Jeffrey and Tonya Vickery, co-pastors of Cullowhee Baptist Church in North Carolina, lead the communion litany during the Saturday morning general session of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala. Stanley Leary photo.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After three days of worship, fellowship, dialogue and conducting business, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ended the 14th annual General Assembly here with a service of Communion led by Jeffrey and Tonya Vickery, co-pastors of Cullowhee Baptist Church, Cullowhee, N.C., and other ministry families.

The service signified the Fellowship’s unity alongside its vast diversity and was a fitting conclusion to a meaningful and inspirational Assembly that involved an estimated 3,000 participants, including 2,397 registered attendees.

"The Assembly was as meaningful a time of togetherness as this Fellowship has ever experienced together," said Daniel Vestal, the Fellowship’s national coordinator. "I believe we all leave Birmingham with a renewed commitment to our vision of being the presence of Christ in the world."

The Fellowship raised $47,670 for the Baptist World Alliance through two special offerings and approved the 2004-05 budget that doubled the annual contribution to BWA from $20,000 to $40,000. General Secretary Denton Lotz brought greetings to the Assembly on behalf of BWA at the conclusion of the Friday business sessions and hosted a breakfast for friends of BWA for the first time.

Other highlights of the Assembly included the following:

• An inspiring message from John Kinney, dean of the theology school at Virginia Union University.

• Kinney told the Fellowship: "When you get the presence of Christ in your life it won’t just be Jesus getting up from the dead. You’ll get up, move and tell a world that is moping around in defeat and darkness that He lives! He lives! He lives!"

• Approval of a $16,008,123 ministry and missions budget for fiscal year 2004-05. In introducing the budget, Philip Wise, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas, and chair of the Fellowship’s finance committee said, "We anticipate closing out the year in the black."

• Election of a slate of officers. Cynthia Holmes became past moderator; Bob Setzer Jr., became moderator, Joy Yee, was elected moderator-elect; and Susan Crumpler, will continue as recorder. Also, Emmanuel McCall of Atlanta and Vestal were appointed emissaries to BWA.

• Becoming a founding member of Christian Churches Together USA, an ecumenical organization that was founded in September 2001 and will be launched May 2005.

• Launching a new network linking individuals with an interest in spiritual formation at a special dinner event called "Bountiful Feast" featuring spiritual formation author Tilden Edwards as the keynote speaker.

• A Congregational Leadership Institute day-long seminar with Craig Van Gelder challenging local congregations to focus on God and His will, instead of tasks and an obligation to serve.

• Commissioning 11 new Global Missions field personnel on Friday night, bringing the total number of personnel on the mission field to 146. During the service, CBF Global Missions associate coordinator Amy Whipple Derrick said, "Burning bush or not, we are all called. We are called to relationship, called to what God has uniquely gifted us to be, called beyond ourselves, called to love, and called to be the presence of Christ. We really are on holy ground because God is calling each of us. How will we respond? We may run, we may spectate or we may choose to commit."

• The endorsement of 35 new chaplains and pastoral counselors bringing the total number endorsed by the Fellowship to 414.

The Fellowship will gather again June 30 - July 2, 2005, at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, in Grapevine, Texas.

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.