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February/March 2012
Cooperative baptist fellowship | www.thefellowship.info
Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission
Carla Wynn Davis Photo
Changing the lives of children
In Miami, CBF field personnel Angel and Jason Pittman share Christ and provide hope to children through the Touching Miami with Love ministry center.
Learn more on pages 18-21.
Books that made a difference Shortly after coming to CBF I made a decision to no longer read simply for pleasure (I still enjoy movies, some TV and my grandchildren). But for the past 15 years, except for an occasional novel and The New York Times, I have read primarily for formation. Of course all reading is informational, but my practice has been to be very intentional about the investment of time and energy in reading. My prayer has been that the Spirit would form me personally, spiritually, theologically and vocationally as I entered into conversation with these authors. Below are the 25 books that have influenced me the most during my tenure as Executive Coordinator. 1. Operation World: A Day to Day Guide for Praying for the World by Patrick Johnstone 2. Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer 3. The Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America by Darrell Guder (editor) 4. To Pray and to Love: Conversations on Prayer with the Early Church by Roberta Bondi 5. The End of Poverty by Jeffrey D. Sachs 6. The Moral Vision of the New Testament by Richard Hayes 7. New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton 8. Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong 9. Life Together: A Discussion of Christian Fellowship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer 10. A New Call to Mission: Help for Perplexed Churches by Alan Neely 11. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching by John Westerhoff 12. Christianity and World Religions by Hans Kung 13. Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright 14. A Billion Bootstraps by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman 15. Participating in God; A Pastoral Doctrine of the Trinity by Paul Fiddes 16. The Mission of God:Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative by J. H. Christopher Wright 17. Why Religion Matters by Huston Smith 18. The Future of Baptist Higher Education by Donald Schmeltekopf and Dianna Vitanza (editors) 19. Believing in the Future: Toward a Missiology of Western Culture by David Bosch 20. Five Challenges for the Once and Future Church by Loren Mead 21. Cultivating Communities of Practice by William Snyder, Etienne Wenger and Richard McDermott 22. Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel by Luke Timothy Johnson 23. The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are by Vol. 22, No. 1 Jenell Williams Paris executive Coordinator • Daniel Vestal 24. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Coordinator, Fellowship Advancement • Ben McDade Reconciliation by Mirsolav Volf Editor • Lance Wallace 25. Crises In the Village: Restoring Hope In African American Communities by managing Editor • Patricia Heys Robert Franklin Associate Editor • Carla Wynn Davis Phone • (770) 220-1600 Fax • (770) 220-1685 E-Mail • fellowship@thefellowship.info Web Site • www.thefellowship.info
fellowship! is published 6 times a year in Feb./March, April/May, June/July, Aug./Sept., Oct./Nov., Dec./Jan. by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc., 2930 Flowers Road South Suite 133, Atlanta, GA 30341. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, GA. USPS #015-625. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to fellowship! Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 2930 Flowers Road South, Suite 133, Atlanta, GA 30341.
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Some of these books are lengthy and complex. Others are small and simple. But all of them have shaped my life and ministry. Some of them I have read several times. They intersected my journey at different points and impacted me in different ways and for different reasons. They became conversation partners, mentors and even friends. I share all of this both as a witness and recommendation. Thanks be to God.
Daniel Vestal, CBF Executive Coordinator
Contents
9 10-16
In Canada, CBF field personnel Kim and Marc Wyatt are ministering among the immigrants and refugees living in the country’s largest cities.
Five Tips for building a legacy
Starting new churches • Partnership with Ghana Baptists results in new U.S. congregations • Among Roma, church planting involves unique challenges • In Belgium, church planting is a long-term strategy
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Affect: February Missions Education Resource Changing the lives of children • Field personnel share Christ, hope with Miami youth • Kindergarten gives children educational foundation • Virginia ministry provides encouragement to Latino children
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Affect: March Missions Education Resource Partner Spotlight: Baptist Women in Ministry Carla Wynn Davis Photo
2012 CBF Task Force Update
2012 General Assembly — Fort Worth, Texas
FROM THE EDITOR Of all the photos I took last summer at Touching Miami with Love, the one above is the most memorable.
You may ask why because, I agree, it’s not a very good photo. It’s just a few stuffed animals piled outside a fence. But, sadly, it’s a lot more than that. As Angel Pittman — one of CBF’s field personnel serving at Touching Miami with Love — explained, this collection of stuffed animals is a memorial for a victim of street violence. Now you see why this photo is hard to forget. In this issue of fellowship! you will read about the ministry of Angel and her husband, Jason, who lead Touching Miami with Love, a ministry center in a Miami neighborhood called Overtown. There, crime and poverty rates are among the nation’s highest, and Touching Miami with Love wants to change this picture. Nearly every day dozens of children and teenagers experience the love of Jesus Christ as shown through Angel, Jason, staff, community members and Fellowship Baptists who make this life-changing ministry possible. Sometimes we forget that ministries like these need our support. Without people like you giving to the CBF Offering for Global Missions, many life-changing ministries would not exist. It’s that simple. They need you, and you need them — because only together can we join God’s mission to transform communities and lives. What a picture that would be.
Carla Wynn Davis, associate editor, cdavis@thefellowship.info
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When you give... “The boys are changed.
The ministry of the Aldapes in India is made possible by the generous gifts of Fellowship Baptists to the CBF Offering for Global Missions.
When they return to their homes, they are evangelists through their lifestyles. Their parents notice changes in their children because they are better behaved and they pray regularly. There’s a certain peace that comes to the home, and it opens the door to have conversations with the parents about Christ.”
Eddie Aldape
One of CBF’s field personnel, India
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omnath was being teased at school one day when a fight broke out. He fought back but was beaten up and left discouraged. Somnath vowed never to go back to school again. Somnath lives in Pune, India, with his mother. Since his father left, they have struggled to survive. There are few jobs for unskilled workers like Somnath’s mom, and she couldn’t afford to send him to another school. One day, Somnath and his mother attended services at the Banjara Church, which meets in the same building as the Banjara Children’s Home. Both are part of the ministry of CBF field personnel Eddie and Macarena Aldape, who were commissioned to work in India among the Banjara in 2001. “Somnath met some boys from the Children’s Home and said he was surprised that they seemed happy,” Eddie said. “After talking to them, he begged his mother to
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let him stay at the home and attend school. He’s a very bright boy and is now motivated to learn as much as he can.” The Banjara are a minority people group in India, among the lowest levels in the caste system, and believed to be the original Gypsies. Numbering more than 20 million in a country with 1.1 billion, it’s easy for them to be underserved and forgotten. Eddie and Macarena, who is a nurse, began their ministry conducting medical camps and clinics, working with local doctors and purchasing medicine that was distributed in villages around Pune. They quickly learned that although the medical needs were great, so were the needs for education. “One thing we discovered in nearly every village we visited was that most of the children and parents were uneducated,” Macarena said. “The parents had no vision, no hopes or dreams for their children. The older children stay home and take care of younger children while parents work construction.
Some parents even take children with them to help with the construction work.” By partnering to establish the Children’s Home in 2006, the Aldapes hoped to educate as many Banjara as possible, helping to break the cycle of poverty and sharing the love of Christ. Many of the boys in the home have been orphaned by diseases such as HIV/AIDS and others come from homes with limited resources, such as food. The Children’s Home provides nutritious meals, educational opportunities, a safe place to live and a chance to learn about Jesus. The Aldapes’ ministry is funded by the CBF Offering for Global Missions, which enables them to minister in India, being the presence of Christ to children and families who are among the world’s most neglected people. At the end of the school year, many of the students head home. And, the Aldapes say that these students then become the best ambassadors for Christ among their parents and families.
When you give, you help fund the Aldapes’ ministry in India. To give, use the envelope included in this issue or go online to www.thefellowship.info/give.
Serve
Individuals needed to teach, plant seeds for ministry
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Many students at PBTS will serve among people living in poverty, such children who call the Baguio City garbage dump home.
CBF Photo
hristina Nguslab is just starting her ministerial career, but she’s already learned how to bring a class into closer fellowship. In her women’s Bible study class, Nguslab, a 22-year-old master’s student at The Phillipines Baptist Theological Seminary (PBTS), led a discussion about the topic of sexuality. “When Christina brought the discussion to her group, it broke an unofficial silence on the topic among those with whom she ministers,” said Ryan Clark, one of CBF’s field personnel who teaches Nguslab’s pastoral care class. If discussing sexuality is difficult in U.S. churches, he said, it’s almost impossible in the Philippines, with its dual Asian and Catholic influences. Among all the laughs, the discussion “set a new tone for the group as a safe place where they could talk about their hurts and struggles as well as report honestly about personal successes,” Clark said. Clark, along with his wife, Cindy, teach at the seminary, which is located in Baguio City, a city of approximately 300,000 people on The Philippines’ largest island. Ryan teaches pastoral care, and Cindy teaches music. There are more than 100 students on campus, plus 600 more at extension schools in other countries. Christianity is spreading in Asia, but ministry training lags behind. Approximately 85 percent of PBTS students are on a ministerial track; the rest study music. Ryan says most graduates will go on to serve small, rural churches. Or, they
serve
might serve in places such as Thailand’s refugee camps, home to people fleeing neighboring Myanmar. Students from Myanmar face persecution at home for being Christians. “Teachers are seed-planters,” said Cindy. “We have no idea what these students will go on to do when they return to their country. They will be the ones to see the tangible results.” Students like Nguslab, who are learning step-by-step to become more effective teachers, will carry those lessons to their home countries. Approximately 70 percent of the students are from the Philippines. The rest come from places the Clarks might never visit, such as Myanmar, Pakistan, India, Cameroon and Korea. “We certainly don’t know everything, but what we do know appears to be filling
a gap here at PBTS,” said Cindy. The Clarks not only minister in the classroom and on campus, they also minister to some of Baguio City’s most vulnerable residents. Baguio means “typhoon,” and the deadly storms regularly hit the area, destroying homes and infrastructure. Residents also face other challenges, such as armed robberies on campus. The Clarks have witnessed how faith communities can provide people with hope in the midst of dire circumstances. Ryan encourages Fellowship Baptists to pay attention to their thoughts and dreams. If those keep converging at a certain place or a certain vocation, “then you owe it to yourself to explore a responsible path toward fulfilling what is probably a calling.”
Interested in teaching at The Philipines Baptist Theological Seminary? Individuals are needed to teach for six months to a year, providing training to ministerial students. To learn more, contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. fellowship!
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Learn
Vacation Bible School curriculum takes kids on a Field Trip of Faith
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Kids at Ball Camp Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., began each evening session of Field Trip of Faith with a 30-minute music and drama session that introduced the night’s specific destination.
Photo courtesy of Ball Camp Baptist
or my congregation, this was one of the best, if not the best Vacation Bible Schools we’ve ever done,” said Kathy Naish, pastor of spiritual formation for Viewmont Baptist Church in Hickory, N.C. Naish had led her church to use Finding Hope: A Field Trip of Faith, a Vacation Bible School curriculum produced by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Finding Hope is developed around biblical concepts of hope and sound theological principles, with a mission component featuring materials from Together For Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative. Churches that have used the material like its thoroughness and ease of use. “The material was very well organized,” Naish said. “At the beginning of the day, before anything else happens, we send the children off to their age-appropriate classrooms where they learn the Bible lesson of the day. It was foundational for everything we did after that.” Naish said it was important for the rest of the day, when the children did an activity, sang a song or made a craft, they already knew the biblical principles behind what they were doing. And when it came time for the children to view a video about CBF field personnel who work with Together for Hope, the information came together for them. “When we did the ‘meet the missionary’ portion of the lesson, the children easily understood the connection between the lives of the missionaries and the Bible verse,” Naish said. “It just tied the application together for them and they found the material very accessible.” Naish said she remembers a special impact VBS had on one family. A mom, who was not a member of their church, called to ask if she could attend VBS with her son, who was autistic and sometimes needed extra attention. “We were happy to accommodate them, and she basically came and shadowed our
Finding Hope: A Field Trip of Faith • Education resource developed around Biblical concept of hope • Versatile format that can be used in different settings: VBS, Camp, Missions education • Turn-key package includes administrative guides, worship and music guides, lesson plans and videos • Costs $99.95 • To order, go to www.thefellowship.info/vbs
class to make sure that her son was comfortable,” Naish said. “After the week was over, she told us she was so impressed how the material reached her child, and she told us she’d never seen a children’s ministry so well organized and done without chaos.” At First Baptist Church in Aiken, S.C., Vicky McCullough used the material for a special week-long missions camp. She said the leaders supplemented the
material by having children work on local mission projects. “We tried to instill the idea that ‘we’re all missionaries and can help spread the gospel; it’s not just for the ones who work full time,’” McCullough said. “I don’t want to over-exaggerate this, but we were blown away by the kids’ reaction to the material. I remember one boy said to me, ‘This feels so good, I wish it would never end.’”
Pray The Lord’s Prayer
By Bo Prosser, CBF Coordinator for Missional Congregations
added in the Didache, similar to 1 Chronicles 29:11 and published in 1928 in the Book of he Lord’s Common Prayer by the Church Prayer is the of England. most familiar This month, pray the Lord’s and perhaps Prayer each day. Write it out Bo Prosser most beloved on a note card, keep it in your prayer in the world. We have Bible. Don’t just recite it out recited it over and over in worship of memory, but pay attention to the services and in private prayer. The prayer words you are praying. Read the words occurs in the Bible in Matthew 6:9-13 for meaning as you pray, internalize the and in Luke 11:2-4 as Jesus teaches on comfort of this prayer. prayer. Jesus intended us to pray these Next, focus on the meaning of the words regularly but not emptily. Neither prayer for YOUR life. What would it of these passages are quite the prayer we mean for YOU if God’s kingdom was to pray today. The “doxology” ending was come on earth as in heaven? How does
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Prayer Calendar
Southard, Naples, FL (PC); Cynthia Thomas, Houston, TX (CH)
CH = Chaplain FP = Field Personnel FPC = Child of Field Personnel GMP = Global Missions Partner PC = Pastoral Counselor PLT = Church Planter
11 Lauralee Estes, Northport, AL (PC); Ann Miller, Arlington, TX (CH); Will Runyon, Maryville, TN (CH); Rick Stevenson, Shelbyville, TN (CH); Derrick Togba-Doya, 2001, Athens, GA (FPC)
February 1 Susan Collins, Stone Mountain, GA (CH); Carrie Dean, Atlanta, GA (PLT); Yong Ja Hur, Philippines (GMP); Brad Jackson, Springfield, OH (CH); James Touchton, Ithaca, NY (CH) 2 Joe Alverson, Nicholasville, KY (CH); John R. Fogarty, Freeport, FL (PLT); Jaisis Orea, 2002, China (FPC); Dianne Otwell, Dunwoody, GA (CH); Terry Tatro, Louisville, KY (CH) 3 Richard Dayringer, Grove, OK (PC); William Elliott, Lexington, KY (CH); Philip Whisnand, McAllen, TX (FP) 4 Thelma Chambers-Young, Oklahoma City, OK (CH) 5 Arley Hughes, Saint Mary’s, GA (CH); Joanna Tarr, Norfolk, VA (CH) 6 Jong Bin Jeon, Asia (GMP) 7 Lauren Efird, Durham, NC (CH) 8 Biju Chacko, Morrisville, NC (CH); C.J. Wehmiller, Murrayville, GA (FP) 9 Andy Cooper, Greenville, SC (CH); Joe Lentz, Biloxi, MS (CH); Elizabeth Milazzotto, Louisville, KY (PC); Willie Smith, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 10 Karen Estle, Indianapolis, IN (PC); Hae Sung Kim, 1999, daughter, Philippines (GMP); James Rentz, Spartanburg, SC (PC); Sam
12 Mera Corlett, Louisville, KY (CH); Sasha Zivanov, St. Louis, MO (FP) 13 Dianne Swaim, North Little Rock, AR (CH) 14 Roger Bolton, Conyers, GA (PC); Charla Littell, Burlington, NC (CH) 15 Mi Hwa Lee, Central Asia (GMP); Tolly Williamson, Decatur, GA (CH)
“daily bread” impact your approach to storing resources or helping those who are hungry? Who needs forgiveness from you? What is tempting you as you pray and as you live each day to the fullest? What evil is lurking in your life and how do you want God’s protection? Personalize this prayer as you pray. Now, add one more part to the prayer. Add the names on the prayer list below for each day as part of your prayer. As you pray the Lord’s Prayer, also pray, “God please remember (say the names) … even as you remember me.” This prayer will become even more dear to you in these coming days. So will the people for whom you are praying.
March 1 Vicki Hollon, San Antonio, TX (CH); Brent Peery, Conroe, TX (CH) 2 Michael Patterson, Harker Heights, TX (CH); Laurice Rogers, Hodgenville, KY (PC); Glenn Williams, Louisville, KY (PC) 3 David Bosley, Vienna, VA (CH); Carolyn Hicks, Belmont, NC (CH) 4 Ed Lemmond, Athens, TN (CH); Jane Martin, Emeritus (FP); Kevin Traughber, Paducah, KY (CH) 5 Buddy Corbin, Asheville, NC (CH); Donnie Marlar, Rochester, NY (CH)
17 Nancy James, Haiti (FP); Ryan Wagers, Salisbury, NC (CH)
6 Ronnie Adams, New York City, NY (FP); Bekah Hart, Chile (FP); Chad Hawkins, Pearland, TX (CH)
18 Edward Fleming, Winston-Salem, NC (CH); Jean Pruett, Charlotte, NC (CH)
7 Duane Binkley, Uniontown, OH (FP); Wade Rowatt, Louisville, KY (PC)
20 Timothy Doremus, Mt. Washington, KY (PLT); Amanda Ducksworth, Columbus, MS (CH/PLT); Younsoo Park, Fort Bragg, NC (CH)
8 Isaac Pittman, 1999, Miami, FL (FPC)
21 Rebecca Church, Louisville, KY (CH); Linda McComb, Clinton, MS (CH); Jeffery Thompson, Gainesville, GA (CH) 23 Gene Murdock, India (FP); Michelle Wildes, West Columbia, SC (CH) 24 Danny Tomlinson, Belton, TX (CH) 25 Lindell Anderson, Fort Worth, TX (CH); Kwang Jung Choi, Asia (GMP); Rick Foster, Lynchburg, VA (CH); Mira Zivanov, St. Louis, MO (FP) 26 Rodney Craggs, Franklin, IN (CH); Zeke DeLozier, Bogart, GA (PC) 27 Lori Myrick, Kenya (FP)
9 Stuart Collier, Vestavia, AL (CH); Michelle Norman, Greece (FP) 10 Dean Akers, Fort Bragg, NC (CH); Joshua Ballew, 1992, China (FPC); Cindy Bishop, Piedmont, SC (CH) 11 Julia Flores, Lynchburg, VA (CH); Rebekah Newton, Concord, NC (CH); Genene Nisbet, Louisville, KY (PC); Beth Ogburn, Oklahoma City, OK (CH) 12 Kenneth Bentley, Carbon Hill, AL (CH); Jameson Williams, Shelby, NC (CH) 14 Mary Beth Caffey, Lewiston, ME (PLT); Wayne Lanham, Forest, VA (CH) 15 Mary van Rheenen, Europe (FP) 17 Mary Gessner, Madison, AL (PC); Joel Sturtevant, Frankfort, KY (CH)
18 Dodie Huff-Fletcher, Louisville, KY (PC); Denny Jones, Atlanta, GA (CH); Gregory Qualls, Mooresboro, NC (CH); David Robinson, Newport News, VA (PC) 19 Jennifer Bordenet, Orlando, FL (CH); Kim Schmitt, Hampton, GA (CH) 20 Cynthia Corey, Brunswick, GA (CH); William Hemphill, Stone Mountain, GA (CH); Tom Sanders, The Villages, FL (PLT) 21 Walter Jackson, Louisville, KY (PC); Grace Kim, Asia (GMP); Mina Lee, 2002, daughter, Vietnam (GMP); Alan Melton, Waynesboro, VA (PC) 23 Andy Overmon, Mustang, OK (CH) 24 Edgar Berryman, Chicago, IL (CH); Michael Gross, Roswell, GA (CH); Kevin Quiles, Canton, GA (CH); Mark Spain, Canyon Lake, TX (CH); Todd Walter, Inman, SC (CH); Sara Williams, South Africa (FP) 25 Jade Acker, Uganda (FP); Bryan Cottrell, Sahuarita, AZ (CH); Gary Nistler, Columbia, SC (CH) 27 Ken Chapman, Jefferson City, MO (CH); David Gladson, Pendleton, SC (CH); Amy Karricker, Great Falls, MT (CH); Joshua Witt, Jefferson City, TN (CH) 28 Aaron, Los Angeles, CA (FP); Lynda Schupp, Flower Mound, TX (CH); Megan Whitley, 2002, Spain (FPC) 29 Phil McCarley, Charleston, WV (CH) 30 John Emmart, Stoughton, WI (CH); Layne Rogerson, Winterville, NC (CH) 31 Dale Cross, Lawrenceville, GA (CH); Larry Davidson, Goshen, AL (CH); William Davidson, Wetumpka, AL (CH); Tim Madison, Fort Worth, TX (CH)
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fellowship People
Kasey Jones
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hen Kasey Jones worked as a community organizer, she had no idea how well that role would prepare her for ministry. Now, Jones serves as pastor of National Baptist Memorial Church in Washington, D.C., a CBF partner congregation, and uses her experience in program planning and advocacy to reach others with the gospel. On a personal level, Jones has found the Fellowship to be a welcomed partner. “As a new pastor and as a female pastor, I have found people to be co-laborers. There’s a spirit of cooperation,” said Jones. Jones serves as a member of the national CBF Coordinating Council and the 2012 Task Force, a group charged with looking at the infrastructure of the
Fellowship movement to see what changes might be needed to best fulfill its mission. Composed of pastors, lay leaders, regional coordinators and partners, the Task Force will make recommendations at the June 2012 General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas. The opportunity to serve in a leadership position in CBF has been a blessing for Jones in some unexpected ways. “I’ve enjoyed hearing about the importance of CBF in the lives of others, whether it be concerns or praises,” said Jones. “People are passionate about CBF and how it can be better.”
Kasey Jones
Bob Lamb
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ob Lamb has always had a heart for international missions and wanted to teach in a seminary overseas. Yet, when he and his wife, Rhea, applied to serve, they were declined due to Bob’s severe allergies. When an opportunity to teach at CBF partner Gardner-Webb University opened up, Lamb felt his calling was fulfilled. The students he taught went on to serve in ministry settings all over the world. In 1992, Lamb was asked to serve as the founding dean of Gardner-Webb’s divinity school, and he enlisted help from the newly formed Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to make the program a reality. Even after his retirement, Lamb’s calling to serve has continued. He’s helped lead a unique partnership between CBF of North Carolina and pastors in the Central Ameri-
can country of Belize. Learning that Baptist leaders in Belize had no way to receive theological training, Lamb and others developed a program for pastors and church leaders. The Baptist Bible School of Belize is an intensive three-year program that allows students to meet three weeks out of the year and complete the rest of the work independently. As the United States coordinator, Lamb has been responsible for structuring the curriculum, securing financial support and enlisting qualified teachers to teach the courses.
Bob Lamb
Jennifer Rutter
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hen Belmont University student Jennifer Rutter started looking for summer service opportunities, she had no idea how it would change her life. An online search led her to Student.Go, a CBF program that matches college students with ministries that serve some the world’s most neglected and impoverished people. Rutter served on a team that traveled to experience the ministry of Together for Hope, the Fellowship’s long-term commitment to working with people in 20 of the nation’s poorest counties. During the course of the summer, Rutter, along with three other students, experienced TFH work in three states and learned about poverty in America first-hand. They also learned about advocacy from several national organizations and came away from the experience challenged to become active advocates for those living in poverty throughout the United States,
including their closest neighbors. “We went in and asked the community agencies, ‘How is God already at work and how can we help?’” said Rutter. “By taking the time to recognize where God is in the community, it changed my perspective on mission work.” Rutter’s life was changed by the experience. She now feels called to pursue a vocation that will allow her to advocate for the Jennifer Rutter underprivileged and, this spring, she will lead a group from her college on a poverty immersion trip to Washington, D.C. “The goal of this Together for Hope experience was for us to come back and be advocates in our own communities,” said Rutter. “I’m trying to do that.”
Charles Updike
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fter 34 years in ministry, pastor Charles Updike knew he’d like to end his career in a place that could benefit from his experience. Having been associated with the Fellowship since its inception and leading his previous church in Gaithersburg, Md., to become a CBF partner, he is well acquainted with CBF’s principles and ministries. Located between Burbank and Pasedena, First Baptist Church in Glendale, Calif., had seen its share of Hollywood elite in its 100 year history. By 2007, the dwindling congregation knew they were ready to make some changes. When Updike was called as pastor, he saw a unique opportunity for CBF to have a presence in the Los Angeles area. “There are very few CBF partner congregations here but many people moving
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here for work. We decided we want to be a place where people from a CBF background can feel at home,” said Updike. Updike led the church to partner with the Fellowship and has seen positive results. The congregation utilized CBF educational resources, such as the audio Bible “You’ve Got the Time.” After several years of absence, the church also brought back Vacation Bible School, and now makes an effort to reach out to the arts Charles Updike community by hosting concerts in the church. Consequently, the congregation is growing in numbers and diversity. “This church has deep roots,” said Updike. “CBF has helped us create fresh fruit.”
for building a legacy through estate planning By Jim Smith CBF Foundation President
My first reaction was denial. She couldn’t be gone. A few weeks before we had worked to develop her estate plan based on principles of financial planning and Christian stewardship. We joked, laughed and hugged. She thought it would years, even decades, before her plan would be needed. I thought the same. She was young. But there was an accident, and she was gone. When it comes to building a legacy, it is important to develop an estate plan while you are able. The basic principle behind biblical stewardship is that God has given us things — material possessions to manage for God’s glory during our lifetime. In the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16, we learn that we should prepare so that which God has given us will continue to glorify God even after we are no longer the manager. Not knowing when that time might come, Christians should develop an estate plan with a sense of urgency. Here are five principles to consider for building a legacy through estate planning:
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Consider the importance of planning.
Make an inventory of assets you own. You might be surprised. Estates grow unnoticed through the years. Once you establish the value of your estate, you must establish a plan to ensure that your wishes and your belief of the Lord’s will for you is carried out. There must be legal documents that give direction to those who remain in order to ensure that your desires for the final management of your property are fulfilled. Estate planning can reduce taxes. You can take advantage of potential benefits created by our government under tax laws designed to enable you to leave more to family and charity. A charitable trust can reduce taxes and conserve assets. Trusts might also provide an excellent
way to produce benefit for you now and significantly reduce estate taxes. Why are hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in estate taxes every day? The failure to plan. You have a stewardship responsibility to prepare now for when you are no longer manager of the things over which God has given you management.
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Consider the importance of people in your life.
If you are not yet sure you need an estate plan, ask this question: Is there anyone I love? If you die without an estate plan, the laws of the state of your residence will take over. But if you care for aging parents, a spouse, children, grandchildren or others in your life, if you love the Lord and care for mission and ministry causes, you can leave a legacy. As Christians, we have several responsibilities. A steward in the Old Testament is someone who has been given responsibility as a caretaker by the owner. In many respects, God has this relationship with us. Scripture teaches that we are to be careful stewards, and we are to use that which God has entrusted to us to benefit not just ourselves, but our families and God’s Kingdom. To truly fulfill our stewardship responsibilities, we must understand that Christian stewardship does not end at death and that it requires a lifetime of planning. Good planning considers people in your life.
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Consider the property you own.
Determine the value of your estate, then consider how property is owned. Is it owned individually or jointly, by title, deed or otherwise in your possession? What about life insurance, pension plans, IRA’s or annuities? Who will receive the benefits under the arrangement? Have circumstances changed? Do plans need to be updated? With good planning, people can frequently maximize the distributions to family and to ministry and minimize the amount taken by the government. Good planning considers the property you own and how it might pass to
others. Gifts to ministry can be made along with generous provisions for family.
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Consider the professionals you you need to consult.
Qualified professionals available to help you might include estate planners, certified financial planners, accountants, attorneys, investment advisors and others. You still make the decisions. Think of estate planning like a great football team. You are the quarterback and call the plays. But a significant team effort is needed. Advisors can help remove complications and get you to the goal line. They can help you be more generous to causes you support, or demonstrate techniques that are easily overlooked and provide for tax saving or ease of settlement.
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Consider expression of the passion in your life for family and ministry.
You have passion for specific ministry and mission causes. You have given faithfully to your family and to your church. You can keep on giving beyond your lifetime. Leaving a legacy for family and ministry is accomplished with ease if you properly plan. Consider establishing a “Give It Twice” arrangement to benefit your family with income payments that total 100 percent of your estate before making distribution of the estate to benefit a charitable cause. Establish an endowment that will generate income to causes you wish to support. Through an endowment you may give more after your lifetime than you ever were able to give when living. That’s a significant legacy! You can keep on giving from heaven to the people and ministries you love through a carefully planned estate. The CBF Foundation exists to facilitate gifts, receive, invest and manage endowment assets for the benefit of mission and ministry causes. Plan today to leave a legacy for family and ministry through the CBF Foundation. www.cbff.org
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Starting churches Partnership with Ghana Baptists results in new congregations in United States
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em Forkpa came to the United States three years ago to continue his education, hoping to improve his future and that of his country. Leaving a wife and three children behind in Liberia, Forkpa acquired a green card through a lottery and immigrated to begin graduate studies. While working one day at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a woman he worked with told him about Amazing Grace Baptist Church, a local church affiliated with the Ghana Baptist Convention and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “You see God’s blessings come in different ways,” Forkpa said. “You have to pray and find out what’s in store for yourself. I believe I’m blessed being associated with the church.” Nearly 100 people, mostly Africans, worship each week at Amazing Grace Baptist, meeting in the chapel of Peachtree Baptist Church in Atlanta, a CBF partner, Amazing Grace is just one example of a growing community of immigrants in the United States. Before he came to America, Forkpa was an evangelist in a Baptist church in Ghana. One day, he was involved in an accident that disfigured his face and resulted in a long hospital stay with sometimes painful treatments. Through that experience, Forkpa said God has continued to bless him. “God saved my life, and I survived the accident,” he said. “I see with clear eyes, I have nothing wrong with my brain. I have gone through severe pain, but God has worked in my life, and he’s still working. He has a purpose for me.”
In 2008, CBF and the Ghana Baptist Convention began a partnership to support more than 1,000 churches with more than 65,000 members located in mostly rural areas of Africa. Recently, the convention Continue on page 12 10
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Partnership grows, adapts to meet need
Amazing Grace Baptist Church is affiliated with CBF and the Ghana Baptist Convention.
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has sought assistance and support for its churches in the United States and its plan to start new churches in North America. “The Ghana Baptist Convention told us that they had identified 10 pockets of Ghanaian population living in North America, two in Canada and eight in the United States,” said Harry Rowland, CBF missional networks specialist. “What we’re discovering is that the United States is a mission receiving field for missionaries trying to reach the Ghanaian population here.” Currently, there are church starts in Houston, Oklahoma City and Chicago. The Fellowship’s role is primarily as facilitator, helping connect the church starts with CBF state and regional leadership, provide resources, assist in identifying places to hold worship and help network with other CBF churches and organizations. At the center of the Ghana church start-
ing effort is Robert Owusu, who serves as pastor of Amazing Grace Baptist Church. He also supports other groups, helping to identify potential ministry partners, suitable places to worship and community outreach projects. “We know where the Ghanaian people have immigrated to in America, so I made the selections for the church starts based on those populations and the potential for success we could have in those locations,” said Owusu, who immigrated to the United States to attend school. He relates personally to the struggles of acclimating to a strange culture. “It’s an experience we all share when we first come here,” he said. “For some there are family members already here or others who help them get acquainted. We’ve never forgotten those who helped us and what they did for us.”
At Amazing Grace Baptist Church, visitors can expect a contemporary African worship experience conducted mostly in English. The church draws largely Ghanaians but also counts Nigerians, Liberians, Gambians and African Americans as members. Owusu said while helping members to acclimate and find gainful employment, the focus is still on evangelism. “We provide counseling where it’s needed, and we try to help those who attend to become contextualized to the kind of life here in America,” he said. “We help people find jobs, help people prepare resumes, give references, but we also have prayer support groups, Sunday School classes and Bible study.”
Houston Praise Community Baptist Church meets in facilities provided by Colony
CBF Photos
The congregation of Amazing Grace Baptist Church meets in the building of Peachtree Baptist Church, a CBF partner congregation, located in Atlanta.
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(Above left) New church starts provide a place for worship, fellowship and connecting with resources. (Above right) Robert Owusu, center, serves as pastor of Amazing Grace Baptist Church and helps other new church starts around the United States.
Creek Community Church, located in Missouri City, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Kenneth Asante, a native of Ghana who has been in the United States for five years, said approximatley 20 people meet each week, mostly Africans from Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. “I was very involved in church back home, and when I came here I couldn’t find a Baptist Church like that,” Asante said. With the help of Owusu, who regularly visits Houston to help with the church planting process, Praise Community has formed a close-knit group with ties to the African immigrant community in Houston. “We help wherever we can,” Asante said. “We help some new immigrants find a place to live, help them find work and fill out applications for employment. Most of them do not have a car, so we either help arrange transportation for them or go and get them and take them to church.” By helping people assimilate to life in the United States, Assante said they provide visible evidence of God’s love. “It’s very effective for us to witness to them in this way,” he said. “When there are problems in front of them and we help
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them, it shows them the love of Christ.” The biggest obstacle facing the Houston church — as well as almost every church plant — is location: the host church is miles away from where most of the immigrants live. “It’s very difficult when we are working in the community, helping people and we witness to them, they are receptive to the message,” Asante said. “But when we tell them where we hold our services, they say it’s too far to go every week. We are praying that God helps us find a new meeting place close to this community, because we think the church will grow rapidly then.”
Chicago Osei Owusu (no relation to Robert) is helping to organize a group in Chicago, where location is also hindering growth. A meeting place has been established on the city’s south side, but because it’s so far away from where most immigrants live, they meet for Bible study in private homes. “Our prayer is that we can find a place that’s convenient for all of the people,” Osei said. “We need a place where we can worship, sing and praise God.”
The church start in Chicago is diverse, with people from all over Africa, and not all believers are Baptists. “We want our church to be multicultural and not just Baptist. We want to win souls for the kingdom,” Osei said. Rob Nash, coordinator of CBF Global Missions, said the project has transformed conventional wisdom about how to spread the gospel. “The partnership with the Ghana Baptist Convention represents for me one of the huge transitions in global missions that has occurred in the past 30 years,” Nash said. “CBF is partnered with our Ghanaian brothers and sisters not so much because of what we can accomplish together in Ghana, but because of what we can accomplish together in the United States. “CBF churches in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and elsewhere have responded by coming alongside this effort and assisting in establishing new churches. Overall, this truly expresses the fact that in 2012, the gospel is moving in all directions at the same time.” By contributing writer Bob Perkins
To learn about partnership opportunities with new church starts, contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. You can learn about CBF’s church starting and faith sharing ministries at www.thefellowship.info/churchplanting. fellowship!
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Among Eastern Europe’s Roma, church planting involves
unique challenges
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here are many challenges that CBF field personnel Ralph and Tammy Stocks face as they live out their calling of helping the Roma people of Eastern Europe form healthy churches. One of those challenges is getting in the front door in the first place. “A key for entering into a Roma neighborhood to start a church is having a previous relationship with a Roma from within that area,” Ralph said. “For instance, when we hold Bible studies or worship in one village, often a relative from another village will be present and will extend a warm invitation for us to come to their home in a new village. Without such a relationship, non-Gypsy would be met with skepticism
Warren Hoffman (right), pastor of Third Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo., serves communion to students at the Gypsy Smith School.
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upon entering a village. The discrimination faced by Roma over centuries has led them to be suspect of any non-Roma.” The Roma of Eastern Europe are a subset of the Romany people, also known as Gypsies. With ethnic roots on the Indian subcontinent, the Romany have been a well-known and easily recognized minority in countries across Europe for centuries. The Stocks, after more than a decade of ministering to the Roma in Hungary, recently moved to Bucharest, Romania. They are partnering with the Romanian Baptist Union in working with the country’s Roma — a significant ethnic minority. The Romany diaspora is spread over much of the globe, including the Americas. Their long history in Europe has led to en-
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trenched social (and, in some cases, legal) discrimination, which has had economic consequences. Many Roma live in overcrowded and substandard housing, with multiple generations living together and as many as six or eight people sharing a room. Such poverty has consequences for the Roma’s health and educational outcomes. In Romania, a large percentage of Roma children drop out of school after their first few years, and most parents have not completed school beyond the 8th grade. The lack of widespread educational achievement among the Roma means providing pastors with adequate theological education can be a challenge. That’s where the Gypsy Smith School, where Ralph serves as faculty coordinator, fulfills a significant need. The Bucharest-based school provides a curriculum to help train Roma church leaders in a setting that is educationally appropriate for those who haven’t completed high school or college educations and that doesn’t draw the bi-vocational pastors away for long periods of time from the few other employment opportunities they have. Ralph is also helping the Romanian Baptist Union create a network of Roma churches and church leaders so networking and peer learning can take place. Training mature church leaders is important for Roma congregations because new Roma believers need constant teaching and encouragement to grow in their faith. “The Roma people are an emotional people in that they freely express what makes them happy, sad, angry, etc.,” Ralph said. “They often get caught up in the emotion of a worship service and will make a decision to accept Jesus into their hearts quite willingly. The challenge, however, is that the decision is one with integrity that will lead to lifestyle changes.... What we found was that there needs to be a daily
“When visiting Roma churches you will witness them praying with a fervency that will humble you.”
(Top left) A church plant in Szatmarcseke, Hungary, was started by Tibi and Natasha, a young couple who first offered their home as a meeting place for the new congregation. (Top right) Ralph Stocks (center with glasses) works as faculty coordinator of the Gypsy Smith School.
presence among them to help them make life adjustments.” The training that Gypsy Smith School offers can help overcome another problem that Roma church leaders face — a lack of confidence among their own people. “The acceptance of Roma leaders by the congregation has long been a challenge,” Ralph said. “Rivalry runs rampant among Roma, and they do not like to cede authority to another Roma. We found that often they accepted authority more easily from a non-Roma than from a Roma. As time goes by, the laypeople are becoming more accepting of Roma pastors.” The Stocks’ experience in Hungary, where they had a hand in more than a dozen Roma church plants, is an encouraging sign for their work in Romania. They remember fondly a Roma couple in Szatmarcseke, Hungary, named Tibi and Natasha. “This young couple heard of our meetings in other nearby villages and wanted us to start a church in their village,” Ralph said.
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“We gladly went and started a house church in their tiny home, where often 10-12 adults crowded together in a small room.” Tibi, 26, was illiterate. “He wanted so much to read the Bible that with Natasha’s help he taught himself to read — and the Bible became the first book he read,” Ralph said. Their newfound faith led the couple to decide, as an act of conscience, to make their common-law marriage legal. “This had financial consequences, as they could receive higher welfare checks as two single people than they could as a married couple. An already slim budget would get trimmed further. Yet they decided to do that — and in so doing became a model for several other young believers facing the same situation,” Ralph said. But ministry among the Roma will remain challenging. “The future for the Roma in Europe is a mixed forecast. While the European Union and individual governments are taking steps to improve the position of
Roma, we see at the same time increases of hate crimes,” including beatings, murders, property damage and forced evictions, Ralph said. But in the Stocks’ little corner of Europe, the prospects for the Roma people are much brighter than they would be if they — and Romanian Baptists — weren’t there to make it so. “The Roma have proven to be a resilient people, having endured slavery in Romania, extermination in Hitler’s death camps and centuries of discrimination in various forms,” Ralph said. “When visiting Roma churches you will witness them praying with a fervency that will humble you. These are lives that have been changed through the hope that they find in God. While they may never break through the cycle of poverty, it is this hope in the God who loves them that sustains them through their suffering.” By contributing writer Rob Marus
To learn about opportunities to serve alongside the Stocks in Romania, contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. Learn more about the Stocks at www.thefellowship.info/stocks. fellowship!
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Among Arab immigrants in Belgium, is a long-term strategy
church planting
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aneé Angel is looking ahead when it comes to planting the only Protestant church for Arabic-speaking Christians in Antwerp, Belgium. “We knew that church planting where there are no believers would be a slow process, and we want to make sure that God is the one in charge of the process,” said Angel, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel. Last March, she and her husband, Hary Khano, and infant daughter, Phoebe, moved to Antwerp from the Belgian capital of Brussels because they felt called to start a church to minister to the city’s burgeoning Arab-immigrant community. Starting with a small core, they began a Saturday night Bible study. “My husband, who is from Syria and a fluent Arabic speaker, and I began to visit in homes, invite families in our home and disciple anyone who wanted to know more about Jesus,” Angel said. “My husband and two other Middle Eastern men from one of the other Protestant Arabic churches around Brussels walk the streets of Antwerp each week and hand out copies of the Gospel of John in Arabic, Dutch and French.” They now have moved the meeting to Sunday evenings, and have a regular group of about 20-30. There are multiple challenges when spreading the gospel among Arab immigrants in Europe — and one is the fact that an evangelical understanding of the Christian faith is a new concept to Middle Easterners of Muslim and Christian backgrounds alike (Catholic and Orthodox
Approximately 20 to 30 people meet on Sunday evenings at a church plant started by Janeé Angel, one of CBF’s field personnel, and her husband.
Christians are significant minorities in most Arab countries). “I think the biggest challenge in ministering to Arabs is much like any other group of people: It is difficult for people to understand why a personal and active relationship with God is vital to their lives,” Angel said. “For the nominally Christian people who were born in North Africa and the Middle East, they grow up believing they are Christians because they were not ‘born’ Muslim. This limits them in their understanding that Christianity isn’t a label; it is a relationship. So they tend to remain distant in their beliefs and understanding and very defensive when we try to get them to grow in their understanding of God.” Immigrants also face challenges in the
wider Belgian culture. Antwerp is in the Flemish (or Dutch-speaking) portion of Belgium, and the Flemish fiercely guard their culture from being overtaken by French-speaking Belgium. Some Flemish have not reacted well to the influx of immigrants from Middle Eastern and North African nations that were colonized by France. “Despite any of the challenges, we are certain that it was God who called us to live and minister in Antwerp and we are certain that He will continue the work He has started in and through us,” Angel said. “We continue to pray for vision and direction as we look forward with anticipation to see what God will do.” By contributing writer Rob Marus
Learn more about the ministry of CBF field personnel on their web pages, which include photos, stories, videos and more. More on Angel’s ministry can be found at www.thefellowship.info/angel.
Opportunities to
Missions Education Resource How to use this page
February 2012
The suggestions below will be helpful for using the stories on pages 10-16 of this issue in the life of your church. Small Group interaction, Study Group or Reading Group options are given, as well as suggestions for other congregational or family settings. Go online to www.thefellowship.info/affectonline for more suggestions.
Church starts
In Small Groups: The following is an outline for adult mission groups, Bible study classes or other small groups. Share copies of fellowship! with group members prior to the meeting and have some extra copies available. These suggestions are for a 45-minute time frame.
1. In this session you will focus on the goals of being church together. Before the session, gather index cards, pens and copies of this issue of fellowship! magazine for each person in your small group. Also, read through (and be able to summarize) the three stories in fellowship! on church starts (pages 10-16). 2. Begin the meeting by asking, “Why do you come to church?” Allow time for participants to list reasons on their index card. Then ask participants to turn over their index cards and answer a second question, “What do people outside our church need from us?”
to three group members and ask them to summarize the articles for the group.)
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Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission
5. Return to the questions at hand and, using fellowship! articles, ask, “What needs are new church starts meeting among Ghanaian Christians in the United States, Roma in Romania and Arab immigrants in Belgium?”
Changing the lives of children
3. After giving time to answer both questions, allow time for participants to share their answers to both questions with the large group.
6. Ask someone to read Hebrews 10:19-25. Discuss how these verses might compel us to engage in the ministry of church starts in order “not to give up meeting together.”
4. Then summarize for the group the three articles on church starts from this issue of fellowship! magazine. (Or, before the meeting, assign the articles
7. End by praying for these new church starts and for CBF field personnel mentioned in the Prayer Calendar on page 7.
Around the Table: At Church 1. For this activity, you have the opportunity to take a Wednesday night meal, or some other church event, and turn it into an international gathering. 2. Ask individuals or small groups in your church to “sponsor a table” for a Wednesday night supper. By sponsoring the table, the individual or group would decorate the table with colors, themes and flags from a country or region where CBF has ministries. They can also place prayer requests from that ministry site on the table. 3. Ask each sponsoring group/individual to learn about CBF ministries in
in Miami, Cbf field personnel angel and Jason pittman share Christ and provide hope to children through the touching Miami with love ministry center.
Learn more on pages 18-21.
that country/region and then sit at the table as a conversation partner to tell those who come to dinner about that country/region and the CBF ministries and needs there. (Information for this activity can be found at www.thefellowship.info/fieldpersonnel.) 4. Make sure three of the tables focus on the church starts ministries in this issue of fellowship! magazine by highlighting Ghana, Romania (or the Roma) and Belgium (or Arab immigrants). 5. Provide copies of fellowship! magazine to the participants by placing them at each table setting, along with an offering envelope to encourage individuals to give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions.
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Changing the lives of children
CBF field personnel share Christ, hope with inner-city Miami youth
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ifteen-year-old T’Kerria comes from a troubled — and crowded — home. Living in a one-bedroom apartment with five family members isn’t easy, nor is living without her dad, who has spent years in jail. Every day after school T’Kerria comes to the bright yellow brick building on 6th Avenue — the ministry center of Touching Miami with Love — for a feeling of home and the love of a family. “This is like my second home — one big family,” she said. For T’Kerria and dozens of other children and teenagers, their lives have been changed by Touching Miami with Love (TML), a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner ministry that shares the love of Christ in one of the nation’s poorest and most dangerous urban neighborhoods. Only blocks away from downtown Miami is the community of Overtown, where gunshots and drug dealers are as common as the number of gang members roaming the neighborhood streets. Many of the local children and teenagers live in poverty, go to a failing school and have witnessed gun violence firsthand. “There are a lot of needs in our community, such as a place that is separate from the dangers of violence and crime and negative influences,” said Jason Pittman, one of CBF’s field personnel who leads TML with his wife, Angel. “We share the love of Christ with children and youth by offering hope, opportunity and resources.” Nearly every weekday TML is buzzing with activity. During the school year, children and teenagers come to the center after school for a nutritious meal, recreation and crafts, help with homework, time in the computer lab and classes about literacy and social skills. During the summer, TML offers an all-day children’s camp that many of the local teenagers help lead.
During the summer, members from CBF partner churches travel to Overtown to lead week-long summer camps for children at Touching Miami with Love.
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Carla Wynn Davis photos
(Above left) Jason Pittman, left, found that God’s mission and his passion met at TML, where he and his wife Angel have served since 2005. (Above right) Youth from CBF partner Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., have returned again and again as summer camp leaders. (Opposite) As Angel, right, and Jason minister among children and teenagers at TML, they also form relationships with parents and neighbors.
“The kids need a safe haven to go to, and this is the place for them to be,” said Ultrina Harris, a lifetime Overtown resident who directs the ministry’s programs for children. “TML is their oasis.” As CBF field personnel, Angel and Jason have led this vibrant, growing ministry since 2005. Because of the support Fellowship Baptists provide through CBF’s Offering for Global Missions, the Pittmans are able to serve at TML full-time — Jason as executive director and Angel as director of development and volunteers. They live in Overtown with their two sons, Isaac and Lucas, and reach out to the community not only as TML staff but as neighbors and friends. “God has placed a call on our lives,” Angel said. “We know that there’s a need in our community, and we know that we have been uniquely equipped to answer that call.” 20
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Though today half the residents live in poverty, Overtown was once a thriving African-American community. Known as “Harlem of the South,” it was rich with music, culture and dozens of businesses that kept the local economy humming. But in the mid-1960s that all changed. A major elevated highway interchange was constructed through the heart of the community, forcing many people out of their homes. “Those that didn’t have the means were left behind and now, generations later, make up our community today,” Angel said. Overtown is a neighborhood most people drive over, not recognizing the struggling community in the highway’s shadow or the people who live at the margins of the neighborhood and society. Here, one in three people live in government housing, only a handful of
About the Pittmans Angel and Jason Pittman are both graduates of Baylor University, where Jason also earned a Master of Divinity from CBF partner Truett Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work. With experience in teaching and urban ministry, the Pittmans were commissioned by the Fellowship in 2002. They served in Detroit before moving in 2005 to Miami, where they live with their two sons, Isaac and Lucas. www.thefellowship.info/pittman
residents own their home and the vacant space under the elevated highways has become a wasteland. When the Fellowship and CBF of Florida began partnering to do ministry in inner-city Miami in 1994, it didn’t take long to realize the greatest needs were in Overtown. An abandoned building was purchased and transformed into the thriving ministry center it is today. Since the ministry began, hundreds of Fellowship Baptists have served in Overtown — some for years as CBF field personnel, some for a summer as college students and many for a week as church members on a mission trip. Every year high school student Richie
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Matteson knows where he’ll spend the best week of his summer. Since middle school he’s been coming to TML with his church, CBF partner Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., to lead a week of day camp for the children in Overtown. “In only a week, you realize how much you’re needed here and how much of a difference you can make,” he said. The Pittmans couldn’t agree more. CBF partner churches like Hendricks Avenue help TML in countless ways by praying, serving and giving year-round. And there are always opportunities for more churches to become involved. “Touching Miami with Love is a place where you can connect God’s mission to
your passion,” Angel said. One of the best ways to become part of God’s mission in Overtown is by giving to the CBF Offering for Global Missions. For the Pittmans and many other CBF field personnel, the CBF Offering is their ministry’s foundation, enabling them to live in a community like Overtown and share the presence of Christ. But giving to the CBF Offering isn’t just about supporting CBF field personnel; it’s about becoming part of God’s mission in the world. “You can give and know that your gift is being used to build the body of Christ and the kingdom here on earth,” Jason said. By Carla Wynn Davis, CBF Communications
The Pittmans are able to live out their calling to serve in Miami because of your generous gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions, which funds the life-changing work of CBF field personnel all over the world. To give to the CBF Offering, go online to www.thefellowship.info/give or use the envelope included in this issue. Please give. fellowship!
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‘Children arehope’
Kindergarten gives children educational foundation
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n a frigid night in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1998, Habibe Iseni had a dream that woke her in the middle of the night. In her eagerness, Iseni quickly called newfound friends and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Sheila Earl and Kathy Smith to her kitchen table. Between sips of tea, Iseni revealed her vision, in which she had just received her teaching certificate and was teaching children who did not know what a pencil was. The children spoke a different language from standard Albanian and had no knowledge of fruits and vegetables. They were destitute. Five years later, the first students of the Future of the Family kindergarten were welcomed into a newly acquired facility, complete with a kitchen, classroom, student
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bathroom and courtyard. As director and primary instructor since the school’s inception, Iseni has provided eight years of free education to Albanian children living in Skopje. Since 2006, Earl has worked alongside Iseni, immersing herself in the lives of students and their families as a teacher, consultant and minister among the people of Skopje. “If you are an Albanian in Macedonia, you are a second-class citizen,” said Earl, who serves in Macedonia with her husband Arville. “These children don’t get to attend the good schools or receive the best medical care and many of them come from single-parent families of four living on only $50 of social service money each month. That just doesn’t take you very far.” Despite the need for education, academics are not the only goal.
Through the kindergarten, Earl also identifies nutritional and medical needs, providing eyeglasses, medical checkups and nutritional diets to each class of 40 students. Each day, the morning class arrives at 9 a.m. to a hot breakfast, often consisting of eggs and ajvar, Iseni’s homemade roasted red pepper sauce. After the morning meal, Iseni provides three hours of lessons. Students learn how to use a pencil, write their name, write their parents’ names and identify their home residence. A recreation period breaks up the lessons, which eventually address math and reading as the year goes on. At 1 p.m., the afternoon students arrive to a hearty lunch, after which the same schedule is repeated. In June, the students conclude the year with a much-anticipated trip to the zoo. “Can you imagine if they had to start the first grade without having kindergarten?” Earl said. “They would have nothing. They wouldn’t know what a pencil looked like or how to use a pair of scissors. Now, when they go into the public school, they’re told they are the smartest in the class and their self-esteem goes sky high. They’ve never had that kind of attention before, and they perform better every year in the school system because of that good beginning.” Mary Beth Gilbert, a student at CBF partner Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Va., recalls spending time among the students and families in Skopje through CBF’s Student.Go missions program. “Kindergarten is not a prevalent idea in Macedonia, and this is one of the first times
Barry Moak, a physician and member of First Baptist Church, Abliene, Texas, provides medical care to children in Macedonia.
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“If you are an Albanian in Macedonia, you are a second-class citizen. These children don’t get to attend the good schools ...” that these families have let their children go. It has become a symbol of hope for these people,” Gilbert said. “I’ve watched Habibe love people like I believe we’re supposed to love as Christians.” While Iseni and Earl provide critical academic preparation for public school, the two also spend their days outside the classroom ministering among students’ families. Earl provides mothers with an annual Mothers’ Day celebration, as well as the means to care for newborns. In addition, children living with illnesses such as leukemia or
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(Above left) At the New Year’s Eve celebration, children receive hats and gloves donated by CBF partner churches. (Above right) Nutritious meals are provided to children who attend the kindergarten. (Below) Recreation is a part of the school day, along three hours of lessons.
muscular dystrophy receive benevolent funds to aid in their medical care. And as an annual parting gift, each student receives a backpack and school supplies to begin first grade. Earl spotlights the financial support of CBF, the Texas Christian Life Commission and countless partner churches in allowing this holistic ministry to continue. She says the kindergarten is only possible through these gifts. The Earls plan to retire as CBF field personnel in September, but their ministry will continue. CBF field personnel Jeff and Alicia Lee, who were commissioned in 2011, will be relocating 6,000 miles from their home in Abilene, Texas, to minister in Skopje. The couple first visited Skopje last year with the First Baptist Church of Abilene, where members performed medical checkups, taught characterbuilding curriculum and accompanied the students on their annual zoo trip. “It really began with a sense of purpose
to go and serve the most neglected and ‘the least of these,’” said Jeff. “There is so much need in Macedonia, and we feel that God has really given us the heart and the passion for Macedonia and the Albanian people as we go to live and work among them.” Earl says encounters with kindergarten graduates are commonplace, as past students constantly visit from the nearby high school to express their gratitude, relive memories and tell of their plans for university. “Children are hope,” Shelia said. “From the moment Habibe told us about her dream, I knew this partnership would work. The kindergarten not only gives kids a chance for one year but for every year after. That one year opens up doors of possibility that they would never have had otherwise and lets them know that they can do more than they ever dreamed.” By contributing writer Blake Tommey
If you are interested in serving alongside the Earls and Lees in Macedonia, contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. You can learn more about the ministry of these CBF field personnel at www.thefellowship.info/earl and www.thefellowship.info/lee. fellowship!
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Virginia ministry provides
encouragement, affirmation to Latino children
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The world “tends to look down on them,” Greg said. “We try to help them see that God values them, that LUCHA Ministries values them, and that they should value themselves and their heritage, and be thankful that they come from a bicultural, bilingual background.” Many children of immigrants struggle with their identity. Though the children are perfectly fluent in English, many parents lack the language skills to help with homework. And they can’t Bert Browning, pastor of Huguenot Road Baptist Church in conference with teachers or help Richmond, Va., engages in a creative activity with one of the with a college application. children who has found a new home at the church. Recognizing these needs, The church became more receptive to the Smiths have facilitated partnership its Latino neighbors as it got to know with churches. One example is Sylvania the children. Heights Baptist Church, a predominately Months later, LUCHA started the white congregation in a working class “Study Buddies” after-school program in neighborhood in Spotsylvania County. partnership with area churches. Mondays When the church partnered with LUCHA, after school, Sylvania Heights opens its members began reaching out to the Latino fellowship hall to 25 kids who come for children in the neighborhood. homework help. Rachel Huebel, who worked with Each summer, LUCHA also sponsors LUCHA through CBF’s Student.Go a dozen or so young people to attend program, started developing the missions camp with Passport, a CBF relationship between the church and the partner. Each day, the campers put their Latino neighbors. She passed out fliers in faith into practice, working on projects like Spanish and worked at the Vacation Bible home repair or working with kids. It was School so parents would see a familiar face a worship session at Passport that made when they dropped off their children. Juan’s eyes leak. Juan has “become the As a result, approximately 25 percent most passionate youth about what it means of the students at Vacation Bible School to help others who are less fortunate,” were from Latino immigrant families. said Sue. And, the VBS workers learned that these children were eager to learn and wanted By contributing writer Maggie Lee to come back to church for other events. CBF photo
J
uan sits quietly and respectfully during the worship service at summer camp. Yet he doesn’t look like he’s paying much attention. His mother is an immigrant from Mexico, and now she’s raising him alone. He’s “a tough kid who has led a hard life and had to grow up quite early,” said Sue Smith. But the service moves something inside the young man. He told Smith that he doesn’t know what happens or why, but when they sing together, his “eyes leak a little bit.” CBF field personnel Greg and Sue Smith co-founded LUCHA Ministries in Fredericksburg, Va., with another couple in 2004 to help address the needs of the Latino immigrant population in their community. LUCHA stands for Latinos Unidos por Cristo en Hermandad y Apoyo — in English, “Latinos United through Christ in Solidarity and Support.” But the word means “struggle.” The ministry aims to aid Latino immigrants and their families in the struggles of surviving in a new country: finding a job, putting children in school and navigating a life in English. Adult and family services include a food bank, school supply distribution, emergency utility support, translation, references to social service agencies, public advocacy and pastoral care. The Smiths and LUCHA set their youth ministry in what they call a “3D” focus. “We believe,” said Greg, “that immigrant and second-generation youth need support and affirmation in who they are as persons, who they are in relationship to God and who they are as Latinos.”
Learn more about the Smiths’ ministry at www.thefellowship.info/smith/virginia. Learn more about CBF education ministries at www.thefellowship.info/education and join the Education Community on Facebook.
February/March 2012
Opportunities to
Missions Education Resource How to use this page
March 2012
The suggestions below will be helpful for using the stories on pages 18-24 of this issue in the life of your church. Small Group interaction, Study Group or Reading Group options are given, as well as suggestions for other congregational or family settings. Go online to www.thefellowship.info/affectonline for more suggestions.
Changing the lives of children
In Small Groups:
The following is an outline for adult mission groups, Bible study classes or other small groups. Share copies of fellowship! with group members prior to the meeting and have some extra copies available. These suggestions are for a 45-minute time frame. Encourage the group to think about how they can support CBF ministries focusing on children around the world as well as create and support efforts closer to home.
1. Before the meeting, gather crayons, white paper, and copies of this issue of fellowship! magazine for each person in your small group. Also be sure you have a Bible on hand. 2. Begin by telling the group that you need them to be attentive to their inner child for this first activity. Then ask each participant to use the crayons and paper to draw a picture of a place that is welcoming to children. 3. After giving time for the “art project,” ask people to share their pictures. See if any of the pictures include churches or church ministries. Ask why or why not.
fellowship!
CBF
Cooperative baptiSt fellowShip | www.thefellowShip.info
Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission
6. Ask someone to read Matthew 18:1-5. Use these verses to discuss how welcoming children is like welcoming Christ.
Changing the lives of children
4. Direct participants to form three small groups. Assign each group one of the fellowship! magazine articles on children (pages 18-24). Give each group time to read and discuss the article.
7. Ask each member of the group to turn the artwork they created over and write one tangible thing they can commit to do in order to welcome children, either in their community or through supporting CBF ministries around the world.
5. Ask the larger group to come back together and answer a final discussion question, “How can our church create a welcoming space for children?”
8. End by praying for the ministries that support children and for field personnel mentioned in the Prayer Calendar on page 7.
In Worship: Children’s Sermon 1. In preparation for the children’s sermon, read and be ready to summarize the article, “‘Children Are Hope: Kindergarten Gives Children Educational Foundation” in this issue of fellowship! magazine. Gather or make materials that can be used for teaching ABCs, as well as a pencil, and plastic (or real) fruit and vegetables. 2. Begin the children’s sermon by asking children to identify the objects you’ve brought (ABCs, pencil, fruit, etc.) Then ask how they knew that a pencil was a pencil, etc. Remind them that they know this because someone taught them. 3. Summarizing the fellowship! article in language children can understand,
in Miami, Cbf field personnel angel and Jason pittman share Christ and provide hope to children through the touching Miami with love ministry center.
Learn more on pages 18-21.
tell the story of Habibe Iseni and the dream she had about helping Albanian children in Macedonia. 4. Remind children that your church gives money to CBF and prays for CBF ministries so children like the Albanian kids in Macedonia are able to go to school and learn new things. 5. End by praying for the kindergarten in Macedonia as well as other CBF ministries that help children.
*An additional children’s sermon that focuses on another story from this issue of CBF fellowship! (Touching Miami with Love) is available online at: www.thefellowship.info/Give/OGM/Resources.
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Partner spotlight
Baptist Women in Ministry Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) works to network, connect and advocate with and for women in Baptist life and those who support them.
“My conviction as I began this work with BWIM was that
About BWIM
we as Baptists need what women bring to the table. We need to hear their voices.
Founded: 1983
We need their strength and courage. We need their insight, their leadership, their
Web site: www.bwim.info
giftedness. My prayer is that for our Baptist daughters the pathway to following God
Executive Director: Pam Durso
will for them be clearer and that they won’t have to fight the old battles of our Baptist
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
past. I pray that they will be free to follow as the Spirit leads.”
Each year, BWIM sponsors the Martha Stearns
— Pam Durso, BWIM Executive Director
Marshall Month of Preaching, encouraging churches
“The continued influence and growth of BWIM in the Baptist
to invite women to preach. In 2011, 185 churches participated. Since 1998, BWIM has presented
family is a cause for great joy. I am grateful for CBF’s strategic partnership with BWIM
Addie Davis Award Winners to outstanding women
and pray that in the future it might be increasingly strengthened.”
seminarians. And, in June 2011, BWIM released its
— Daniel Vestal, CBF Executive Coordinator
fourth “State of Women in Baptist Life” report.
Virginia Taylor baptizes a member of Lystra Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Partnership • Each month, BWIM and CBF host a conversation called “Heightening the Role of Women in Baptist Life,” where people gather in person and online to talk about issues related to women in Baptist life. • Many female ministers participate in CBF Peer Learning Groups. • In 2010, BWIM and CBF sponsored a postGeneral Assembly breakfast with author and professor Lauren Winner as the featured speaker. • In October 2011, BWIM and CBF of Oklahoma sponsored a day of preaching with sermons on Baptist freedom.
Preacher Looks Like: Sermons by Baptist Women in Ministry, which includes sermons by 36 Baptist women. Many of these women serve at CBF partner congregations.
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Photo courtesy of BWIM
• In 2010, BWIM published This Is What a
2012 Task Force D uring the past year, the 2012 Task Force has conducted more than
www.thefellowship.info/2012taskforce At the October meeting of the CBF Coordinating Council, members of the Task
100 listening sessions with Fellowship Baptists across the country. The
Force offered a preliminary report and led discussions around the future of the
Task Force, which began working in August 2010, has moved from
Fellowship community. The Task Force will provide a report to the Council again in
active listening to focusing their work. The main themes that emerged from these listening sessions were:
February before providing a final report to the General Assembly in June. “We have heard the hopes and dreams of people all over the country, and we have
Identity: Who are we and why do we exist?
heard the fears and frustrations,” said David Hull, chair of the 2012 Task Force and pastor
Community: How do we relate?
of First Baptist Church, Huntsville, Ala. “Our goal has been to listen, and as we have been
Ministry: What do we do?
listening we have been developing a blueprint for what might be God’s vision for us.”
The Task Force’s October report focused on eight areas: • Reform governance – How can Coordinating Council be restructured so
• Capture our identity – What is the best way to articulate the identity of CBF as we look to the future?
that it can be a most effective governing body for CBF? • State and regional and national relationship – What is the best way for free, autonomous organizations to relate together for a common purpose? • Simplify and streamline funding – Can something be done to our funding
• Partners — What should the relationship be between CBF and ministry partners? • Feed the pipeline – Are we being intentional about developing future CBF participants and leaders?
that might actually cause an increase in giving? • Missions – What can be done to elevate global missions to the highest
• General Assembly – What is the best plan for the Fellowship Community to gather together?
priority in CBF life?
Is your church staff engaged? By Gary Skeen, president, Church Benefits Board
A
recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy made me stop and think. The
Communicating the value of your total compen-
survey reported that most non-profit employers don’t do a good job of meeting
sation package, including benefits, can be a key
the needs of its employees. A survey of 3,500 non-profit companies indicated
to help unlock some of the value and opportunities
that more than 25 percent of employees were considering looking for another job. The notion that 1 in 4 of our church staff members might be considering a move to a new job certainly caught my attention. With the current state of the economy,
included in the benefits provided for staff. Anytime is a good time for people to think about their benefit selections and plans.
churches have been forced to enact layoffs and cut-backs, freeze or reduce salaries,
Contact me or my team at (800) 352-8741 for
and try to engage in the same ministries with less resources. All of these factors can
help in setting up an employee benefit information
contribute to decreased employee engagement or job dissatisfaction.
session. We can provide more information on your
On the positive side, I know that there’s a correlation between informed employ-
existing plans, more information on how to explore
Gary Skeen
ees and job satisfaction. A recent survey found that 80 percent of employees who
partnering with CBB for benefits, or anything you
rated their education and understanding of employee benefits as high also felt their
need to better communicate value to your church
current employer was a good place to work.
staff. We’d love to help. Your benefits are our ministry.
How will youchoose to change the world?
Choose now! Scan with smartphone to see a new video and to sign up or visit youchoose online at thefellowship.info/youchoose
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Now all glory to God, who is able...to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
Pre-register at www.thefellowship.info/assembly
Infinitely More CBF General Assembly 2012
Ask. Imagine. What could God do through you and through us? June 20-23 // Fort Worth, Texas www.thefellowship.info/assembly Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
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The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly is more than an event. This June 20-23 come to Fort Worth to ask and imagine what God could do through you and through us.
There’s no better time to make your plans to be part of General Assembly. Here’s a step-by-step guide: Step 1: Pre-Register It’s easy and free Set your Assembly plans in motion by pre-registering online at www.thefellowship.info/assembly. When you pre-register, you’ll receive updates about the Assembly, including special events and opportunities. Go ahead, sign up online now — it takes less than 5 minutes. Scan the code with your smartphone to pre-register online.
Step 2: Getting There Travel Options to Fort Worth If you’re coming by plane, the main airport is Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) though some airlines also fly into other regional airports. If you’re travelling by train, book your ticket to Amtrak’s Fort Worth station (FTW). Planning on driving? The Fort Worth Convention Center is at 1201 Houston Street in Fort Worth, just steps away from the hotels offering a CBF discount. And while you’re downtown, you can enjoy free transportation from place to place courtesy of Molly the Trolley. More information is at www.thefellowship.info/Assembly/travel.
Missions Commissioning Service
Step 3: Where to Stay Fort Worth hotels with CBF discount These hotels are offered as a special service to you, ensuring the most convenient and comfortable accommodations at below-market rates. Hotels are within walking distance of the Convention Center, so no need to worry about in-town cab fares, forgetting something in your room or where you’ll rest between events. Your stay at a discounted hotel also results in significant savings for the Fellowship, ensuring the Assembly remains free to all attendees. More information is at www.thefellowship.info/Assembly/hotels. Omni Fort Worth Hotel (Headquarter Hotel)
Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel & Spa
Hilton Fort Worth Hotel
1300 Houston Street
1701 Commerce Street
815 Main Street
$129 single/double
$129 single/double; $139 triple and $149 quad
$117 single/double/triple/quad
Communion during Evening Worship
Step 4: Things to Do ‘City of Cowboys and Culture’ While in Fort Worth, there’s plenty to see and do. Interested in art? Check out the Cultural District with its five internationallyrecognized museums. Want to learn more about Western heritage? Stop by the Stockyards National Historic District. For the sports enthusiast, visit the Texas Motor Speedway, watch the Texas Rangers baseball team take on the Colorado Rockies, or take a tour of Cowboys Stadium — home of the Dallas Cowboys football team. If you’re travelling with children, you may want to visit the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, the nationally-ranked Fort Worth Zoo, Six Flags theme park, or the
Fort Worth Stockyards
Fort Worth Stockyards for the twice-daily cattle drive or weekend rodeo.
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CBF General Assembly 2012 — June 20-23, Fort Worth, Texas
Love more
Learn more
Christ’s call is to love God and others. Come to General Assembly to grow in your
Looking for ministry ideas and resources? Search no more. Innovation and
love for God, God’s mission and God’s people — including the world’s most neglected.
inspiration await you at General Assembly. Get ready to get equipped for God’s call.
Highlights include:
Highlights include:
Friday Evening Worship (6.22.12)
Workshops (6.21.12 – 6.22.12)
Join us for a dynamic service of prayer, praise and
Ministry workshops enable you to explore issues
challenge, including Daniel Vestal’s final sermon as CBF Executive Coordinator.
and topics relevant to your ministry. From previewing Daniel Vestal
Missions field personnel commissioning service (6.21.12) The Fellowship turns its focus on Thursday evening to God’s mission in the world as lived out through the passions of new CBF field personnel. Come be part of a special commissioning service as the Fellowship blesses and sends these new field personnel to the mission fields of our world. Mission communities (6.22.12) What’s your God-given passion? This is your opportunity to connect with other Fellowship Baptists who share the same ministry passions and interests. At these workshops you won’t just learn about ministry you’ll learn how you can be part of ministry. More than a dozen fellowship and auxiliary events (6.20.12 – 6.22.12) Join the fellowship at the Assembly. Many partner organizations will host special
a new ministry resource to learning step-by-step directions for starting a new ministry or program, these practical workshops offer something for everyone. The Gathering Place (6.21.12 – 6.22.12) Connect with ministry opportunities, new resources, CBF field personnel and more. And don’t miss the evening receptions on Thurs., June 21, and Fri., June 22. Business Sessions (6.21.12 – 6.22.12) Hear updates about God’s work in the world through Fellowship Baptists and help direct the future of the Fellowship. State and Regional Meetings (6.21.12)
gatherings including: • Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation’s Heritage Society Breakfast
Connect with others from your state or region.
• Church Benefits Board Annual Member Luncheon
Learn more about programs, resources and events
• Baptist Center of Ethics Annual Luncheon
in your area.
• Baptist Women in Ministry Meeting and Luncheon • Baptist Joint Committee’s annual Religious Liberty Council Luncheon
Carrie Newcomer in Concert (6.20.12) Join the Fellowship Wednesday evening at nearby Broadway Baptist Church for an evening of song and celebration, featuring the music of singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer as well as a celebration of retiring CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal’s leadership. Get a sneak peak of Carrie Newcomer’s music at www.carrienewcomer.com. Carrie Newcomer
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Learn more about Assembly events at www.thefellowship.info/assembly
Lead more
More to come
More often than not, today’s leader is doing more with less. At General Assembly,
What’s the future of CBF? Infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. So think
take a step back, imagine the future and prepare for God to do infinitely more through
big; really big. And bring those thoughts to General Assembly, where Baptists of all
your ministry.
generations will hope, ask, dream and imagine — together.
Highlights include: Leadership Institute — Fixin’ Church? Finding a
Highlights include:
Way Forward in Crazy Times (6.20.12)
Report from 2012 Task Force on CBF’s future
It’s a challenging and confusing time to be a
(6.21.12)
church. Attendance is shrinking, budgets are sinking
Following nearly two years of listening sessions,
and culture is shifting. Are you tired of fixin’ church? How do we move forward? Instead
surveys and discernment, the 14-member 2012 Task
of trying one more “quick fix,” come explore practical ways to live more faithfully and
Force offers its report and recommendations on:
lead your church to a renewed identity in Christ.
1. What is the best model of community that fosters missional collaboration rather than
Prayer Retreat — The Questions God Asks (6.18.12 - 6.20.12)
competition for resources?
God commissions us to be ambassadors for Christ, and
2. How can we refocus and streamline
along our life journey God asks some challenging questions.
organizational structures in order to provide leadership
Come examine and pray through the questions on the way to rest, renewal and fellowship. Designed for clergy and laity, this pre-Assembly retreat will be led by Trevor Hudson and
and resources for churches and other ministries to Trevor Hudson
3. How do we help Baptist churches and
Bo Prosser at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House just 45 miles
organizations embrace their identity as partners with
northeast of Fort Worth. For more information contact Rick
this community?
Bennett at rbennett@thefellowship.info.
Following the Thursday morning report from the
Hispanic Network Event (6.21.12) Baptist University of the Américas, the only evangelical Christian
respond more effectively to global challenges?
2012 Task Force, breakout sessions and discussion Bo Prosser
university specifically focused on training Latino ministers, hosts
will be convened. For more information on the 2012 Task Force, visit www.thefellowship.info/2012taskforce.
this gathering of Hispanic church leaders for fellowship, leadership training and inspiration.
Fort Worth Sessions for College Students (6.18.12-6.22.12) For the fifth year, college students from around the country will come to the Assembly June 18-22 for an actionpacked week of hands-on missions, meaningful reflection on global issues, authentic conversations and fun-filled socials. Students also join the Fellowship community by experiencing and participating in the Assembly. Preschool Assembly, Children’s Assembly and Youth Assembly (6.21.12 – 6.22.12) While you’re enjoying the Assembly, your children or teenagers can engage in fun and meaningful activities of their own through Preschool Assembly, Children’s Assembly or Youth Assembly.
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Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2930 Flowers Road South, Suite 133 Atlanta, GA 30341 www.thefellowship.info • (800) 352-8741
Pre-Assembly Prayer Retreat – The Questions God Asks! June 18-20, 2012 — Lake Dallas, Texas God commissions us to be ambassadors for Christ while on our life journey. But along the way, God asks us some challenging questions. We’ll examine some of these questions and pray through the questions on the way to rest, renewal and fellowship. Come to CBF’s General Assembly early to be part of this pre-Assembly retreat for clergy and laity. Held at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House just 45 miles northeast of Fort Worth, the retreat invites participants to pray and discover the Spirit-filled life. Trevor Hudson and Bo Prosser are the retreat leaders. For more information, contact Rick Bennett at rbennett@thefellowship.info.
Impacting Tomorrow: Traditional Churches Finding Their Future in God’s Story May 18-19, 2012 — Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C. A missional event for churches, co-sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of N.C., national CBF, The Columbia Partnership, and Center for Congregational Health. This event aims to help participants rediscover focus and mission, celebrate successes in minstry and network with like-minded churches and leaders. Leaders will be inspired to press forward and discover next steps and learn from those at various stages of the missional journey. For more information, contact Bo Prosser at bprosser@thefellowship.info. Register now at www.cbfnc.org.
A [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant April 19-21, 2012 — First Baptist Church, Decatur, Ga. A [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant offers individuals and congregations factual information, compelling biblical and personal narratives, as well as practical models for respectfully and meaningfully engaging the more comprehensive matters of sexuality. Grounded in the concept of covenant and committed to respect for what many consider the traditional Christian sexual ethic, the Conference aims to provide the Baptist family and other interested Christians the opportunity to have realistic, honest and compassionate conversation. The Conference is non-conclusive as to policy or statement and inclusive as to diversity of perspective. Everyone is welcome. For more information and to register, visit www.thefellowship.info/conference.
The Call of the Wilderness April 9-12, 2012 — Marathon, Texas Come the week after Easter to kneel, to walk and to pray the countryside of Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. Place your feet solidly and firmly upon God’s wild earth. Take pause. Let the solitude and silence of the wilderness call you forward into the community of the resurrection as we begin the great 50 days of Easter. This spiritual renewal retreat is for ministers and lay leaders. Leading our discovery will be Belden Lane, author of The Solace of Fierce Landscapes. For more information and to register today, visit www.thefellowship.info/Wilderness2012.