwards, vice president and worship resource manager for Celebrating Grace, said there will be 900 additional items on the Web at www.celebrating-grace.org, created by more than 100 different composers and arrangers.

"These days, there are many other things that have to go along with a hymnal book if it is going to be used effectively," Edwards said.

Simons said the goal with the new hymnal was to make these hymns and the worship experience as a whole meaningful to congregants. "It’s not so much focused on a certain genre or certain type of Christian music, as it is intended as a worship resource for the entire family."

The hymnal’s debut featured two concerts – March 7-8 – with selections from the hymnal performed by a mass choir made up of musicians from across the country. The hymnal event coincided with the national meeting of Polyphony, the Fellowship of Pastoral Musicians.

Coordinating Council approves 2010-11 budget, hears report on Haiti response

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – During its meeting Feb. 18-19, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinating Council moved the $14.5 million budget for 2010-2011 forward in the approval process by recommending adoption by the General Assembly in June in Charlotte.

Rob Nash, the Fellowship’s coordinator of Global Missions, reported on the progression of the response to the earthquake in Haiti. In collaboration with partners such as American Baptist Churches USA, Conscience International, Haiti Baptist Convention and Baptist World Alliance, the Fellowship’s field personnel Nancy and Steve James and Scott Hunter are establishing two bases of operations in Cap Haitian and Gran Guave. Construction teams are being called upon now to deploy in next few weeks.

The response is moving from the short-term to the long-term, transformational phase. Because of the generous response of Fellowship churches with more than 6,000 pounds of medical supplies, the workers in Haiti are well stocked. Churches should send medical supplies to North Stuart Baptist Church no later than Feb. 28. After that date, the medical supply effort will end.

“When it comes to the devastation in Haiti, I thank God for the church,” Nash said. “I’m also grateful for partners. We are collaborating with others on Haiti, we are figuring out who can do what and no one owns it. We are in together. We are all aware of the challenges, and we hear it in the voices of our folks on the ground there. Please pray for them.”

Finance Committee Chair Colleen Burroughs presented the proposed $14.5 million budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, and moved it be approved. The Coordinating Council did so, sending it on for final approval by the General Assembly in June. The total budget for 2010-2011 is $16.7 million, which includes the $14.5 million approved by the Council as well $2.2 million from designated gifts in prior years.

Larry Hurst, the Fellowship’s controller, reminded the Council that the Fellowship is currently operating at an 80 percent financial contingency plan. As of Jan. 31, the total revenues were at $4.2 million, 71 percent of the projected amount, and the expenses were at $4.3 million, 80 percent of projections.

In addition, the Council approved a Covenant of Partnership and Missional Collaboration between the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina and the national CBF organization, a record retention and destruction policy and intellectual property policy.

The Council also received a proposed national framework to address poverty in the U.S., presented by the Interacting with the World Community Collaborative. Created in response to the 2008-09 priority discernment process, the Collaborative offered a seven-point plan designed to alleviate domestic poverty.

The proposal designated the Poverty/Transformation Ministries Community, one of eight ministry groups recently created, as the Fellowship’s framework to alleviate poverty. The poverty community’s virtual convening space is at http://fellowshipportal.ning.com. The community will meet during the 2010 General Assembly.

The framework will include participants from the Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative leadership team as well as the CBF Global Missions Urban Team. A volunteer national facilitator for the group is being sought as well as regional participants to serve as local coordinators.

In his report, CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal said that in late April leaders of the Fellowship, state and regional CBF leaders and leaders of partner organizations will meet to talk about the Fellowship’s upcoming 20^th anniversary. The three-day retreat will be hosted by Vestal and Babs Baugh, the chair of the 2011 General Assembly steering committee. The Baugh Foundation is funding the event.

“I believe our 20^th anniversary celebration should be more than CBF, but a celebration of the whole movement, of which these organizations are a part,” said Vestal. “We will celebrate what God has done through us, but you can’t talk about the past without talking about the present and future. So, this retreat will be a time of both celebration and planning, including planning for the 2011 Assembly in Tampa.”

Vestal also highlighted five challenges the Fellowship faced in the future: defining the relationships with state and regional organizations, addressing relationships with partners, increasing ethnic and cultural diversity, financial stability and starting new churches.

“The future of CBF is not converting churches from other Baptist bodies, but the future is in starting new churches,” he said. “Our future is in fulfilling our mission.”

Connie McNeill, the Fellowship’s coordinator of administration, brought a report on this year’s CBF General Assembly June 23-26, in Charlotte, N.C.

“Build your own Assembly – that’s exactly what we want people to do,” McNeill said. “We are well aware that people have different rhythms to their life, and we want to offer as much flexibility as possible.”

This flexibility to the program includes the debut of the Essentials Conference, specifically designed for lay leaders, and opportunities for individuals to discover their passion and connect with ministry communities related to that passion. More information on the General Assembly and registration is available at www.thefellowship.info/assembly.

The Coordinating Council’s next meeting will be June 23, at the General Assembly.

Durham announces transition plan for leadership of CBF Foundation

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – After more than seven years as president of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation, Don Durham announced Feb. 18 to the Fellowship’s Coordinating Council he will resign his position in June at the conclusion of the 2010 General Assembly in Charlotte.

"I have known for 20 years that the time would come for me to leave institutional ministry for a local church setting – it’s time," said Durham, a 1994 graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "When I decided more than a year ago to move closer to my daughters in central North Carolina, I knew that it was also time to make this ministry transition. I am pursuing bi-vocational ministry among people for whom traditional church doesn’t typically work."

The CBF Foundation exists to raise and manage endowment funds for CBF strategic initiatives and CBF partner organizations and churches. The Foundation is an autonomous organization, closely linked to the Fellowship, but governed by a separate board of trustees.

Durham, 40, has been working with the Foundation’s board since July 2009 to ensure a smooth transition. The board is conducting a national search for a replacement and would like to have someone in place by mid 2010.

"Don’s leadership has allowed the Foundation to provide meaningful support to the work of the Fellowship into the 21st century," said Rebecca Wiggs, a Mississippi attorney and current chair of the Foundation’s board. "He has helped create a genuine partnership between Baptist agencies, churches and families who want to be effective stewards of their money so that the ministry of CBF will be ongoing. Don’s skills for both ministry and financial planning have helped us develop the Foundation in such a way that it will be a resource for the next generation of God’s people."

Responsible for all facets of managing the CBF Foundation, Durham’s primary focus was on securing fund management clients among CBF churches and partners with endowment funds of their own, and providing endowment and stewardship promotion planning services tailored to the local situation and culture of each of the congregations or partners.

By focusing on building funds under management, Durham was able to bring the Foundation to the break-even point in 2008 as projected. This growth allowed the Foundation to add another full time staff position to give primary focus to the Foundation’s long term reason for existing – work with individual donors who can and will make transformational gifts to endowments for the work of the Fellowship and its partners.

He increased the number of CBF Foundation clients by more than double from 17 to 43, and he attracted the first multi-million dollar fund management clients for the Foundation. He secured more than $10 million in fund management accounts and realized estate gifts including the Foundation’s largest realized estate gift to date – over $1.2 million to endow CBF Global Missions field personnel salaries.

"We’ve been blessed by Don Durham," said Daniel Vestal, the Fellowship’s executive coordinator. "Don has approached his work with the deeply-held conviction that financial management and investment not only contributes to help make ministry happen, it is a ministry. He is one of the most gifted development specialists I have ever worked with. CBF has a brighter future because of Don Durham."

A major focus of Durham’s work with the foundation was in his role as a consultant to congregations for planning their endowment promotions in ways that fit the local culture of the church and integrate well with the larger mission and vision of each church.

"Don Durham and the CBF Foundation have been of immeasurable help in getting our Planned Giving Campaign moving and on the right track," said Paul McElroy, co-chair of the Planned Giving Team at First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, N.C. "He helped us develop an outline of important issues and milestones and spoke to our congregation several times on Planned Giving. The CBF Foundation will be a repository for the gifts and manage the investments for our church. We owe a lot to Don and CBF Foundation."

In addition to helping churches connect their endowments with their missions, Durham led CBF Foundation to offer churches a way to invest a portion of their endowment principal in micro enterprise development loans to entrepreneurial borrowers in poor countries who use the loans to start or expand businesses to support their families.

"I’m more proud of this than anything we’ve done during my time with the Foundation," Durham said. "Churches get really energized when they realize they can invest their endowments in microfinance and do as much good with the principal as with the proceeds. Over a 5 year period, an investment of just $10,000 can offer more than 500 individuals the best opportunity they can have to lift themselves out of poverty – and stay out."

The foundation has just over $1 million committed to microfinance investments so far.

"I’ve spent the last 15-20 years helping pay for an awful lot of good ministry as a fund raiser," he said. "However, I believe it’s time for me to transition to a more direct expression of local ministry with my sleeves rolled up as one seeking to be the presence of Christ."

Learn more about the Foundation at www.cbff.org.

Volunteer opportunities to open as Fellowship establishes operation bases in Haiti

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – As the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship nears completion of a base of operation in the earthquake-ravaged country of Haiti, opportunities are opening for on-site volunteers to assist in the country’s recovery from the 7.0 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince Jan. 12.

CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James will continue coordinating medical work in Cap-Haitien – about 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Scott Hunter, one of CBF’s former field personnel serving on temporary assignment, is establishing an operation base southwest of Port-au-Prince, near the epicenter where 98 percent of all local structures were either damaged or totally destroyed. Soon, the Fellowship will be able to receive volunteers in this heavily affected area.

There are limited volunteer opportunities available now for individuals and teams to help prepare the operation base. Once the base is finished, the Fellowship will send more volunteers into the region. Service opportunities include debris cleanup, reconstruction, administrative services, supply logistics and providing medical services.

The Jameses, CBF field personnel co-appointed with American Baptist Churches USA, have served in Haiti for years as healthcare professionals. For days after the quake, Steve, a physician, treated survivors at Haiti Health Ministries’ Christianville Clinic, less than four miles from the quake’s epicenter and close to where the CBF base is being prepared.

"We who have been in Haiti many years have lived with hearing and witnessing terrible tragedies. Yet this present disaster has shaken all of us in the scope and breadth of pain for so many," Steve James said.

The Jameses and Hunter, who previously coordinated portions of the Fellowship’s response to the 2004 Asian tsunami, will soon be joined by Tori Wentz, one of CBF’s medical field personnel based in Virginia.

Those desiring to volunteer must sign up on the Fellowship’s Web site at http://www.thefellowship.info/Disaster-Response-Application. The Fellowship will match the skills and resources of volunteers with on-site needs to ensure a meaningful and effective response.

The Fellowship’s long-term disaster response plan includes working with ministry partners to provide medical services, access to clean water, spiritual formation and pastoral care. Efforts will also include work with children and orphanages, microenterprise development among women and construction of earthquake resistant housing.

As of Feb. 5, more than $193,135 has been contributed to the Fellowship’s Haiti response effort. Also, Fellowship Baptists have sent more than 4.3 tons of medical supplies worth more than $153,000 to CBF partner North Stuart Baptist Church in Stuart, Fla., where the supplies are repackaged and sent to Haiti.

"We thank God for each of you who have loved, prayed and cared for the suffering ones of Haiti and the world," James said.

To give to the relief effort, visit the Fellowship’s donate page, https://www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=17015 or send your check to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392, indicating fund No. 17015 "Haiti Response." Under newly-passed legislation, donations to Haiti response made between Jan. 12 and Feb. 28 will be eligible for deduction on 2009 taxes.

To contribute medical supplies, download the list of items needed from the Fellowship’s Web site at www.thefellowship.info/haiti.

Updates about the Fellowship’s response and recovery efforts will be posted at its blog, www.thefellowship.info/blog.

Fellowship to gather in Charlotte to celebrate 20th annual Assembly

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will gather for its 20^{th annual General Assembly June 23-26 in Charlotte, N.C., where the historic celebration will include new events designed to equip and empower individuals and churches.}^{www.thefellowship.info/assembly}^.

"Within the Baptist family 20 years ago the Holy Spirit quickened, awakened, aroused and empowered Baptists to dream, act and organize in creative new ways so as to give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ," said CBF executive coordinator Daniel Vestal. "Our 20th General Assembly is a marker of God’s goodness."

Among the new events at this year’s historic meeting is a special missions emphasis June 24 called "Discover Your Passion." Led by CBF field personnel and other ministers, the event will challenge attendees to explore and connect with specific areas of CBF missions ministry, such as poverty, justice, education and faith sharing.

Another all-new event is the Essentials Conference. Designed for church leaders, including deacons, staff, teachers and committee members, the Essentials Conference offers four 75-minute learning sessions on 14 practical topics, including deacon ministry, stewardship, evangelism, pastoral care skills, church planning, age-group teaching and more.

The Assembly theme, "And so we are…" (1 John 3:1-2), will be explored in evening worship services, which feature preaching by Bill Leonard and Lauren Winner, both from North Carolina. Leonard, dean and professor at Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, will speak June 24 about Baptist life. Winner, the author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity, will speak June 25 about the future of mainline churches. Winner, who teaches at Duke Divinity School in Durham, will also lead a morning prayer retreat on June 26.

Other Assembly highlights include:

Internationally-recognized speaker Alan Roxburgh will lead the Leadership Institute, set for June 23, 1-4:30 p.m. With the topic "Leading Missional Congregations," the event will focus on leadership challenges faced as congregations discern their connection to God’s mission.

At the Global Missions Commissioning Service, new field personnel will be appointed for missions service around the world. The June 23 service starts at 7 p.m. at Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church in downtown Charlotte. A reception follows.

Loving Your Muslim Neighbor is a seminar to help Christians minister among Muslims. The June 23 all-day event includes sessions on basic beliefs of Islam, common misperceptions, and a question and answer session with Christians who were former Muslims as well as CBF field personnel.

The Charlotte Sessions for college students is June 21-25, featuring missions activities, conversation learning and the opportunity to participate in General Assembly.

Explore Charlotte is a fellowship opportunity on the afternoon of Saturday, June 26. At the Assembly, attendees can sign up to visit Charlotte-area attractions with other Fellowship Baptists.

CBF Community in Worship is an opportunity for Assembly attendees to join in worship with local CBF partner churches on Sunday, June 27. Information about Charlotte-area CBF partner churches will be available at the Assembly.

As in previous years, the Assembly will offer auxiliary events hosted by CBF partners, events for children and youth, state and regional CBF organization meetings, a resource fair, workshops, business sessions and more. The Assembly will be held in the Charlotte Convention Center and the Westin Hotel, both in downtown Charlotte.

While registration for the Assembly is free, some events require advance paid registration. More information about the Assembly, including online registration and hotel discounts, is available at

Formed in 1991, the Fellowship celebrates its 20th anniversary at next year’s General Assembly June 23-24, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.

Fellowship responds with medical care, supplies in quake-damaged Haiti

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s response to the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is underway through CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James and in coordination with CBF partner organizations.

The Jameses, CBF field personnel co-appointed with International Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA, have served in Haiti for years as health care professionals. From Jan. 16-23, Steve, a physician, treated survivors at Haiti Health Ministries’ Christianville Clinic, less than four miles from the quake’s epicenter.

"So many have lost so much," Steve wrote in an e-mail update. "Yet only in the wisdom of God and the love of Jesus can glimpses of meaning be found in the midst of all this suffering."

As of Jan. 21, more than $49,600 has been contributed to the Fellowship’s Haiti response effort. These funds will be used for the Fellowship’s developing response, which could include responding to long-term needs ranging from sanitation and clean water to medical care and rebuilding homes. Scott Hunter, who formerly served as one of CBF’s field personnel in Asia, has arrived in Haiti for a three-month assignment to help the Jameses develop and coordinate CBF’s response. Previously, Hunter coordinated the Sri Lankan portion of the Fellowship’s response to the 2003 Asian tsunami.

In Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas medical supplies are still needed, and the Jameses have provided a list of the most needed items. Individuals and churches are encouraged to download this list from the Fellowship’s web site at www.thefellowship.info/haiti and ship donated supplies to North Stuart Baptist Church, a CBF partner congregation in Stuart, Fla. Supplies are being sorted, re-packaged and transported to nearby Fort Pierce, where they will be flown into Haiti by Missionary Flights International.

CBF partners such as Conscience International have also been responding in Haiti. In addition to sending medical supplies, Conscience International sent a three-person medical team to treat earthquake survivors Jan. 16-21 in Port-au-Prince. Also, Fellowship-partner the Baptist World Alliance through its relief arm, Baptist World Aid, sent its Rescue 24 team to provide emergency medical services.

Updates about the Fellowship’s response and recovery efforts will be posted at its blog, www.thefellowship.info/blog.

CBF signs official partnership with Smokey Mountain Christian Village

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – Leaders from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Smokey Mountain Christian Village, representing an official partnership between the organizations.

Located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Smokey Mountain Christian Village (SMCV) provides retreat and meeting space for churches, groups and individuals.

"We see Smoky Mountain Christian Village as being a valuable partner in our mission by providing sacred space for churches, ministry partners and staff to gather in pursuit of our desire to be the presence of Christ in our world as we train, worship and fellowship," said Daniel Vestal, CBF’s executive coordinator.

As part of the partnership, the Fellowship will promote SMCV’s facilities at regional and national gatherings. The Fellowship will receive 5 percent of the gross revenue from any bookings by a CBF-related entity or individuals.

"Smoky Mountain Christian Village was created to allow the frequent Christian visitors to the area to have a safe, Christian and cost-effective environment for their gatherings," said Randy Tullos, board chairman of SMCV. "There are very few venues in the area where as many as 480 Christians can gather, fellowship and retreat with guests who are of the same mind."

SMCV was founded in 2009 after five years of operation as a secular facility. It’s mission is "to provide Christian groups, ministries and families with a comfortable Christian environment in which to retreat, train or simply get away from the secular world."

To learn more about Smokey Mountain Christian Village go to www.tsmcv.org.

Fellowship to channel Haiti quake response through field personnel, partners

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – In the aftermath of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has launched its response, which will be largely coordinated through CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James, who serve in the country.

The Jameses, CBF field personnel co-appointed with American Baptist Churches USA, are safe. They were in the U.S. attending a conference and have returned to Haiti, where they will be gathering a team and traveling to Port-au-Prince to assess how to respond. Both medical professionals, the Jameses are bringing emergency medical supplies with them and plan to establish a staging area from which the Fellowship’s response supplies and efforts will be channeled.

“We need your prayers for all the suffering ones and for us to know how God might want to use us,” Steve wrote in an e-mail update.

While not a first responder in such disasters, the Fellowship will focus its efforts on making a long-term impact in the affected region, working significantly with ministry partners.

“It’s going to take coordination [with partners]. No one can do this alone,” said David Harding, the Fellowship’s coordinator for international disaster response.

The Fellowship has already connected with partners such as Conscience International, which is sending a medical team to Haiti by early next week; Crosslink International, which has already received donations of medical equipment to accompany the first teams to go in to the affected region; and Virginia Baptist Mission Board, which will help connect Fellowship Baptists with volunteer opportunities in the coming weeks and months. The Fellowship is continuing to connect with other partners.

“As CBF field personnel and partners are listening on the field for needs and resources, CBF churches and individuals will be called on to share their resources, skills sets, and specialized training,” said Chris Boltin, short term assignments and partnerships manager. “We need to hear from you so that when specific projects are identified, we will be able to quickly match the need with the resource.”

Those interested in and available to travel to Haiti should visit www.thefellowship.info/Disaster-Response-Application to list their skills and experience. The first teams will be deploying as early as next week.

Updates about the Fellowship’s response and recovery efforts will be posted at its blog, www.thefellowship.info/blog. Those with a desire for a deeper level involvement are invited to join the Haiti Network at http://fellowshipportal.ning.com/group/haitipartnersforchrist.

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Fellowship extends disaster response efforts to three additional countries

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – As earthquake recovery efforts continue in Indonesia, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has widened the reach of its disaster response ministries to include Bosnia, El Salvador and Mexico.

The Fellowship provided $3,000 for food and firewood in Bosnia, where the funds will help the poorest people survive the harsh winter. The combination of rising utility costs and unemployment over the past year has created need in this area, where CBF has supported ministry previously.

In Mexico, the Fellowship provided $2,500 to victims of flooding in the Tabasco region, where some areas were underwater for more than 10 days. According to Associated Press reports, floodwaters forced more than 40,000 people from their homes. The funds are being utilized by local ministry groups such as the Mexico Baptist Convention.

In El Salvador, where Hurricane Ida made landfall in early November and killed more than 190 people, the Fellowship has contributed $5,000 to aid victims. The funds were provided to two Baptist conventions in the country: Asociacion Bautista de El Salvador and Federacion Bautista de El Salvador.

Recovery efforts continue in Indonesia, following major earthquakes in late September and early October. CBF field personnel are exploring ways to help local residents rebuild houses that have a better chance of surviving future earthquakes.

Financial contributions to relief and recovery efforts for the earthquake can be made online at www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=17016. Because disasters can happen anywhere and at anytime, the Fellowship also has a general disaster response fund that provides immediate emergency relief. Contributions can be made at https://www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=DR. Gifts by mail can be sent to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392, indicating fund No. 17016 "Earthquake Response” or No. 17000 “Disaster Response.”

CBF Coordinating Council addresses priorities, applauds fiscal management

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinating Council implemented a structure designed to address new strategic priorities that emerged from the Fellowship-wide 2008-2009 discernment process.

Breaking into collaborative groups around the priorities of Engaging Missionally; Honoring Race, Gender and Generations; and Interacting with the World Community, the Council members were challenged to address the priorities in their local churches while they helped CBF address them globally.

“I thought it was a good meeting,” said Hal Bass, CBF Moderator, “as we tried to build the agenda around our new structure, and I thought it went well. I detected a strong sense of engagement with the broad initiatives and priorities as well as the specific ministries of the Fellowship.”

After a year of closely monitoring its finances, the Fellowship reported finishing the fiscal year Sept. 30 with revenues of $12.9 million, 78 percent of projections, the national Coordinating Council learned at its meeting Oct. 22-23 at First Baptist Church, Decatur, Ga.

Larry Hurst, the Fellowship’s controller, reported that expenses as of the end of August were $12.3 million, or 81 percent of the projections. Final expenditure numbers for the fiscal year including September were not yet available.

“This time last year, the economy was in a free fall and none of us knew when the bottom would eventually hit,” said Colleen Burroughs, Finance Committee chair. “By March, the Resource Center implemented a financial contingency plan and has managed to work within an 80 percent budget. They have done an amazing job.”

She then challenged the churches of the Fellowship to honor the commitments they made 20 years ago when they came together to launch CBF.

“I am concerned and discouraged at what I am seeing related to local church budgets,” Burroughs said. “Many churches are choosing to borrow from what has traditionally been money designated for cooperative work of the CBF.

“Yes, budgets are tight, but, lead courageously. Challenge your congregations to live uncomfortably. Remind them that they walk alongside a group of people who committed to do something cooperatively 20 years ago. Do not borrow from that commitment.

“If you do, you borrow from an investment in young ministers. You borrow from injustice in North Africa. You borrow from poverty in Texas and the investments in cooperative work to bring long-term solutions to global poverty. Do not borrow from the commitment we have made together as Fellowship Baptists to offer a thoughtful, global gospel.”

In his executive coordinator’s report, Daniel Vestal identified the movement of the Holy Spirit in the world today and the need for a re-awakening to authentic Christian discipleship.

“As I stand before you this morning I want to give witness to a spirit-driven awakening that is happening,” Vestal said. “There is a discontent in churches of the old way of missions. There is a visceral desire for hands-on missions.

“My deep conviction is that the wind of God’s spirit is blowing within this movement that is the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I see the General Assembly in Charlotte and in Tampa as significant opportunities for us to reflect on our past and project our future.”

The Council heard reports on the following:

Bo Prosser, the Fellowship’s coordinator for congregational formation, introduced the Council to the You’ve Got The Time, an initiative to enlist all partnering congregations in a Bible listening program next year. The Fellowship is offering a free MP3 New Testament to every person in a partner church and others who support the work of the Fellowship who agrees to engage in listening to God’s word. The Fellowship is asking churches to designate a 40-day period during 2010 to participate in this transformational ministry.

An update on the 2010 General Assembly, to be held June 24-25 in Charlotte, N.C., was given by Connie McNeill, the Fellowship’s coordinator of administration. The theme for this year’s event is “And so we are,” based on 1 John 3:1. This will be the 20^th General Assembly for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Bill Leonard, dean of the Wake Forest School of Divinity, and Lauren Winner, professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School.

An update on the recent global missions strategic visioning process included an overview of the four priorities that have emerged ‒ innovative models for missional engagement in the 21^st century; focus on ministries affecting justice reconciliation; ministries affecting the most neglected; and empowerment, involvement and encouragement of local leadership through ministry training.

The Finance Committee approved a 5 percent administrative fee that will be applied to designated gifts, with the exceptions of gifts for field personnel funding, the CBF Offering for Global Missions and CBF state and regional organizations.

Don Durham, president of the CBF Foundation, reported that the Fellowship’s investments had rebounded and now totaled approximately $16 million under management with the Foundation. Overall, the Foundation’s investments had recovered and now are at a more than $30 million.

Keith Herron, chair of the personnel committee, presented a statement of affirmation related to one of the priorities: “The personnel committee affirms CBF’s efforts to honor, race, gender and generations and encourages the continuation of this focus in all operational areas for the on-going health of the organization.”

The next meeting of the CBF Coordinating Council will be February 18-19, 2010, at First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga.

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Fellowship adds storm-battered Philippines to ongoing disaster response in Asia

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – As Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel continue earthquake relief efforts in Indonesia, the Fellowship has extended its response in Southeast Asia to include the Philippines, a country preparing for landfall of Typhoon Lupit, the third major storm to hit the nation in the past month.

Following Typhoon Parma, which made landfall Oct. 3, the Fellowship sent $5,000 to the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. This seminary is one of nine schools in the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary consortium, a CBF Global Missions partner.

The Philippine seminary is located in Baguio, a mountain city where heavy rain – some of the worst in decades – caused fatal landslides. The landslides blocked or destroyed many roads, making relief supplies difficult to provide to the thousands who have been displaced from their homes. According to Associated Press reports, more than 850 deaths have been caused by Parma and Tropical Storm Ketsana, which hit Sept. 26.

In Indonesia, CBF field personnel continue their response to two major earthquakes that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. CBF field personnel have treated hundreds of survivors for related injuries and diseases. Now, they seek to help families rebuild in a region where more than 140,000 homes were destroyed by the most recent quakes.

Rebuilding in Indonesia is challenging as the country sits along a major fault line, making it susceptible to many earthquakes, including the 2004 tsunami that led to more than 230,000 deaths across Southeast Asia.

Local residents, including many who live on less than $2 a day, need homes that can withstand future earthquakes.

"That could make the difference between a house collapsing on a family and the family being able to get out to safety," said one of CBF’s field personnel serving in the area. "There are so many ways that we can be the hands of Christ to people that have nothing left but their lives and rubble."

One way is by providing a construction booklet to families, teaching them how to build a more earthquake resistant home.

Florida church starts reaches out to the 'broken'

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA - Canvas Church in Deland, Fla., is less than a year old but already has dealt first-hand with the challenges of working among the "broken," said pastor Ben Collins. "These are the people we feel called to reach — those who disrupt our impulses toward comfort and therefore shape the very culture of the Canvas community," he said. "Our hope is to meet these people on their terms, in their doubts, disinterest and overt hostility, and to live in such a way that they might come to allow for the possibility that God might exist, and that maybe there is a way that leads to wholeness for them."

Scott is one of those broken. He was an out-of-work mechanic and former drug addict with no other place to turn when he showed up at one of Canvas’s monthly community lunches. Church members John and Anabel — taking seriously the Canvas challenge of being an inclusive and redemptive community — took Scott in.

"Their offer was a gesture that spoke volumes to Scott about a God that joins us in the chaos of our struggle, surrounds us and begins to journey with us toward redemption," Collins said. "With a place to stay and a supportive community, Scott quickly found work, began to get his finances in order and joined us for worship."

Canvas was organized in October 2008. The church doesn’t track membership but has 20-50 people meeting together on Sunday nights. They met first in homes, then a bar, and now, are moving from place to place until they can find more permanent space.

Collins described CBF as "relentlessly supportive."

"They helped us to ask important questions, and challenged us to think through the implications of realizing our dream," he said. "They took us seriously and opened their hearts to the possibility that God was moving in an unlikely group of misfits in DeLand. They’ve since covenanted with us as supporters of the church and provided financial assistance, resources and education."

And what about Scott? "Several weeks into his restoration, Scott relapsed and began using drugs again," Ben said. "This greatly complicated John and Anabel’s agreement with him and took the wind out of our sails.

"It was at this point, however, that we really were challenged with how the future of the church was going to look," Ben said. "How do we continue to love those so difficult to love, who throw our graciousness in our face, who lie, manipulate, take advantage and abuse our goodwill?

"We’re a young congregation, and the learning curve of practical faithfulness to the person and way of Jesus is proving to be steep," he said. "But, we continue to spend countless hours praying, discerning and pouring our lives into wrestling with how we can incarnate Jesus for those who are disinterested, disenchanted, disenfranchised, distrustful and self-destructive... we can’t think of a better way to be church."

Hispanic congregation in Alabama growing quickly

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA - The Hispanic congregation Iglesia Bautista Jesús el Buen Pastor in Hoover, Ala., has many of the same challenges of any new church start. "But no matter how hard it is, we stay together to work it out," said the church’s pastor, Jorge Camacho.

In December 2006, Alabama CBF named Camacho pastor of the new church start, which would serve the growing number of Hispanics in the Birmingham area. The first services were held in June 2007 in the living room of the apartment where Jorge and his wife, Maria Pueblo, lived.

Two couples joined them for the first service, and after three months, the congregation had grown to 12. At that point, they rented a community clubhouse. By September 2008, the church had grown even more and another move was warranted to a larger rental space.

Today, the congregation of 65 holds Bible study and worship service on Sunday and has a Wednesday prayer service. Camacho hopes to start a Friday night service soon to accommodate those who cannot attend at other times. Members come from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico.

Over the past two years, the church has baptized 22 people and is sponsoring a new congregation in Clanton, Ala. -- Iglesia Bautista Neuvo Vida.

CBF and Alabama CBF have helped Jesús el Buen Pastor get started, and so have several local congregations including Riverchase, Vestavia Hills, and Shades Crest Baptist churches.

"The church has solid partnerships with Alabama CBF Anglo congregations," said David King, the Fellowships associate for CBF New Church Starts. "Jorge’s bi-vocational work and energy to plant the church is also amazing. The changing demographics of the Hispanic population in Hoover and surrounding areas in Alabama is interesting and Alabama CBF is responding."

"Even though many of our members are out of work right now, I think they are very happy," Camacho said. "Our people are very strong. We work together with the same faith and I think that is something that will make the church stronger as we move forward, no matter how hard it is."

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship's mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Hospice chaplain hears God call to start a church

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Cheryl Adamson was in her 50s and happy with her life as a hospice chaplain in Conway, S.C. One day, while driving home from work, she saw a sign on a wooden post: "Future home of Jamestown Baptist Church."

If Jamestown Baptist Church – primarily a white congregation in a community that had become mostly populated with working class African Americans – was moving, what did God intend for the left-behind church building?

Adamson knew the answer. "God was calling me to the site," she said.

Deciding to go see the pastor, Adamson said, "I told him I was praying for his building fund. ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Because you’re in my church,’ I said. He told me I must have been faithful in small things and that I was an answer to prayer. Within three weeks, he was giving me a key to the church for a Bible study."

Three years later, on October 1, 2006, Palmetto Missionary Baptist Church was formally established. Today, the core group of 35 people continue their mid-week meetings at Jamestown Baptist, but because the Jamestown congregation has not yet moved, Adamson’s church holds worship services in another local church, St. Paul’s Episcopal.

Adamson finds the situation freeing. "We’re virtually a church without walls. Because of [the other churches’] generosity, we can serve the community with our resources. Servant evangelism is our major focus."

Thanks to a $25,000 CBF "It’s Time" grant, volunteers from Palmetto Missionary Baptist now run an after-school music and arts academy for 134 children in the community at a local elementary school. The culturally-enriching program includes character education learning through African drumming and dancing. Volunteers hope to add a guitar lab this year.

During the summer, the church partnered with local organizations to offer character education through drumming, nutrition help and Bible study at a housing project. The church also holds quarterly free yard sales – where furniture, clothing, books and toys are given away. "We are learning to divest ourselves," said Adamson.

Recent seminary graduates start church in urban Atlanta neighborhood

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Their dream to start a church began to surface during Nathan and Carrie Dean’s second year of seminary when Devita Parnell of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship stopped them in the parking lot of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology and asked them if they had ever thought about starting a church. That day, their love for the church and their entrepreneurial zeal found each other.

In April 2008 they began seriously exploring some of the key questions of church starting: who, what, where, how, when and why. Between work and school they spent their off hours collecting demographic data, raising prayer support, going on prayer walks, asking theological questions, gathering expert advice and critiques, researching church starts, formulating plans and talking with local community members and leaders.

After graduating from McAfee in May 2009, the Deans decided to work in Edgewood, a growing and transitioning neighborhood east of downtown Atlanta that is home to nearly 17,000 economically, racially and educationally diverse people.

"Composed predominantly of single adult and single-parent households, this is a community that has great potential for Christian ministry," Nathan said. "An estimated 80 percent of the people within a one mile radius of the center of Edgewood are not actively involved in church (13,450 people)."

The Deans want to change that statistic with a new church and are "getting to know the people and the rhythm of the neighborhood," Carrie said. "We are not aiming to start by a specific date, but focusing on establishing a reputation of trust and hoping to gather a core group of 10-12 people from the neighborhood who want to be a part of a missional church.

"Our intention is to be a church that is connected and relevant to its community," Carrie said. "All our efforts in the Edgewood neighborhood share the goal of developing positive relationships as well as growing in our understanding of the people, culture and community rhythm of Edgewood," she said.

North Carolina couple engages young adults, starts church

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA - Lorraine Powell was the "prime mover" for starting Centerpoint Community Fellowship in Franklin, N.C., according to interim pastor Bernie Calaway. "We call her our ‘matriarch,’" he said.

With a strong desire for true cooperation and fellowship among believers, Powell ached over political discord in the church she had been a member of for 73 years. In response to seeing the young people in the church "losing their calling because they were abandoned and pushed out," in early 2009, she and her husband, Jack, began inviting youth to their home on Wednesday nights, providing supper and Bible study. At the same time, they began researching starting a new church – one that would focus on "true spiritual community," not only welcoming young people, but also encouraging them to find ways to serve.

Through a friend, the Powells learned of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and its focus on missions, emphasis on the autonomy of the local church and equality in leadership resonated strongly with their ideals. The Powells, along with a small band of other "disenfranchised" people, began to meet and discuss the formation of a new church. They wrote a covenant, statement of beliefs and mission statement.

On Easter Sunday of this year, Centerpoint Community Fellowship held its first service in borrowed space. Now offering Sunday School, worship, a mid-week Bible study for youth, women’s prayer group meetings and sometimes an outdoor service in a local park, the church has a core group of 25-30 people, including three youth who lead in contemporary praise and worship music with drums and guitars.

"CBF has supported us with encouragement and friendship, phone calls and financially by providing materials for a children’s day camp," said Calaway. "We believe that young people are not just the future, they are the present. Equipping all believers, and especially our youth, for a life of Christian service and ministry is what we are all about."

"The Lord is really, really blessing us every way we turn," said Powell. "We could not ask for any greater God."

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship's mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Churches, CBF state organizations partner to start church

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A family of five and two of their neighbors who wanted to be a part of a local CBF church formed the nucleus of the congregation that is now Olive Branch Fellowship, a Baptist Faith Community in Olive Branch, Miss.

Amy and Andy Wilson and their three children had previously helped start Trinity Baptist Church in nearby Cordova, Tenn. "As school teachers in Olive Branch, they wanted to become part of a church within their own community that values CBF affiliation," said Martha Strong, whose husband, Chuck, is pastor of Olive Branch Fellowship.

The Wilsons talked with leaders from CBF of Mississippi and Tennessee CBF about their willingness to help with another church start. They found Maxine Moseley and Carolyn Wray, who also were seeking a CBF-friendly church in the Olive Branch area, and began working with the two state CBF organizations and Trinity to help sponsor the new church. Enlisting the help of the Strongs, who moved from Senatobia, Miss., to Olive Branch as church planters, the group soon gained additional support from First and Second Baptist Churches in Memphis.

Olive Branch Fellowship held its first worship service in March 2005. Today, the church has about 40 members with 25-35 in attendance on Sunday and 25-30 on Wednesday evenings.

"One aspect of our church that all our members seem to appreciate is our willingness to have open, thoughtful discussions of questions about the Bible, the church and God that allows us to agree to disagree when needed but always to approach our study with commitment to explore the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives," Martha said.

The congregation meets in a free-standing building that is part of the Pigeon Roost Place shopping center in Old Towne Olive Branch. They are looking for a larger facility to provide significantly more classroom, office and storage space. "Finding affordable property that is also suitably located is proving to be a significant challenge for our congregation," said Martha.

Former youth minister creates church 'without walls' in Montana

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In 2005, a young, Tennessee-born youth minister first felt God’s call to plant a church without walls, for people who don’t like church. Two years later, Ryan Tucker attended a week-long church start boot camp in Waco, Texas, on a scholarship from CBF, and began planning a dramatic move.

Believing that he needed to relocate to a part of the country where Christianity was not a deep-seated part of the culture, Ryan felt drawn to one of the least churched states in America – Montana.

"Traditional church models are an abject failure out here," Tucker said. "Only 11 percent of people in Montana associate themselves with a denomination or faith."

Fighting culture shock and the peculiar sense that in his new home, ministry was not as easily definable as it had been, Ryan and his wife, Courtney, pressed on with support from the Fellowship, focusing on investing themselves in people instead of programs. In the fall and winter of 2008, the Tuckers hosted a Bible study, attended by 12 people.

The following spring saw the group diminished to six people. It felt like a setback. But in May, despite the decrease in numbers, The Well at Billings was formally established. Now, 20 people comprise the core group, and 35-40 show up weekly to listen to Tucker preach.

Defining church as "not a place, but a body of people," The Well at Billings espouses non-traditional Christian tenets, avoiding the use of "churchy" words, forgoing the responsibility of owning or leasing a building so that more money can be invested in missions, and refusing to rule anything out because of "the way it might look."

As a case in point, The Well at Billings holds Sunday evening "gatherings" at a microbrewery warehouse downtown, bearing witness to the belief that though man may look at outward things, God looks at the heart.

Committed to helping and serving people, the church shares 50 percent of its resources with its missional partners and seeks to address the needs of the most neglected in the local community through service projects.

Fellowship responds to Indonesian earthquakes, Georgia floods

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has initiated a response to the major earthquakes in Indonesia and is continuing the response to severe flooding in areas of Georgia.

CBF field personnel are traveling to the disaster zone on the Indonesian island of Sumatra to deliver supplies and explore how the Fellowship and its partners can collaborate to provide relief assistance. Rescue personnel from BWAid, the disaster relief arm of CBF partner Baptist World Alliance, are also on their way to the region.

The Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 quakes – registering 7.6 and 6.6 magnitude, respectively – have left more than 1,100 dead, according to Associated Press reports, with that number expected to climb as rescuers continue their search for survivors amid the rubble.

In Georgia, many families continue recovering from late September flooding that damaged many houses in the Atlanta area. In Austell, Ga., the Fellowship has identified one neighborhood of significant damage where Fellowship Baptists could provide assistance insulating houses, hanging and finishing drywall, and painting.

"There are compelling reasons to step in and model the presence of Christ to people who have literally lost everything," said Charles Ray, the Fellowship’s national coordinator for disaster response.

Randy Shepley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Tucker, Ga., is serving as the local disaster response coordinator. To find out more about service opportunities, contact Shepley at rshepley@fbctucker.org, (770) 938-1688 or Chris Boltin, the Fellowship’s short-term assignments and partnerships manager, at cboltin@thefellowship.info, (800) 352-8741.

Financial contributions to relief and recovery efforts for the earthquake can be made online at www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=17016 and gifts for the flood response can be made at www.thefellowship.info/give/donate.aspx?fund=17006. Gifts can also be sent by mail to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392, indicating either fund No. 17006 "Atlanta Floods" or fund No. 17016 "Earthquake Response."