gathering
of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina July/August 2018 Vol. 23 Issue 4
the heartbeat of God
by Larry Hovis, CBFNC Executive Coordinator
Due to the timing of the Annual Gathering, CBFNC’s fiscal and organizational year runs April 1 - March 31. The first major event of the year is our annual All Councils Retreat, an overnight experience in late April or early May for the Coordinating Council, Ministry Councils, staff, and sometimes other invited CBFNC leadership groups. It’s a time for team building, organizing for the new year, developing a shared focus, and spiritual formation.
We met this year on May 3-4 at Caraway Conference Center. The first day featured presentations by two guest leaders. Dave Odom, of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, spoke on the topic, The Pivot: Necessary for Today’s Leadership. Utilizing the basketball image of the pivot, in this age of challenge and fast-paced change, he encouraged us to keep one foot planted in tradition while we experiment with new approaches.
The second presentation, Mercy and Justice: The Heartbeat of God, featured Barry Jones, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Campbell University Divinity School. He reminded us that a normal heartbeat has two phases, systole and diastole. During the first phase, diastole, blood from the atria (upper chambers) fill the ventricles (lower chambers). During the second phase, systole, blood from the ventricles is pumped to the body or lungs.
In a similar way, Barry noted, mercy and justice are two phases of God’s “heartbeat.” Beginning with Exodus and working his way through other biblical texts, he showed how mercy and justice aren’t extras or add-ons to biblical faith, but sit at the core of God’s character, and should be central for God’s people. The overarching direction of biblical faith, beginning with Israel and moving to the Church, reveals a God who is greatly concerned with extending mercy and justice, and forming a people who maintain that focus as well.
A healthy faith will show mercy and seek justice. One without the other is a like a heart out of rhythm. Justice without mercy produces self-righteousness, Barry noted. Mercy without justice is arbitrary and short-sighted.
I struggle more with justice than with mercy and I think that’s true of most folks in our Fellowship. We tend to lean more to the mercy side of the equation than to justice. Perhaps that’s because we think of justice primarily as punishment for wrongdoing. We hear about injustice in the criminal justice system. We have an image of God that is focused primarily
on love, grace, and forgiveness and we gravitate toward biblical texts that support that inclination.
We have a too small and distorted view of justice. Too often, we only think of justice in terms of a corrupt system that unfairly punishes those who have the least access to power. True justice is about making things right. It’s about restoring order to chaos. It’s about treating everyone with dignity and fairness, regardless of external differences. The scales of true justice are blind.
Justice involves police, courts of law, and prisons, to be sure. They serve an essential function in society. Biblical justice is about restoring a fallen creation to its proper state. It’s about reconciliation. It’s about loving God and neighbor as ourselves ... that is, not only having nice feelings for our neighbor but actually desiring and working for the same good for our neighbor that we desire and work for ourselves. It’s about “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
True justice is about making things right. It’s about restoring order to chaos. It’s about treating everyone with dignity and fairness, regardless of external differences.
In some ways, mercy is individual and justice is structural. That is, we extend mercy by forgiving our neighbor who has wronged us and addressing the immediate concerns of our neighbor in need. We do justice by addressing the systems that keep our neighbor in need or encourage our neighbor to behave destructively.
The struggle to understand mercy and justice reminds me of a story I heard about a group of friends who were having a picnic, lounging at a bend in a river near rapids. Someone noticed a swimmer in the water flailing his arms and shouting, “Help! Help!” The friends mobilized and managed to save the drowning person. Afterward, as they rested, they noticed someone else struggling against the current. They saved that one, too. Then more people appeared in the rough water and they mobilized a rescue effort, eventually saving dozens of people from drowning.
Finally, one of the picnickers left the rescue operation and started walking upstream. A companion shouted out, “Why are you leaving us? There are so many more to save. We need you!”
She replied, “I’m going upstream to figure out why all these people keep falling in the river. Someone needs to address the source of this problem.”
Mercy and justice are complex concepts, but they are central to God’s character and to the work of God’s people. Either without the other is incomplete. Christians and churches who strive to be heart-healthy will focus on both.
that church
by Marc Wyatt, CBF Advocate for Internationals
You may recall that our friend, Jay (featured in CBF Global’s Offering for Global Missions video, www.vimeo. com/222863247), is a Special Immigrant Visa arrival in North Carolina. For their service to the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, certain Iraqis and Afghans are granted Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status overseas by the U.S. Department of State and are admitted to the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of State, in conjunction with the Voluntary agencies and Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR), assist with the resettlement and integration of SIVs into the U.S. An SIV is eligible for the same ORR benefits and services for the same time period as a refugee, from the first day the SIV arrives in the U.S.
n By bearing witness to Jesus Christ as we invite these friends to trust their lives to him. The greatest gift we share with refugees, immigrants, international students, and others is our faith in Jesus to recreate, renew, and transform all of life. Our witness through the actions we embody as well as the words we speak gives validity to the ministry we share with our international neighbors.
While storm clouds swirled outside, 19 friends assembled from Snyder Memorial, Fayetteville; First, Fayetteville; Mount Pisgah, Fayetteville; First, Red Springs; and Godwin Heights, Lumberton. We met around the table to talk about folks like Jay who were now our neighbors. We hoped to encourage each other in our ministries of welcome and hospitality, learn from one another, and seek ways to collaborate when and where it was possible.
Our conversation started with an excerpt from Embracing Our Neighbor, a 30-day prayer guide produced by my colleagues on the Internationals North America Team. Dr. Greg Smith states,
As CBF Global Missions field personnel serving in cities and towns across our great country, we have heard and responded to the call to welcome with open arms the immigrants, refugees, international students and others whom God brings to our shores. Ours is not the job of timidly peeking through the blinds at new faces moving into our neighborhoods, but of joyously flinging open the front door and shouting “Welcome, friend, we’re glad you’re here!”
Yet Christ’s call to “welcome the stranger” (Matthew 25:35) leads us as his followers to embrace and receive the stranger as a true neighbor, even as a fellow traveler (Luke 10:25-37) who, like we ourselves, is in need of acceptance, friendship, healing, and opportunity.
Embracing our neighbors takes on different forms and meanings. It means taking the initiative to reach out to our immigrant friends, even when we face rejection or misunderstanding. It means loving our new friends enough to share our lives with them and receive their lives in return. It means listening to their stories, without prejudice and without judgment, walking alongside them when the road is smooth, and, especially, when it is rough and the destination is unsure.
Ultimately, though, embracing our immigrant neighbors and friends means receiving and caring for each of them as God in Christ receives and cares for us (John 13:34-35).
CBF’s Global Missions Distinctives provide guidance as we model what it means to embrace our neighbors in Jesus’ name. Empowered by the Holy Spirit and through ministries of incarnational presence, we gladly embrace our international neighbors:
n By cultivating beloved community in a way that seeks genuine relationships with all internationals with whom we come into contact. We cherish the bonds of love and trust forged between our international friends and ourselves. We believe each person, no matter who they are or how they arrived in our communities, is made in God’s image, full of worth and demanding our respect.
n By seeking transformational development in all aspects of life. Daily God is working to renew not only personal and community life but also the social and cultural structures which govern and control life. Our calling is to “co-labor” or collaborate with God (1 Corinthians 3:9) to transform the many systems that impact the lives of our neighbors, in full anticipation of God’s kingdom coming “on earth as it is in heaven.”
We led the group in a brainstorming session and read Leviticus 19:33-34 and Deuteronomy 10:18-19. We stated, “Let’s imagine a church that hears God’s words and says, ‘We want to be that church!’ When that church embraces its international neighbors, what does it look like?” Our friends responded with these words: No Fear. Open. Hospitality. Diversity. Empathy. God not Government. Giving. Warm. Friendly. Incarnation. Investing in cultures. Community. Listens. Out in the community. The community is in the church. Learns. Partners with others. Outward-focused. Relational. Fun. Good food. Shared ministry (all kinds). Diversity in worship. Availability. Trusts. Willing to change. Willing to down-size. Willing to share with others. Intentional. Cares about others more than selves. Art reflects people in church. Multilingual. Multicultural. Flags of countries. Interpreters. All have access to resources. Staff reflects diversity in congregation. Allows children to be around foreigners. Hospitable toward other faiths.
Then we asked, “What does that church have to do differently to become a church that embraces its international neighbors?” They responded: Something must die. Willing to be rejected by others. Change long-range plan. Education. Discover Biblical hospitality. Embrace differences.
Friends, let’s be that church that believes what the Bible says, asks good hard questions of itself, makes changes, and embraces with open arms their international neighbors. That church is doing just that over in Cumberland and Robeson Counties. What about in your neck of the woods? Want to be that church too?
Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC), a ministry of WMU, is a strengths-based ministry that provides job skills and life skills to men and women living in poverty. Each participant has a Christian mentor to journey with him or her as they transition to self-sufficiency in Christ. There are currently 14 sites in NC, others in southern Africa, and more in development stages. Doing Justice is in the DNA of CWJC. At its very core is a Biblical understanding of poverty as the result of broken relationships— relationships with self, others, resources, and God. We are able to approach others with a desire to see God’s handiwork in them. Our participants marvel that instead of questions about what they cannot do or don’t have, we ask about their strengths and how they’d like to change their life.
in the hope business
by Cara Lynn Vogel, Coordinator, Women’s/Men’s Job Corps of NC
There are countless stories to tell you about our participants. Here are a few I’d like to share with you:
Chowan University. When she saw the campus and met staff and students, Akevia told her mentor that she couldn’t even hope to attend Chowan. Her mentor reminded her that CWJC was in the “hope business” and pledged to walk through the process if Akevia wanted to go to Chowan. With financial assistance (both need and academic) and Akevia’s dedication to work during semesters and over breaks, Akevia graduated from Chowan University in May with a manageable amount of debt.
Akevia said, “I am now eight days away from reaching my goal and becoming who and what I was destined to be—a teacher. God has used my journey to strengthen my faith. Because of this organization and the Christian people who have loved and encouraged me, my son and I will have a better life. He will not have to worry about where his next meal will come from or if the light bill was paid on time. Generational poverty ends with me, because of you!”
Goals within reach: In May, Akevia Wilson, a participant at the Roanoke-Chowan CWJC in Ahoskie, was recognized by National CWJC with the Sybil Bentley Dove Award. This grant is given to one participant/recent graduate who best exemplifies the purpose and transformation of CWJC. Akevia shared in her testimony that she knew that she was supposed to be a teacher from a very young age. After graduating from high school, she entered college and worked two jobs, but by 19 she was a college dropout. She worked in multiple dead-end jobs for the next few years until she experienced a traumatic death in her life. She was homeless, pregnant, and hopeless when she came across Britton Ministries, a Family Care Unit of NC Baptist Children’s Homes.
Akevia then discovered Roanoke-Chowan CWJC and realized that her goal of teaching was not impossible. Her son was born and she returned to community college. She began to search for a college or university to complete her Bachelor’s degree. After visiting a couple of state universities in the area, she visited
Pass it on: The original graduating class of LifeWorks with CWJC in Waynesville included four women. Each of those women has completed the training to become a site coordinator. The three who still live in the Waynesville area are working at the site to provide opportunities for other women to discover their potential. The fourth graduate currently lives in South Carolina and is working to begin a site in her new community.
A lighter load: Pivot CWJC in Forsyth County began classes in February. On the first day, Site Coordinator Carol Polk asked the women to close their eyes and see the burdens that they were carrying as a backpack. She asked the students to walk outside the door and put their virtual backpacks down so that they could concentrate on what God had for them. In a class in April, one participant said, “You remember that backpack you told us about on the first day? Mine’s not as heavy because I have all of you. God didn’t want me carrying all that stuff.”
As State Coordinator for CWJC of NC, I am privileged to hear these stories of God’s work. I strive to provide resources to enable communities to transform from a hand-out to a hand-up ministry to reach those in poverty. For more information, visit www.cwjcnc.org or e-mail me at cwjcnc@gmail.com.
2018 National Certification Training
Akevia Wilson
In Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, Debby Irving shares a personal journey uncovering distorted ideas of race and racism against the backdrop of her own identity as a white woman raised in Winchester, Massachusetts. Attending a college course on Racial and Cultural Identity, Irving awakens to the realization that her identity interferes with her attempts to understand racism. As a result, she shifts her focus to learn about her own socializations of growing up white in America. The author discusses how, when, and why cultural experiences are unique, nurtured, and embedded in each of us.
At the end of each chapter, Irving provides questions and additional insight to introduce the reader to their own stories of race and racism. The author is transparent and clear, helping the reader understand personal cultural socializations and honestly face the reality of racism and race as a social construct.
This book is highly recommended for leaders, laity, and groups intentionally seeking to cross cultural boundaries and willing to learn and engage with the prompts and exercises in the book.
Rev. Daynette Snead is President of DIASPRA, Associate Pastor of First Chin, New Bern, Chairs the Racial Justice Ministry Team of CBFNC, and a Doctor of Ministry Cohort at Gardner-Webb University.
Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly; this is what the Lord requires of each of us as Micah 6:8 so eloquently instructs. We are challenged and encouraged through CBFNC’s year of Mercy and Justice to strive to live in ways that reflect the love of God and the ways of Jesus Christ. We don’t have to look far past the front page of the newspaper to see the systemic and long-term effects of racism and poverty in our own backyard.
Stevenson’s advocacy and persistence, he was proven innocent and won his release.
As we continue to live life through the lens of Justice and Mercy, we must carefully remove the scales from our eyes that keep us from seeing every person as a beloved child of God. The shackles of racism, hatred, and discrimination can only be released through the redeeming and reconciling power of inclusion, love, and advocacy.
Written by Psychologist Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? invites the reader to engage in conversations about race. She writes, “Talking about racism is an essential part of facing racism and changing it. But it is not the only part.”
In her introduction, Dr. Tatum communicates her intent to write a non-academic book that provides a definition of terms, acknowledges the complexity of identity, offers an understanding of the Black/White context, and challenges the reader to work toward breaking the cycle of racism. Breaking the cycle also includes moving beyond Black/White issues to invite conversations with people who are Latino, AmericanIndian (or Native-American), and Asian-Pacific.
mercy & justice bookshelf
While acknowledging that racism is not a thing of the past, Dr. Tatum devotes a chapter to defining terms like prejudice, White privilege, and racial identity. Specific examples illustrate that information which is assumed, omitted, or distorted contributes to misinformation that feeds racism. Dr. Tatum challenges people of all color to move from active or passive racism to active anti-racism.
Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer whose work focuses on Death Row inmates, shares some of his experiences in his memoir, Just Mercy. This book forces readers to become acquainted with the United States Justice System through Stevenson’s narrative which describes serving alongside marginalized clients in the throes of the cycle of poverty.
Just Mercy introduces readers to the relationship between poverty, race, and the justice system through the story of the legal case of Walter McMillian, a black man sentenced to Death Row in the 1980s. Through
Of course, special attention is given to the illustration that is the title of the book. Specifically, Dr. Tatum describes entering a middle-school or high-school cafeterias and noting the segregation of races at the tables in the room. Additional facts provide an understanding of when “segregation in the cafeteria” occurs (as young people enter puberty and during struggles with personal identity). It is also important to note that “segregation in the cafeteria” is not only a symptom of young people and in schools. This type of racism occurs in the teacher’s lounge, at church, in civic clubs, and in corporate dining rooms. While published in 1997, the book is relevant today and definitely challenging for twenty-first-century living.
Jaime Fitzgerald is a recent Gardner-Webb University MDiv. grad, Youth Minister at First, Tryon, and CBSF intern in western North Carolina.
Ka’thy Gore Chappell, former CBFNC Leadership Development Coordinator, is Executive Director of BWIM NC.
partner churches
Churches making contributions October 2016 - March 2018
Giving Trends: 2014 through 2018
Designated
Undesignated
In the 2017-2018 budget year, undesignated gifts totaled $1.26 million, breakeven with the previous year. Designated gifts exceeded $2.3 million, resulting in total gifts of $3.59 million.
CBFNC is grateful for the trust congregations and individuals place in us. As you form your church budget for next year, we prayerfully and humbly ask that you consider increasing your gifts to CBFNC.
We are taking great care to be good stewards of these resources through the ministries we coordinate and the cultivation of positive relationships with our cherished ministry partners.
To view CBFNC’s 2018-2019 budget, visit www.cbfnc.org/budget.
Churches contributing to CBFNC are listed in bold type. Churches that contribute to CBF Global only are listed in regular type. Designated in blue are churches that participate in the CBFNC Mission Resource Plan, providing financial support for other Baptist ministries through CBFNC. For additional information about the Mission Resource Plan or for more information on partnering with CBFNC, visit www.cbfnc.org. This list does not include churches who partner with CBFNC or CBF Global in other, non-financial ways.
Earlys ............................................ Ahoskie
First ............................................... Ahoskie
First ........................................... Albemarle
Mount Zion ...................................... Alexis
Angier .............................................. Angier
Baptist Fellowship .......................... Angier
Neill’s Creek ................................... Angier
Iglesia Bautista Torre Fuerte ......... Apex
Olive Chapel ................................... Apex
Woodhaven ........................................ Apex
Oakwood Park ........................... Asheboro
West Asheboro Asheboro
Calvary ........................................ Asheville
First ............................................. Asheville
Morningside ................................ Asheville
Mount Carmel Asheville
Connaritsa Aulander
First ........................................... Belhaven
Benson .......................................... Benson
First .................................................. Biscoe
First ................................. Black Mountain
First ......................................... Bladenboro
Lennons Cross Roads ............ Bladenboro
First ..................................... Blowing Rock
Boiling Springs ............... Boiling Springs
Little Rock Boomer
First .................................................. Boone
Boonville...................................... Boonville
First Bryson City
First ........................................ Buies Creek
Memorial ................................ Buies Creek
Bullock ........................................... Bullock
First Burlington
First Burnsville
First .............................................. Butner
Calypso .......................................... Calypso
Hominy .......................................... Candler
First ................................................ Canton
First .................................. Carolina Beach
Westwood ........................................... Cary Chadbourn .............................. Chadbourn
Piney Forest ............................ Chadbourn
Ephesus .................................. Chapel Hill
HillSong ................................... Chapel Hill
Iglesia Bautista Amor de Dias .................................................. Chapel Hill
Lystra ...................................... Chapel Hill
Mount Carmel Chapel Hill
University .............................. Chapel Hill
Grace Crossing .......................... Charlotte
Iglesia Bautista Hispana ............... Charlotte
Iglesia Communidad Evangelica
Internacional La Red ............... Charlotte
Park Road Charlotte
Pritchard Memorial .................. Charlotte
Providence.................................. Charlotte
St. John’s .................................... Charlotte
partner churches
Churches making contributions October 2016 - March 2018
Sardis .......................................... Charlotte
Together in Christ Intl. Ministries
................................................... Charlotte
First ........................................... Clarkton
First ............................................. Clayton
White Oak ..................................... Clayton
Mosaic ........................................... Clayton
Clemmons First Clemmons
First ..............................................Clinton
Grove Park..................................... Clinton
McGill Concord
First .......................................... Cramerton
Open Arms .............................. Creedmoor
Cullowhee.................................. Cullowhee
The Summit .............................. Cullowhee
First Dobson
First ..................................................Drexel
First ................................................... Dunn
Westfield ............................................ Dunn
Calvary ......................................... Durham
Durham Memorial Durham
Iglesia Bautista Valle De Esperanza
....................................................... Durham
Hope Valley .................................. Durham
Lowes Grove ................................ Durham
Mount Hermon ............................ Durham
Temple .......................................... Durham
Watts Street ................................. Durham
Yates ............................................. Durham
First ................................................. Eden
Edenton ........................................ Edenton
Blackwell Memorial .......... Elizabeth City
First .................................... Elizabeth City
First ....................................................Elkin
First ..................................................... Elon
Emerald Isle .......................... Emerald Isle
Enfield ............................................. Enfield
Fair Bluff.................................... Fair Bluff
First ............................................. Fairmont
First ............................................ Farmville
Cedar Falls Fayetteville
First ......................................... Fayetteville
Lafayette ................................. Fayetteville
Unity Christian Church International
.................................................. Fayetteville
First .......................................... Forest City
Florence ................................. Forest City
Mount Vernon.......................... Forest City
First ...........................................Four Oaks
Pauline .................................... Four Oaks
Burningtown ................................ Franklin
Franklinton ............................ Franklinton
Fremont Missionary ................. Fremont
Covenant Gastonia
First ..............................................Gastonia
Loray ............................................Gastonia
New Hope .....................................Gastonia
Reynoldson........................................ Gates
First Goldsboro
Rosewood First ......................... Goldsboro
First ............................................. Graham
College Park ........................... Greensboro
First ......................................... Greensboro
Lindley Park Greensboro
Southeast ................................. Greensboro
Immanuel ................................ Greenville
The Memorial ........................... Greenville
Oakmont ................................... Greenville
Pleasant Hill Grover
Hallsboro .................................... Hallsboro
Flat Rock ..............................Hamptonville
First .......................................... Henderson
Providence......................... Hendersonville
First ............................................... Hickory
Mountain Grove .......................... Hickory
Hiddenite .................................... Hiddenite
Emerywood .............................. High Point
First .......................................... High Point
Iglesia Bautista Esperanza Viva
................................................... High Point
Parkwood ................................. High Point
First ...................................... Hillsborough
First Huntersville
Union Cross ........................... Kernersville
Spilman Memorial ....................... Kinston
Oak Ridge ...................................... Kittrell
Knightdale ............................. Knightdale
First ...................................... Laurinburg
Goshen ............................................. Leland
North Brunswick Fellowship Leland
College Avenue ................................. Lenoir
First ................................................. Lenoir
Churchland ................................Lexington
First ............................................Lexington
Jersey ..........................................Lexington
First .............................................Liberty
First ....................................... Lincolnton
Bear Swamp ................................ Littleton
Littleton ........................................ Littleton
Hickory Rock .......................... Louisburg
Louisburg .................................. Louisburg
First ......................................... Lumberton
First Madison
Antioch .......................................... Mamers
First ................................................ Marion
Calvary ....................................... Mars Hill
Mars Hill .................................... Mars Hill
First Marshville
First ............................................ Mayodan
New Bessemer ...................... McLeansville
First ............................................... Mebane
Mount Adar .................................. Mebane
Eatons Mocksville
First .......................................... Mocksville
First ............................................... Monroe
First ...........................................Mooresville
First ................................. Morehead City
First ..........................................Morganton
Calvary .................................... Mount Airy
First ......................................... Mount Airy
Piney Grove ............................ Mount Airy
First ..................................... Mount Gilead
First ..................................... Mount Holly
Mount Pisgah Fayetteville
Snyder Memorial.................... Fayetteville
First ......................................... Jamestown
First ............................................ Jonesville
First ......................................... Kannapolis
New Life Chinese.................... Kannapolis
First Kernersville
First ..................................... Mount Olive
Murfreesboro ...................... Murfreesboro
Nashville .................................... Nashville
First ............................................ New Bern
Kendalls ................................ New London
Trinity .......................................... Newton
First .................................... N. Wilkesboro
First ................................................. Oriental
Enon ............................................... Oxford
Hester Oxford
Oxford ............................................ Oxford
Roberts Chapel .......................... Pendleton
Iglesia Cristiana Nuevo Amanecer
..................................................... Pfafftown
Pfafftown .................................... Pfafftown
Iglesia Bautista Misionera Roca Fuerte
...................................................... Pittsboro
Mount Gilead .............................. Pittsboro
Crabtree Valley ........................... Raleigh
First ................................................ Raleigh
Forest Hills ..................................... Raleigh
Greystone ....................................... Raleigh
Hayes Barton ................................. Raleigh
Heritage Raleigh
Iglesia Bautista La Roca Raleigh
Longview ........................................ Raleigh
Macedonia ...................................... Raleigh
Millbrook ....................................... Raleigh
New Hope ....................................... Raleigh
North Raleigh Community Raleigh
Ridge Road .................................... Raleigh
Samaria ......................................... Raleigh
Shiloh Restoration ........................ Raleigh
St. John’s ....................................... Raleigh
Swift Creek .................................. Raleigh
Tabernacle...................................... Raleigh
Temple ............................................ Raleigh
Triangle .......................................... Raleigh
Trinity .......................................... Raleigh
First ........................................ Red Springs
Calvary ....................................... Reidsville
First .......................................... Reidsville
Richfield .......................................Richfield
First ............................................ Richlands
Rosemary ........................ Roanoke Rapids
First ......................................... Rockingham
Dortches .............................. Rocky Mount
Lakeside .............................. Rocky Mount
Rolesville .................................... Rolesville
Rose Hill ...................................... Rose Hill
First ............................................. Roseboro
First ..............................................Rowland
Lamberth Memorial ................... Roxboro
Roxboro ........................................ Roxboro
First Rutherfordton
First ............................................. Salisbury
Ephesus Sanford
First ............................................... Sanford
Flat Springs................................... Sanford
Primera Iglesia Bautista Sanford
Double Shoals ................................. Shelby
Dover Shelby
Broad River Community .............. Shelby
First ............................................... Shelby
Poplar Springs .............................. Shelby
Ross Grove ...................................... Shelby
Zion.................................................. Shelby
Rocky River ................................Siler City
Nobles Chapel ..................................... Sims
First ......................................... Smithfield
Sharon ....................................... Smithfield
First ................................... Southern Pines
Spencer ......................................... Spindale
First ....................................... Spring Hope
Central Spruce Pine
First ........................................... Stanfield
First ................................... Stantonsburg
First ............................................Statesville
First ............................................ Stoneville
Brunswick Islands .......................... Supply
East Sylva............................................ Sylva
First ....................................................Sylva
Olyphic ................................... Tabor City
First ............................................... Tarboro
Antioch .................................. Taylorsville
First ................................................ Tryon
Round Hill............................... Union Mills
Cornerstone Valdese
First ............................................. Valdese
First Wadesboro
Falls ..................................... Wake Forest
Grace Haven ....................... Wake Forest
Heritage Wake Forest
Wake Forest .......................... Wake Forest
Woodland .............................. Wake Forest
First ............................................. Wallace
Warrenton ................................ Warrenton
First ........................................ Washington
First ...................................... Waynesville
First Weaverville
Crossroads Fellowship Weldon
Baptist Tabernacle ....................... Wendell
First ................................. West Jefferson
Fishing Creek............................ Whitakers
First Whiteville
Mount Zion ............................... Whiteville
First ........................................ Wilmington
Masonboro ............................. Wilmington
Temple .................................... Wilmington
Winter Park ........................... Wilmington
First ................................................. Wilson
Wingate ........................................ Wingate
Ardmore ............................ Winston-Salem
College Park ..................... Winston-Salem
Fellowship ......................... Winston-Salem
First ................................... Winston-Salem
Iglesia Cristiana Sin Fronteras ............................................ Winston-Salem
Knollwood ......................... Winston-Salem
Northwest .......................... Winston-Salem
Peace Haven ...................... Winston-Salem
United ................................ Winston-Salem
West Side ........................Winston-Salem
Winterville ............................. Winterville
Wise .................................................... Wise
Bethlehem ............................... Youngsville
Youngsville .............................. Youngsville
Zebulon ......................................... Zebulon
Special Causes:
Highland UMC, Raleigh: Wyatt Ministry
Monument Heights, Richmond, VA: Wyatt Ministry
passion for collegiate engagement
by Wanda Kidd, CBFNC Collegiate Engagement Coordinator
Schools across the state and beyond are on a much-needed break. In no time at all, though, homework and backpacks full of school supplies will be headed out the door and conversations about cafeteria food and who is picking up whom after school will fill the air. For those who are sending their college-age children off to campus this fall, other concerns dominate parental thoughts.
If it is their first year, the concerns look something like this: Will they make friends? Will they get up and go to class? Will they miss us as much as we miss them? Oh, but I hope they will not be homesick and miserable. Did we do enough to prepare them for this transition? I hope they will not do something really stupid.
Student concerns during the first two years of college focus mostly around relationships, selection of majors, grades, and places they want to go and things they want to do, usually with friends and groups other than family.
The last years are full of angst about what to do next, where to go from here, and how to pay off school debt and fund graduate school.
CBFNC, through Collegiate Engagement efforts, has given young adults the freedom to ask questions that allow them to face complex life issues with a faith perspective. We have done that with a great deal of thought and investment. That is why we have made a significant commitment to ministry with this population, not just for CBFNC students, but for all students on our NC campuses. These students are the lifeblood of the church that flows through them into today’s church and the church’s hope for tomorrow.
How to support CBFNC Collegiate Engagement
Tell others about CBFNC and collegiate engagement;
Pray for the students and the mission of collegiate engagement;
Give to support CBFNC collegiate engagement; and
These life passages are profound and, in many instances, overshadow the education that we send young adults to college to acquire. What we often fail to acknowledge or even realize is that all of these concerns, questions, and hopes are theological in nature and require space with the help of someone trained to assist them.
Share names of students in your family, church, and community who are on NC campuses.
In recent years, due to budget restraints, mainline churches have too often underestimated and undervalued the importance of ministry and mission to young adults and collegiate engagement. College is not only the transitional time our children and students can personally claim their faith, but it is the perfect time to introduce the multitude of students who have never had a church family to a relationship with Christ. Contrary to conventional wisdom, young adults are open to God’s engagement in their lives. Increasingly, young adults do not know of a place where it is safe to explore “purpose of life questions” with a Christian lens that gives both space and time to do so. This reality is equally true for those raised in the local church and those brand new to exploring Christian faith.
Collegiate engagement is different from congregational planning. Church ministry is slower moving with time to ponder and blend young adults into the life of the church. Ministry on campus, however, is like a moving sidewalk full of upheavals, unbounded joy, and heartbreaking sadness, most of which is done separate and isolated from a students’ family and church system. That is where we, as CBFNC, want to be present not only with our students but with all students.
CBFNC has seminary trained campus missionaries serving on several of the state campuses along with outreach to some of the community colleges in the area. We also partner with historically Baptist campuses to offer retreats and mission opportunities. We work with local congregations in two ways, assisting them in connecting with students on local campuses and offering ways to remain connected to their homegrown students.
Our prayer is that all CBFNC Baptists understand and value the role of campus missions as an integral part of our overall mission and to understand that every church is a campus church. Collegiate ministry looks expensive on paper, but it pales in comparison to the cost we pay by not equipping, calling out, and connecting with the unreached students on our campuses. Collegiate ministry is a mission of grace and hope living into the Christian Gospel by seeing the souls of our best and brightest, and being willing to do what it takes to reach this people group.
Thanks to CBFNC, we have the will and the passion to continue to offer this hope to our future generations.
CBFNC Honorary and Memorial Gifts
CBFNC Financial Report
April 2018 Contributions
Collegiate Ministry: Facebook fundraisers in honor of the birthdays of Lawrence Powers and Kevin Moore Donate to CBFNC today!
Check out our blog! cbfnc.wordpress.com
To contribute, e-mail smitchell@cbfnc.org.
Ministers on the Move
Our encouragement and support go to the following ministers who have recently moved:
Sammy Ballard to First, Mebane, as Pastor
Brittany Darst to Macedonia, Raleigh, as Youth Minister
Trevor McPherson to Tabernacle, Raleigh, as Associate Pastor of Families
Andrew Rawls to Viewmont, Hickory, as Pastor
Jonathon Shattuck to Lamberth Memorial, Roxboro, as Pastor
Larry Trivette to Maplewood, Yadkinville, as Associate Pastor of Worship and Family Ministries
Chris Wilson to Rolesville, Rolesville, as Minister of Children and Youth
When you make a move or know of someone who has changed places of ministry, let us know by e-mailing us at cbfnc@cbfnc.org
For assistance to search committees and ministers seeking vocational discernment, visit our reference and referral page on our website at www.cbfnc.org or call (336) 759-3456 or (888) 822-1944.
Undesignated: $97,752
Designated: $164,290
May 2018 Contributions
Undesignated: $98,043
Designated: $168,011
April 2018 - March 2019
Monthly Undesignated Goal: $104,922
www.cbfnc.org/give
Coordinators’ Visits
April 2018 - May 2018
Ardmore, Winston-Salem
Bethlehem, Youngsville Chadbourn, Chadbourn
Emerywood, High Point
First, Fairmont
First, Goldsboro
First, Huntersville
First, Kannapolis
First, Lexington
Forest Hills, Raleigh
Providence, Hendersonville
Snyder Memorial, Fayetteville
CBFNC ministry coordinators are available to visit your church to speak, preach, teach, consult, lead, and minister. Contact the CBFNC office for more information.
because mercy first loved us
by Will Watson, Pastor, United, Winston-Salem
I distinctly remember sitting with our church missions team last fall and sharing the story of Welcome House Winston (more specifically, the precious mothers and babies we were serving in Jesus’ name), and the question arose, “How did you come upon this ministry in the first place?” After a few moments trying to piece together how the request for assistance with asylum seekers was first shared with me, I stammered, “All I can say is that somehow, someway, God has us involved and is at work.”
That’s truly what has happened with Welcome House Winston—his people have been called, God has involved His people in ministry, and His work is blessing the lives of four precious Congolese gifts sent to our city. It is fitting, I think, how the Spirit brought these precious folks to live in Winston-Salem; after all, the second word after the hyphen, Salem, means “shalom; peace and wholeness.” God is bringing himself to us at Welcome House Winston; God is bringing his “shalom” to our city, and his name is Mercy.
Late last summer, CBFNC Missions Coordinator Linda Jones e-mailed a handful of ministers asking whether God was leading any of us to help out a couple families seeking asylum here in NC. Because God had nudged me over the last couple of years about the plight of refugees, it seemed natural to meet with my church’s lay leaders to determine how God would lead us. After all, hospitality is inherent in God’s personality, and the Bible is filled with stories of how to treat brothers/sisters from foreign lands:
We welcome them graciously ... no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Our first meeting took place nearly six months ago (at the time of this writing), and several of us met to hear the story of our Congolese friends who, at the time, were receiving love and compassion from Winterpark, Wilmington. As Marc Wyatt shared the opportunity for our local churches to create a welcome house ministry for these families, God began opening doors in our conversations: “Yes, I believe our church can assist with that.” “It would be great to see how our meetings would strengthen the bond between our sister churches.” “What are the housing options for our new friends?” “Who will be in charge of leading this Welcome House Winston team going forward?” After this meeting and then another in October, Steve Loftis answered the call to lead us and has since proved to be a superb example of humility, open-mindedness, and leadership.
As various team members assumed their roles and giftedness in the group, an apartment was finally secured and the joy of furnishing our new friends’ abode began. Everything our new residents would need was donated by our friends and/or fellow churches, and by the time Thanksgiving arrived our Congolese families were welcomed to Winston-Salem with open arms. We celebrated their arrival with a party at Peacehaven, Winston-Salem, and, with the help of a French interpreter, we were able to ask God’s blessing on their new lives here in our city (emphasis on “our!”).
Today, the ladies and their babies are working to understand their new lives here in the Triad, and they are appreciative of our assistance and love. While we have served them in various ways, they are stepping out independently to become self-sufficient, which is a major goal of these Welcome House ministries. One of the most beautiful things to see and hear is their desire to worship with us in our congregations. They want to be with us! They see the genuine article of Jesus Christ displayed in our worship, our prayers, and our communities of faith.“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). God is doing this in our new friends’ lives, and He is doing that in all of us as we serve one another ... by loving mercy.
“Loving Mercy” is the mandate issued by God through the prophet Micah, imploring his people to live out mercy, justice, and humility. The team members I serve alongside through Welcome House Winston were loving mercy way before we even knew about our Congolese friends. But you see, Mercy traveled from Wilmington to Winston-Salem and found us. Through our own experiences of Christ’s loving-kindness, we now have the opportunity to love these families with that same mercy. This is the biggest blessing: We love mercy because Mercy first loved us.
Welcome House Winston, as well as all the CBFNC Welcome Houses across our beautiful state, are an act of mercy through our merciful God. By loving asylum seekers and refugees, God is demonstrating his mercy to us, teaching us compassion, and showing us how he truly loves us:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5, NIV)
Welcome House Winston is humbled to show mercy to our new neighbors only because Mercy first showed up on the doorsteps of our hearts, loved us ... and welcomed us home. Amen.
888-822-1944 www.cbfnc.org
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Upcoming Events
CBFNC Webinar: God, Evolution, and The Big Bang. Why I Believe in All Three
July 12, 2018, 11-11:45am
CBFNC Webinar: Making Church a Safe Place to Talk About Dangerous Things
July 26, 2018, 11-11:45am
CBFNC Webinar: Conflict and Communication. Opportunities for Growth
August 14, 2018, 11-11:45am
Growing Young Regional Workshop
August 18, 2018
First, Mocksville
Youth Beach Retreat
September 7-9, 2018
Fort Caswell
Elevating Preaching
September 17, 2018
Wake Forest School of Divinity, Winston-Salem
Growing Young Regional Workshop
October 20, 2018 First, Lumberton
Children’s Mission Day
October 27, 2018
Conetoe Family Life Training Center, Tarboro Mars Hill Baptist Church, Mars Hill
Growing Young Regional Workshop
November 10, 2018
First, Black Mountain
Children’s Mission Day
November 17, 2018
Conetoe Family Life Training Center, Tarboro
Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte
Youth Ski Retreat
January 25-27, 2019
Winterplace, WV
