of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina
Baptists of North Carolina Together for Christ-Centered Ministry
GIVE to the Offering for Global Missions
100% of the gifts to the Offering support global ministries. It is the primary funding mechanism for CBF Global Missions, providing for field personnel salaries and benefits and ministry and operating expenses.
SERVE through mission immersion
Extend the ministries of your church from local communities to global communities by becoming a CBF partner church - from prayer and emotional support to hands-on missions immersion.
PRAY for ministries and personnel
A yearly prayer resource is available free through the CBF Store at (888) 801-4223. CBF also distributes a monthly list of prayer requests - sign up for the Prayer Associates at www.thefellowship.info.
LEARN about CBF ministries
CBF missions education resources provide many diverse opportunities for preschoolers (Form), children (Spark), youth (Ignite) and adults (Affect) to learn about missions. To order, go to www.missionseducation.org.
For more information on any of these areas, call (800) 352-8741 or go to www.thefellowship.info.
By Laurie Entrekin, CBF Communications
Five years ago, Fran Graham became aware of the large community of more than 8,000 Slavic people from Ukraine, Russia and Moldova living in her city of Asheville, NC.
A new group of immigrants arrive each fall to escape the oppression and poverty of their countries, most speaking very little English and having been persecuted for their faith in Christ, but all needing life’s basic necessities – housing, furniture, food, clothing and the love of a neighbor.
Fran and her husband, Mike, formed a task force at their church, FBC, Asheville, to aid new families as they arrived to the US. Continued on page 6.
By Carla Wynn Davis, CBF Communications
When Mina Podgaisky first arrived in the Ukraine in winter 2002, she couldn’t see them. She couldn’t recognize the more than 17,000 street children that live in Kiev because they sleep in underground tunnels and basements of high-rise apartment buildings where it’s warm, only coming up to find food. Now she knows they wear shoes with holes and too-big jackets that hide the glue they often sniff “to not feel cold, to not feel the hunger, to not feel the loneliness,” Mina said. “It’s what everybody [here] does on the streets.”
Continued on page 6.
CBF Affiliates Help Slavic Immigrants Start New Life in the United States
CBF Field Personnel Reach Out to Ukrainian Street Children, New Christians
December 2007
The Gathering
of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina
Invite a female to preach - a member of your church, a seminary or Baptist university student or professor, or someone in your community. Read the history of Martha Stearns Marshall in the worship service. Include relevant songs that celebrate women in ministry and women responding to God’s call in their lives. Download the certificate. Send your church name, city, state, and the name of your female preacher to Julie O’Teter at Julie.oteter@bgct.org. Learn more at www.bwim.info.
After WMU of NC announced it would relinquish offices provided by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and begin to assume responsibilities for other support services as well, CBFNC encouraged churches to receive a special emergency offering to assist WMU of NC during their time of transition.
Over $60,000 has been contributed to date!
Please continue to assist WMU of NC by sending contributions to CBFNC, giving through the CBFNC Mission Resource Plan, or supporting WMU of NC directly. Learn more at www.cbfnc.org or www. wmunc.com.
CBF True Survivors Retreat for Church Educators
March 3-5, 2008
First Baptist Church, Asheville, NC
Hear Tony Jones, National Coordinator of the Emergent Village; Joy Yee, pastor of the Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church, San Francisco, CA; and Bo Prosser, CBF Coordinator of Congregational Life. There will be lots of breakouts, time for worship, time for networking and plenty of good food! Register online at www.thefellowship. info for $90 per person. Lodging options are available on the website.
Highlights of Our Fall Fellowship Gathering by
Since 2003, CBFNC has hosted a Fall Fellowship Gathering on the Tuesday evening of the Baptist State Convention. Until 2006, the format of this event included a dinner followed by a program. Bill Leonard (Wake Forest Divinity School), Larry Hovis (CBFNC Coordinator), Ruby Fulbright (WMU of NC), and Richard Brunson (NC Baptist Men) have served as keynote speakers.
After the 2006 gathering, CBFNC staff and leaders received numerous requests to expand the format of the evening because so many attendees found it to be a source of refuge, encouragement and hope. Therefore, beginning around January of this year, plans were made for the 2007 gathering to include an afternoon workshop and an evening worship service in addition to the traditional dinner and program. Kyle Matthews and Emmanuel McCall were enlisted as guest leaders.
By all accounts, the 2007 Fall Fellowship Gathering, held at FBC Greensboro, was a huge success. Here are some of the highlights:
Ending the Worship Wars Workshop
From 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., Kyle Matthews led a workshop entitled “Ending the Worship Wars.” The attendance of 271 persons exceeded expectations. As a classically trained musician who writes
Larry Hovis, Executive Coordinator
and performs contemporary music, Matthews is uniquely qualified to tackle this difficult topic. Matthews stressed that when it comes to worship, our conflicts are over style rather than substance. The path to peace in the worship wars, he explained, is to return our focus to the substance of worship and to realize that style is secondary.
Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina
After dinner, which was served to a capacity crowd of 350, Geneva Metzger, a member of the Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina board of directors, announced the establishment of the 25th anniversary “Cloud of Witnesses” quilt project, a creative way to honor or remember a loved one. Proceeds will support the Kay Simpson Memorial Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit www.bwimnc.org.
Baptists TodayNorth Carolina Edition
John Pierce, Executive Editor of Baptists Today, announced the formation of a new “North Carolina Edition” of their publication, the first issue of which will be introduced in January 2008. The North Carolina edition will include all of the same information as the regular edition, with the addition of four pages devoted to North Carolina news. CBFNC will be a partner in this endeavor, with each issue also including CBFNC news and
advertising. Pierce explained that three factors have created the opportunity for this new venture: Tony Cartledge being hired as contributing editor; growing support, still emerging, among NC congregations and individuals, through financial gifts and group subscriptions; and the willingness of CBFNC to partner with Baptists Today to produce the NC edition. Churches are encouraged to establish group subscriptions for key congregational leaders. For more information, see the box on page 4.
CBF and NC Baptist Colleges and Universities Sign Historic Agreement
The highlight of the dinner program came when the presidents (or representatives) of all seven colleges and universities historically associated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Campbell University, Chowan University, Gardner-Webb University, Mars Hill College, Meredith College, Wake Forest University and Wingate University) were invited to take a reserved seat on the dais at a table decorated with the pennants of the schools. Joining them were Daniel Vestal and Rob Nash, Executive Coordinator and Global Missions Coordinator, respectively, of CBF (national). The representatives all signed a pledge to provide tuition scholarships for qualifying children of CBF Global Missions field personnel. Continued on page 4.
CBF and NC Baptist Colleges and Universities Sign Historic Agreement
Kyle Matthew’s Workshop
Photo by Carla Wynn Davis
Baptists Today - NC Edition
The first edition of the new North Carolina Baptists Today will hit the stands in January 2008. Baptists Today would like to build support from individuals and congregations in NC through start-up gifts and group subscriptions. They encourage churches to provide subscriptions to key leadership within their congregations. With the current shifts in North Carolina Baptist life, it is a crucial time for church leaders to be well informed of the broader issues and partnership opportunities for churches.
A minimum group subscription is 25 for $375. (Add $15 for each additional subscription.) To be listed on the back cover of the inaugural issue in January, Baptists Today needs the subscriptions confirmed by early December. Their goal is for 100 churches to be listed in January. Subscription information is available at www.BaptistsToday.org or call (877) 752-5658. Anyone with a story suggestion for the North Carolina edition may contact Tony Cartledge at cartledge@baptiststoday.org.
CBFNC is seeking a Receptionist/ Administrative Assistant. This part-time position (25-30 hours weekly) is needed for the CBFNC office in Winston-Salem. Excellent telephone skills and computer competency (Excel, Word, etc.) are essential for the candidate. Normal working hours for this position are 9-4, Monday through Thursday. Please send resumes or inquiries to Jim Hylton, Business Administration Coordinator at jhylton@cbfnc.org or call (336) 7593456 for additional information.
Highlights of Fall Fellowship
CBF will cover costs for housing, meals and books, as much as possible, through regular budget funds and eventually, through a special endowment for that purpose. Those interested in giving to the endowment should contact Ben McDade, CBF Coordinator for Fellowship Advancement (bmcdade@thefellowship. info). During the ceremony, Rob Nash recounted his childhood in the Philippines as a missionary kid and the challenges that faced him when he returned to the States for college. Vestal offered words of thanks to the schools and led a prayer of thanksgiving. Attendees rose and gave a standing ovation for this monumental and historic initiative.
Worship Service
Following the dinner program, participants moved to the sanctuary of FBC Greensboro for a worship service. Primary worship leaders were Kyle Matthews, piano and vocals, and Emmanuel McCall, preacher. McCall, an Atlanta pastor and past-moderator of
CBF (national) was introduced by Daniel Vestal. His message, “What Then Shall We Do?” was based on the question posed by the crowds to John the Baptist as recorded in Luke 3:1-10. He affirmed to the congregation, “It’s not enough to just be saved; we’ve got to BE the presence of Christ in the world. It’s very simple: be Christ to the next person you meet.” Jan High (WMU of NC Leadership Development/Training Specialist) gave a testimony about her call to missions and how God has undergirded WMU of NC during these difficult days of transition. An offering was also received for WMU of NC. Other worship leaders included Ken Massey, Doug and Terri Vancil (FBC Greensboro staff); Larry Hovis; Gail Coulter (CBFNC moderator and pastor of Providence Church, Hendersonville); Jack Glasgow (CBF moderator-elect and pastor of Zebulon Baptist Church), Tiffany James (UNC-G Baptist Campus Ministry President); and Wanda Kidd (CBFNC College Ministry Consultant).
CBFNC Calls Business Administration Coordinator
The Coordinating Council of CBFNC voted on October 25 to call Jim Hylton as Business Administration Coordinator. Hylton, who also serves as pastor of First Fellowship Baptist Church in Wallburg, North Carolina, is a graduate of Wake Forest University (B.S., M.Div.) and Campbell University (M.B.A.). The three-quarter time position will enable Hylton to continue his pastoral ministry.
Larry Hovis, CBFNC Coordinator, noted that the position was established because of the significant growth of the state organization. “Churches are placing greater trust in our fellowship, along with greater expectations. The Mission Resource Plan has created a need to provide a higher level of financial accountability to churches and ministry partners. Jim Hylton’s leadership in the areas of finances, human resources and information technology will enable us to remain faithful to our mission and continue to grow in the delivery of quality ministries in our state and beyond.”
Hovis continued, “We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Jim’s blend of business and ministry education and experience to fill this position. Jim will not only help CBFNC operate more effectively and efficiently, but he will be a valuable resource to the churches of our fellowship as well.”
Hylton resides in Winston-Salem with his wife and two children. His duties with CBFNC officially began on October 29.
In a separate action, the Coordinating Council voted to change Hovis’s title from Coordinator to Executive Coordinator to reflect the changing nature of the state organization and to be consistent with a similar change made recently by CBF National.
Jim Hylton
Hearing and Responding to God’s Call
April 11-12, 2008
Forest Hills Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC
Keynote Speaker: Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell Pastor, First Baptist Church, Decatur, GA
General Schedule
Friday, April 11
Welcome and Orientation
Ministry Workshop Sessions * Fellowship Dinner **
Evening Worship
Fellowship Reception
Saturday, April 12
Ministry Workshop Session
Business Session
Closing Worship
* Some of the areas of our ministry workshop sessions include Missions, Practical Helps for the Local Church, Bible Study, Religious and Spiritual Understanding, Arts and the Christian Life, Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors, and CBF Administration. At the 2007 General Assembly, we offered over 65 ministry workshops.
** Friday Evening Fellowship Dinner requires a pre-registration.
Childcare for the General Assembly is available by advanced registration. Discounted hotel options include the Clarion State Capitol Hotel and the Ramada Blue Ridge Hotel. Visit www.cbfnc.org for more.
More ministry workshop titles, details and registration available at www.cbfnc.org.
2008 CBF National General Assembly
June 19-20, 2008
Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tennessee
Auxiliary events begin June 18 with the annual commissioning of CBF field personnel.
Attend worship, ministry workshops, annual business sessions and other activities including plenty of time for fellowship.
Highlights include a special time of Assembly-wide guided prayer and discernment about the future, a Thursday evening keynote address by human rights activist and Baptist minister Lauran Bethell, and a Friday evening celebration of missional churches engaged in ministry around the world.
For more, including registration and hotels, visit www.thefellowship.info.
The Memphis Sessions ~ Mixing the Voices of Blues and Hope A Collegiate Missional Experience
June 15-20, 2008 in Memphis, TN
Sunday - Wednesday:
Participate in a variety of mission projects in inner-city Memphis, visit the Civil Rights Museum, hear about poverty in the Delta, and attend the CBF Field Personnel commissioning service. Evenings - discussions and Memphis blues music. Thursday: Attend the CBF General Assembly. Includes ministry workshop sessions for college students, opportunities to volunteer, fellowship, and more.
Details are coming soon. Contact Wanda Kidd (asyougo5@aol.com, 888-822-1944) for more. Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina
Changes are Coming to The Gathering
Beginning with the first edition of 2008, changes are coming to The Gathering, the newsletter for CBFNC. The newsletter will now be published six times a year, plus a special edition for reports from the General Assembly. In addition to the new everyother-month format, the length will change from the current eight-page lay-out to twelve pages. We hope to include more articles from those outside of the CBFNC staff, including stories of ministries in our churches, missions highlights, commentaries from ministers and individuals, reports from our councils and more. If you would like to submit a story for our newsletter, please contact Natalie Aho at NAho@cbfnc.org for details.
In order to keep our CBFNC family informed of timely material, including upcoming CBFNC events as well as news from other organizations, we will move to a weekly e-newsletter publication later in the spring. If you do not currently receive our e-news, please subscribe online at www.cbfnc.org or email Natalie Aho at NAho@cbfnc.org.
We hope these changes will increase the knowledge of CBFNC, open doors of communication amongst churches and lay-people, and further our mission to “bring Baptists of North Carolina together for Christ-centered ministry.”
Children‛s Choir Festival February 16, 2008
For Children in GRADES 4-6
$10 per singer ($125 max per choir) and $5 per person for food. Register by January 25, 2008.
Details and registration at www.cbfnc.org.
Youth Ministers’ Retreat
February 25-28, 2008
Beach Cove Resort, North Myrtle Beach, SC
Cost: Private Room: $350, Semi-Private: $290; Spouse: $125 Deadline: January 25, 2008 More information at www.cbfnc.org.
They solicited donations of used furniture, started ESL classes and organized traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas ministry activities for the families. More than anything, said Fran, their purpose was to get to know the Slavic people.
In 2005, realizing they needed stronger connections with churches, the Grahams became Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions AsYouGo affiliates. As an affiliate, the Grahams have access to benefits provided by CBF Global Missions, including physical, emotional and spiritual support, training opportunities and being part of a peer team. This infrastructure, which is funded by gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions, allowed the Grahams to draw on Fellowship resources and relationships.
Since they became AsYouGo affiliates, the Grahams have been able to pursue new areas of service through Western North Carolina Slavic Ministries – including offering dental treatment at a minimal fee on a dental van one week each spring and coordinating Slavic families to go one day a week to glean food from local farms. Since 2002, the Grahams estimate they have helped about 1,000 new immigrants.
“The great thing about Fran and Mike’s ministry is that it’s happening in a community like Asheville,” said Matt Norman, CBF Global Missions associate coordinator. “Many times, when we think about missions, we think of going somewhere else. But the world is coming to us.” Learn more at www.cbfnc.org. This story has been edited for space purposes.
In the five years since Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Gennady and Mina Podgaisky have lived in Kiev, they have learned how to recognize the street children and how to help transform the lives of these orphans and runaways.
“Being there and just hugging them and answering their questions – that makes a big difference,” said Gennady, who is Russian. “It makes a big difference when you talk with them in their own language. [We] bring them something they don’t have, and it’s not just food or clothes.”
The Podgaiskys helped start Village of Hope, a foster care facility operated by the Ukrainian Center for Christian Cooperative, an affiliate of the Ukrainian Baptist Union, and a partner ministry of CBFNC. Now housing two foster families, the Podgaiskys hope the village will eventually hold up to 10 foster families and up to 100 children, as well as Christian camps for at-risk children, and retreats and conferences. All these efforts stem from a passion for sharing the love of Christ.
The Village of Hope and the Podgaisky’s ministry are directly funded by gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions. As Fellowship Baptists continue to give, their ministry is able to grow. Learn more at www.cbfnc.org.
This story has been edited for space purposes.
Unity in Action in Atlanta, GA,
January 30 - February 1, 2008 by Mike Queen
If you are like me, you are proud to be a Baptist. Yet most of us understand that a large portion of our country sees the Baptist witness in America as one characterized by church conflict and rigid mind-set. I want to tell you about an opportunity to reshape that view of Baptists on a national basis. On January 30, 2008 Baptists from all over North America will convene in Atlanta, Georgia for a gathering to celebrate what is being called the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant (NBC).
Before I tell you what it is, let me tell you what it is not. It is not the precursor to a new denomination. More than thirty different and distinct denominational groups will participate in the NBC. It is not a political rally, though several politicians (both Republican and Democrat) will participate. It is not like anything we have ever done before on such a scale. Now let me say what the NBC is.
It is an historic first gathering of an incredibly diverse group of Baptists under the theme of Unity in Action. That unity is found in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Biblical basis for the meeting is Jesus’ reading of scripture in the Synagogue as reported in Luke 4:18-19. This call by Jesus to pursue both evangelism and social causes is the foundation of the New Baptist Covenant. David Goatley, President of the North American Baptist Fellowship, has called the NBC “a collaboration of Baptist communities to celebrate a common commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Quotes from two Baptist leaders have served to frame the importance of this meeting to me. Perhaps they will for you, too. Dr. Bill Leonard, Dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School and noted Baptist historian, has said that “…Probably not since 1845 has this kind of effort been made to bring together
Baptists, black and white, and of diverse theological and regional backgrounds.”
Dr. Bill Underwood, President of Mercer University, has observed that “…We Baptists have made an important decision…a decision to focus on issues that bind us together as followers of Christ rather than dwell on the differences that surely exist among us.”
I want to invite you and your congregation to join this family of Baptists in Atlanta. You can view details on this celebration at the NBC website, www.newbaptistcovenant.org. You will find information about how to register and procure hotel rooms. Also, CBFNC’s website, www.cbfnc.org, has FAQs from CBF Executive Coordinator, Daniel Vestal, and some information on the NBC.
There is no registration fee, but churches are being asked to contribute to cover the considerable costs for holding this gathering. Our church is actually contributing several thousand dollars so that the next generation of Baptist Seminary and Divinity School students can attend this historic event. We need your presence and your financial support.
While the website should answer most of your questions, feel free to contact me if I can be of help in getting answers. My sincerest prayer is that the NBC will be a true celebration for and by Baptists who long to serve the cause of Christ. Hopefully, that is your prayer also. Let us come together in Atlanta to make history and to chart a way for Baptists to work together in the Kingdom.
Mike Queen is pastor of First Baptist Church, Wilmington, NC. You can reach him at (910) 763-2471 or mqueen@ fbcwilmington.org.
Words of gratitude are not enough to thank the more than 600 volunteers who convened in Henderson/Littleton, NC, over the weekend of November 3 for the first CBFNC Missions Initiative. Because so many people from the CBFNC family cared enough about this area to make the journey and invest their time, money and talents, the seeds of change have been planted.
A full report will be in the January/ February edition of The Gathering. In the meantime, visit our website, www.cbfnc. org, for reports, photos, and to fill out an evaluation. The sights and the sounds of that weekend were great, but something greater is about to be born among us. We look forward to watching the fruit of the weekend’s work multiply across our state!
NC Missions Initiative HUGE Success!
Photo by Yancey Hines
Bringing Baptists of North Carolina Together for Christ-Centered Ministry
NC 27106
888-822-1944
www.cbfnc.org Return Service Requested
In This December 2007 Edition ~
Page 1 CBF Offering for Global Missions
Page 1 CBF Affiliates Help Slavic Immigrants
Page 1 CBF Field Personnel Reach Out to Ukrainians
Page 3 Highlights of Our Fall Fellowship Gathering by Larry Hovis
Page 4 CBFNC Calls Business Administration Coordinator
Page 5 2008 General Assembly Information
Page 7 Unity in Action by Mike Queen
Page 7 Missions Initiative a Huge Success
CBFNC has recently changed to a new database. Please email Nparks@cbfnc.org or call 888822-1944 if your address label is now incorrect or if you are receiving multiple newsletters.
The Gathering is published ten times a year; mailed by the 5th of the month. All questions may be directed to Natalie Aho, 888-822-1944 or naho@cbfnc.org.
Upcoming Events ~
January 25-27 or February 1-3, 2008
Youth Ski Retreat
Winterplace, WV
Cost before upgrades is $149 per person. Visit www.cbfnc.org for more information. To register, call CTI at 800-285-7273 or email Tim Wilson at twilson@skicti.com.
February 16, 2008
Children’s Choir Festival FBC, Winston-Salem, NC
Cost is $10 per singer ($125 max per choir); $5 per person for food. Deadline is January 25. Visit www.cbfnc.org for further details and to register.
February 25-28, 2008
Youth Ministers’ Retreat
North Myrtle Beach, SC
Cost is $350 for a private room or $290 for a semi-private room. Deadline is January 25. Visit www.cbfnc.org for further details and to register.
March 14-15, 2008
Youth Choir Festival
FBC, Greensboro, NC
Cost is $10 per singer ($125 max per choir); $5 per person for food. Deadline is February 1. Visit www.cbfnc.org for further details and to register.
April 11-12, 2008
CBFNC General Assembly
Forest Hills Baptist Church Raleigh, NC
Details and registration available at www.cbfnc.org.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID WINSTON-SALEM PERMIT NO. 162
April 18-20 or 25-27, 2008
Youth Spring Retreats Vineyard Camp Westfield, NC
Cost is $105 per person. Deadline is February 15. Visit www.cbfnc.org for further details and to register.
June 19-20, 2008
CBF National General Assembly Memphis, Tennessee Visit www.thefellowship.info for further details and to register.
