ATLANTA – When Danielle Smith was ordained in 2007, two important communities gathered to bless her call to ministry. Smith was ordained at Central Baptist Church of Bearden in Knoxville, Tenn., the church that nurtured her spiritual grow in childhood and youth. Also joining Smith in celebrating her call was the community of Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, Va., the church that now nurtures her as a minister.
Smith participates in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s residency program, part of the Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence and funded in part by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. The program places recent seminary graduates in a two-year position with a Fellowship partner church, which serves as a teaching congregation.
"Serving as a resident, allows me a safe place to practice ministry, a soft cushion to fall on," said Smith, who will graduate from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, a Fellowship partner, in May. "Just as a doctor completes a residency in order to help heal the human body, it seems so sensible that a minister complete a residency in order to help heal the human soul."
As a resident at Franklin Baptist, Smith is involved in leading a variety of ministries – activities for children and youth, a church-wide Bible study, hospital and home visitation, weddings, funerals and baptisms.
"Being able to walk in the footsteps of more experienced ministers, like those of Franklin Baptist Church, is such a gift because full-time ministry can be a scary and overwhelming task," Smith said. "Being a resident and having teachers to guide me through my first season of ministry has already educated me in ways that I could never fully realize in a seminary class."
Central Baptist of Bearden has also served as a teaching congregation, and Smith is the second resident at Franklin Baptist. Started in 2004, 10 churches have served as teaching congregations, providing a nurturing and learning environment for ministers beginning their careers.
"I have been overwhelmed at the way the church has embraced this ministry," said Franklin Baptist pastor Richard Childress. "FBC truly sees themselves as a teaching congregation. In my opinion, the main focus of the program is to support and develop the next generation of pastoral leaders."
For more information on CBF’s residency program, contact Steve Graham at sgraham@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.
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.