LAKELAND, Fla. – Tommy Deal has been chosen as associate coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida.

Deal, who is currently director of operations and volunteers for the social-service agency Christian Service Center for Central Florida in Orlando, will begin his duties Jan. 1.

“We are so pleased to have someone of Tommy's expertise as part of the Florida CBF team,” said Florida CBF Coordinator Carolyn Anderson. “I think his gifts and experience will enhance our ministry efforts as Florida CBF seeks to expand and improve.”

A graduate of James Madison University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Deal served churches in Texas, Georgia and Virginia, including 11 years as minister of education and administration at Mt. Hermon Baptist Church in Danville, Va.

Since joining Christian Service Center in 2001, he has been responsible for carrying out programs and ministries, overseeing 27 staff members and more than 3,000 volunteers.

Beginning in 2002, Deal has served also as a part-time chaplain for Florida Hospital, Seminole Division, and since 2003 as volunteer chaplain for the Orlando Police Department. He received chaplaincy endorsement through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in February 2004.

“I am humbled by the trust God and Florida CBF has placed in me to call me as associate coordinator,” Deal said. “God has done tremendous things in our brief history and He promises to do even more. I am excited and ready for the challenge.”

Deal and his wife, Sue, who serves as minister of music at College Park Baptist Church in Orlando, have two sons.

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.