2019-20 Prayers of the People

THE PRESENCE OF

CHRIST

Prayers People of the

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Yearlong Guide to Prayer

2019-20

www.cbf.net/pray

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Contents Ways to Use this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Purpose of Our Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Practicing the Presence of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Prayers for Christ’s Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Experiencing God’s Presence through Chaplaincy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Thanksgiving Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Christmas Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Being Present in the Little Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ash Wednesday Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Easter Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The Gift of the Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Staying Focused on What Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Editor’s Note: In quotations from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, masculine references to God have been replaced with more inclusive language when possible. © 2019 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Calendar information is current as of May 2019 and will be updated May 2020. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

CBF Leadership

Design Team

Paul Baxley

Joshua Speight

Executive Coordinator

Manager of Leadership Development

Steven Porter

Jeff Langford

Coordinator of Global Missions

Editor and Designer

Ashley Litzell 2 |

www.cbf.net/pray

Church Engagement Intern

Ways to Use this Guide

Prayers of the People is a yearlong guide to prayer that invites you to explore how your prayers intersect with CBF field personnel, ministries and partners around the world. This guide is a tool for forming together in shared ministry.

Individual Sacred Space Children’s Programs Each day, create time and space in your home or workplace to consider the prayer requests. Pray for transformation and for the courage to be open to God’s love. Discuss with God your connection with this particular ministry or a local variant.

Mission teachers of Form™ and Spark™ can use the guide to make connections with the lessons they are teaching.

Share copies of Prayers of the People with parents and families of children.

Small Group Experience

To receive updates as well as more detailed and current prayer requests from CBF field personnel, visit www.cbf.net/pray. Subscribe to CBF’s weekly e-newsletter to receive regular Prayer Associates updates. Download copies to share with others.

Use Prayers of the People in a mission-oriented group, a prayer group or a Sunday school class. Ask your group members to consider the prayer request within a section’s particular prayer theme.

Worship Gathering Create a monthly “Mission Moment” in your worship, sharing a story or prayer request from the prayer guide. Use the guide to shape a children’s sermon or reflection time during worship.

Family Time

More Prayer Resources

To Order More Contact the CBF Store at www.cbf.net/ogm-resources or 800-352-8741 to order more copies of Prayers of the People. Include in welcome packets to church visitors and display on magazine racks.

Prayers of the People is a great tool to teach children about the various aspects and experiences of prayer.

Allow each child to look at the photos and ask questions. Explore other information about the culture of the people for whom you are praying. www.cbf.net/pray

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The Purpose of Our Presence At the heart of our Fellowship’s calling to God’s mission in the world is a commitment to the long-term presence of our Fellowship and our field personnel.

It is not just that we are committed to sending uniquely gifted and remarkably committed missionaries to more than 20 countries around the world. No, we send them so that they can draw us and our congregations into what God is doing around the world, so that with them, our entire Fellowship makes a commitment to faithful ministry.

We make this commitment because we believe that long-term presence is the most outstanding way to bear witness to God’s steadfast love in Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus came and lived among us in the days of His ministry, so we have heard a call to live among people in very different parts of the world, inviting people to become followers of Jesus while also living Jesus’ life. Jesus described His mission as bringing good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind and release to the captives. When we committed to cultivating beloved community, bearing witness to Jesus and seeking transformational development, we committed to join Jesus in the mission He described.

That’s the purpose of our presence in countries all over the world and in each of our communities in the United States. So this year, we are invited to consider how we might practice that presence. How can we encourage the growth of presence through praying for our congregations, our field personnel and the peoples whom we serve and in whom we meet Jesus all over the world? How can we extend our presence through more generous support of the Offering for Global Missions?

Might we pray that God will call new generations of women and men to mission service? Is God calling your congregation to a closer partnership with one of our field personnel units in the United States or around the world? How are you being called to extend Jesus’ presence in daily living?

This year, let’s not just use the language of presence; let’s become it by the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul Baxley Executive Coordinator

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Practicing the Presence of God This edition of Prayers of the People features the writings of several women who invite us to “practice the presence of God” as we pray for God’s work in the world in and through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The theme of practicing presence (borrowed from the writings of Brother Lawrence) evokes countless stories from scripture where the God of Israel is made known through the tangible practices of God’s people: breaking bread, baptizing the willing, caring for widows and orphans, welcoming strangers, anointing the sick, blessing the cursed, sharing money, making peace and proclaiming good news to the poor. Those stories remind us that the Christian journey is marked less by intellectual assent than participation in simple practices of faith accessible to all.

The people who occupy these pages—our Global Missions field personnel, church starters, chaplains and pastoral counselors—daily bear witness to the gospel through words that invite faith in Jesus and actions that embody the way of Jesus.

Indeed, we have commissioned them to do so—to break bread, baptize, care, welcome, anoint, bless, share, make peace, proclaim and countless other acts that invite the world to practice the presence of God. But such work bears fruit only insofar as it is infused with the power of the Holy Spirit. And that’s our cue.

Jesus invites us not only to participate in God’s mission by practicing the faith in our own backyard but also to take the gospel to the nations by interceding in prayer for the very people we’ve commissioned for that work. “The harvest is plentiful,” Jesus observed, “but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

As you are inspired by the people in these pages, may you also be inspired to practice the presence of God more faithfully in your own life and to give more generously to the Offering for Global Missions that supports the work we’ve commissioned them to do among the nations.

D. Steven Porter Coordinator of Global Missions

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Prayers for Christ’s Presence In this age of always-changing technology and 24/7 accessibility to our online lives, it could be easy to say we are more present with one another than in any time in history. With our phones, computers and tablets, we are able to connect across the room or across continents in real time. It is a wonder at how easily we can connect and how fast the technology improves. I am a user of many of these 21st-century marvels and think that they benefit us more than they hurt us.

However, I quickly realize that presence with another person in real-life can never be replaced no matter what advancements technology offers to us.

It is this in-person presence that defines the work of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We could easily appoint and support field personnel or church starters or ministers who lead from afar – who practice presence virtually. And we could trust that God would be with us in this work. Yet, we believe in the power of relationship-building, the long-term presence, and our faith that our real lives reflect the love of God in its truest form.

This latest edition of the Prayers of the People for 2019-2020 is a call to remember that we are to practice the presence of Christ with our actual lives. We are the ones God has asked to share the story of God’s love for our world. We are the ones who honor God when we notice the other person in front of us.

As you pray this year for CBF’s extraordinary field personnel serving throughout the world, pray that they would be steadfast in their mission of presence. As you pray for CBF’s commissioned church starters, pray that they will have the energy needed to be present in their communities. As you pray for CBF staff, pray that each of them will be able to lead with their presence as they resource congregations and people.

As you pray for CBF clergy and laity, pray that each will remember their baptism which demonstrates the belief that the presence of Christ is the most powerful witness in the world. And as you pray for yourself, pray that you will be inspired by the shared work of CBF to be Christ’s hands and feet to the world.

My prayer for you is that the presence of Christ will overwhelm you with the compulsion to love and to be with one another – physically, virtually and any way in-between.

Josh Speight Manager of Leadership Development Director, CBF Fellows 6 |

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Lita and Rick Sample

SEPTEMBER 1-8

San Francisco Bay Area, California www.cbf.net/sample Lita and Rick Sample serve with the international and refugee community in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, being the presence of Christ through relationship-building, evangelism and outreach. The Samples strive to be effective communicators of the Gospel and God’s message of love, hope and salvation.

The San Francisco Bay Area is a region where more than 100 languages are spoken and where diversity is displayed throughout the area. Lita and Rick seek to minister holistically to the international community, including immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, India and Turkey. Many predominantly Muslim ethnic groups live in the Samples’ immediate community as well as a large number of Sikh, Buddhist and Hindu people.

Pray for: • • •

the development of a new Afghan house church in Sacramento.

California fire victims and uninsured families who lost homes in the fire. good health that includes a positive balance of ministry and family.

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:1-2

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Missy Ward-Angalla

SEPTEMBER 9-15

Kampala, Uganda www.cbf.net/ward

Missy Ward-Angalla serves in Kampala, Uganda, as the refugee women’s advocacy coordinator for Refuge and Hope International, ministering among urban refugees from more than 10 different countries. The ministry serves more than 1,000 people annually, walking alongside them as they rebuild their lives through discipleship, leadership and educational and development opportunities.

Missy began a program at Refuge and Hope called Amani Sasa, which serves more than 200 individuals each year. The ministry features a shelter recovery program for young women who have faced severe trauma and exploitation, a school sponsorship program for vulnerable children, two vocational training programs for women at risk, self-help community groups that assist women to save, support and disciple one another, as well as a social work ministry for refugees in crisis.

Amani Sasa also includes a scholarship program for refugee children from at-risk families.

Pray for: • •

refugees in the community who are in crisis.

God to open doors for healing and transformation.

Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Jeremiah 18:6 8 |

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Mira and Sasha Zivanov

SEPTEMBER 16-22

St. Louis, Missouri

www.cbf.net/zivanov Mira and Sasha Zivanov serve among the immigrant community in St. Louis, Missouri, predominantly working with refugees from the former Yugoslavia, which includes the countries of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. Partnering with local churches, the Zivanovs provide outreach ministries that meet the needs of refugee families that have lost much to years of violence, conflict and hardship. Through fellowship, pastoral care, a food pantry, tutoring and other classes, they seek to provide opportunities for community and to share the gospel.

Pray for: • • • •

immigrants with limited language skills adapting to an unfamiliar culture. success in school for children in the tutoring ministry. local churches to find ways to connect with the immigrant community. immigrant families separated from their home communities and extended families.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

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Eddie and Macarena Aldape

SEPTEMBER 23-30

Albacete, Spain

www.cbf.net/aldape Eddie and Macarena Aldape minister to immigrants and students in Albacete, Spain, after serving 13 years in India among the Banjara. Through Centro de Esperanza (The Hope Center), the Aldapes assist immigrants in registration processes, language acquisition, culture simulation and by directing them to local organizations that can meet their immediate needs. Centro de Esperanza is a place where newly-arrived immigrants can encounter the love of Christ and renewed hope.

Many students in Spain are also disillusioned about the future and matters of faith. Eddie and Macarena teach English as a Second Language classes, which provides opportunities to share faith, offer encouragement and provide support to these students.

Pray for: • • • •

those completing the Red Cross relocation program to find employment the new micro-enterprise project that provides income for these families. relationships being built through conversation classes. mentoring of unaccompanied minors who may be without shelter after turning 18.

Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12 10 |

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September Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Reginald Bradley, Atlanta, GA (CH) 1 Terry Eddinger, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 1 Bisser Ovcharov, Houston, TX (CH) 2 Dennis McDuffie, Atoka, TN (CH) 2 Sara Moran, Greer, SC (CH) 3 Ann Owen, Viera, FL (CH) 4 Vicki Lumpkin, Greensboro, NC (CH) 4 Shirley Massey, Chapel Hill, NC (CH) 5 Kelly Belcher, Asheville, NC (CH) 5 Roger Benimoff, Grand Prairie, TX (CH) 5 Becky Brannon, Gainesville, GA (CH) 5 Alexandria Geovanni, Lake Charles, LA (CH) 5 David Julian, Dublin, GA (CH) 6 Carla Cherry, Worthington, OH (CH) 6 Daniel Edward Tatum, Marietta, GA (CH) 7 Martha Harper, Madison, MS (CH) 7 Lee Hendricks, Greenville, NC (CH) 8 Daniel Hall, Pineville, KY (CH) 8 Jody Harrison, Dallas, TX (CH) 8 Chad Mustian, Dallas, TX (CH) 10 Nancy Campbell, Kansas City, MO (CH) 10 Sarah Montoya, San Fransisco, CA (CH) 11 Courtney Hester, Jacksonville, GA (CH) 12 Bryan Lake, Cumming, GA (CH) 13 Richard Morris, Lebanon, PA (CH) 13 Alan Redditt, Georgetown, KY (CH 13 Kathy Turner, Charlotte, NC (CH) 14 Bart Grooms, Birmingham, AL (PC) 14 Priscilla Howick, Jacksonville, FL (CH) 15 Brandy Mullins, Manvel, TX (CH) 16 Dick Allison, Hattiesburg, MS (CH) 16 Jeff Ellison, Rowlett, TX (CH) 16 Karen Heistand, Rochester, MN (CH) 16 Byron Johnson, San Diego, CA (CH) 17 Angela Clark, Matthews, NC (CH) 17 Jean Craddock, Lexington, KY (PC) 17 Tammy Latimer, Springfield, MO (CH) 17 George Rossi, Charleston, SC (CH) 19 Cari Willis, Benson, NC (CH) 20 David Bluford, Lenoir City, TN (CH) 20 Katherine Moneypenny, Douglas, GA (CH) 20 Renée Owen, Marietta, GA (CH) 20 Adam Ridenhour, Winston Salem, NC (CH) 21 Mark Flores, Lynchburg, VA (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

22 Kim Chafee, Virginia Beach, VA (CH) 22 Josh Reglin, Tahoka, TX (CH) 22 Becky Shoaf, Atlanta, GA (CH) 23 Donna Seay, Baltimore, MD (CH) 24 William Stewart, Seabeck, WA (CH) 26 Randy Brookshire, Greenville, SC (CH) 26 Sunny Mitchell, San Diego, CA (CH) 26 Keith Parker, Brevard, NC (PC) 26 Beth Sexton, Lincolnton, NC (CH) 26 Lynwood Walters, Gainesville, FL (CH) 26 Jeffrey Walton, Richmond, VA (CH) 26 Gloria White, Pearland, TX (PC) 27 Cathy Anderson, Kennesaw, GA (CH) 27 Peggy Johnson, Hurst, TX (CH) 28 Renate Kruklis, Braselton, GA (CH) 29 Asbrubal Forte, Miami FL (CH) 29 John Harris, Pelham, AL (PC)

Church Starters

9 Wayne Weathers, Jenkintown, PA (CST) 13 Ron McCaskill, Cairo, GA (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

1 Lucy Hearne, 2013, Danville, VA (FPC) 1 Ralph Stocks, Emeritus (FP) 3 Jenny Jenkins, Haiti (FP) 5 Eddie Aldape, Spain (FP) 5 David Brown, Emeritus (FP) 5 David D’Amico, Emeritus (FP) 7 Lita Sample, San Francisco, CA (FP) 20 Tanya Parks, Slovakia (FP) 24 Juniper, 2015, China (FPC) 25 Angel Pittman, Miami, FL (FP)

Staff Members

10 Rick Jordan (S-North Carolina) 10 Marv Knox (S-Southwest) 11 Larry Hovis (S-North Carolina) 12 Ryan Berlin (S-Decatur) 15 Martha Perusek (S-Decatur) 18 Brandeis Tullos (S-Decatur) 23 Bo Prosser (S-Decatur)

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Karen Alford

OCTOBER 1-8

Mbarara, Uganda www.cbf.net/alford Since 2017, Karen Alford has served in Mbarara, Uganda, after serving in Indonesia for nine years. Karen partners with Medical Teams International (MTI) to help meet medical needs in the Nakivale and Oruchinga refugee settlements. These settlements serve an estimated population of 120,000 refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea.

Karen sees patients and focuses on building the capacity of local medicallytrained staff. Some clinics see upwards of 500 patients a day with only two or three clinicians. She also works with MTI’s newly-opened fistula repair clinic and supports the effective implementation of health projects. Most importantly, Karen shares the love of Christ with people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty.

Pray for: • • •

relief from ebola and pneumonic plague outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the border of Uganda. the fistula repair clinic and the women in need of its services as a result of maternal complication or sexual violence. opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 12 |

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Global Service Corps

OCTOBER 9-15

www.cbf.net/gsc The Dick and Jesmarie Hurst Global Service Corps (GSC) is a two-year mission apprenticeship that provides an opportunity for recent graduates (and retirees) to: go work alongside seasoned career field personnel and partners in over 20 countries on four continents; serve in a context that enables both giving and receiving of gifts; and grow in their understanding and experience of how the Triune God is at work in the world.

The GSC program engages the skills, background and gifts of young people and the young at heart to deepen the impact of CBF Global Missions by cultivating beloved community, bearing witness to Jesus Christ, and seeking transformational development in communities that have been largely forgotten or forsaken by the world. Assignments provide valuable experience that can serve as a bridge to career field service for individuals seeking confirmation of their missions calling or deeper grounding in God’s mission for those who will pursue other vocations.

Pray for: • • •

the impact of our field personnel and engagement partners to be deepened. the next generation of field personnel to respond to the call of Jesus to serve. retirees willing to share career skills and wisdom to help spread the Gospel.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David— that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.

2 Timothy 2:8-9 www.cbf.net/pray

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Lynn and Mike Hutchinson

OCTOBER 16-23

Togo, West Africa

www.cbf.net/hutchinson Lynn and Mike Hutchinson serve in Lomé, Togo, in West Africa through a dedication to asset-based community development and transformative community ministry. In Togo, traditional religions and polytheism still predominate, with the presence of some Christianity and Islam, but there is freedom of religious expression that allows the Gospel to be shared openly. Drawing on the assets and resources of the community, mentoring and equipping, the Hutchinsons are helping Togolese discover their full capacity. Individuals, families and communities can be transformed as they experience God’s love and work together to address local needs.

Pray for: • • •

•

Lynn and Mike as they settle into a new home and begin to build relationships in a new neighborhood.

Deborah, a student who has volunteered to help the kids at Togo House to develop a dance club. the growth of the beloved community with local partners, including pastors, church leaders and Christian groups addressing development or health needs such as AIDS. Togo House ministries that allow people to build capacity in order to reach their God-given potential and to build healthy communities.

And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?

Luke 18:7 14 |

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David and Lauren Bass

OCTOBER 24-31

Phnom Penh, Cambodia www.cbf.net/bass

David and Lauren Bass minister alongside the Cambodia Baptist Union in its church planting efforts, helping equip Cambodian pastors to engage their communities. David’s goal is to develop training resources for Cambodian pastors while Lauren’s goal is to find ways for business and economic development to play a role in addressing the basic needs of these pastors. David and Lauren are excited to partner with the Cambodia Baptist Union as the church planting movement in Cambodia matures from being new and dynamic to becoming deep and sustainable.

Pray for: • • • •

the farmers and their families affected by drought in several provinces, causing daily shortages of water and electricity throughout the country. the work God is doing in starting local churches in Cambodia. initiatives in leadership and economic development. continued discipleship within the Cambodian Church.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:1-2

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October Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Ron Craddock, FL (CH) 2 Jordan Dollar, Edwardville, IL (CH) 3 Andrew Finkler, Fayetteville, NC (CH) 4 Michael Metcalf, Statesville, GA (CH) 5 Kate Blackshear, Austin, TX (CH) 5 Gregory Thompson, Oakwood, GA (CH) 5 Christopher Towles, Pfafftown, NC (CH) 5 David White, Murfreesboro, TN (CH) 6 Gerald Richards, Apex, NC (CH) 7 Daniel Brockhan, Cheektowaga, NY (CH) 8 Robb Small, Geismar, LA (CH) 10 Larry Aaron, Danville, VA (CH) 10 Joseph Boone, Cold Spring, KY (CH) 10 Beth Duke, Smithville, TN (CH) 10 Cinda Smith, Batesville, AR (CH) 10 Jay Martin, Woodland Park, CO (PC) 10 Tina Woody, Spartanburg, SC (CH) 11 Randi McFarland, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 11 Michael McGrath, Little Rock, AR (CH) 11 Laura Senter, Everett, WA (CH) 12 Melba Miller, Gainesville, GA (CH) 12 Terry Newell, Zebulon, NC (PC) 13 Lloyd Blevins, Fayetteville, NC (CH) 13 John Painter, Charleston, SC (CH) 13 Gretchen Watson, Louisville, KY (PC) 14 Yarelis Montex de Oca, Miami FL (CH) 16 Matthew Andrews, Birmingham, AL (CH) 16 Karen Black, Fort Worth, TX (CH) 16 Betty Drayton, Sumter, SC (CH) 16 Greg Greason, Kansas City, MO (CH) 16 Monty Self, Little Rock, AR (CH) 17 David Fambrough, Greenville, NC (CH) 18 Hank Demous, Opelika, AL (CH) 18 Danny Garnett, Irmo, SC (PC) 20 Chuck Hawkins, Pearland, TX (CH) 20 Abby Nichols, Nashville TN (CH) 20 Luke Langston, Durham, NC (CH) 22 Keith Cooper, Lubbock, TX (CH) 22 Paul Robertson, Sugar Land, TX (CH) 23 John Lassitter, Martindale, TX (CH) 23 Carl Price, Lebanon, TN (CH) 23 John Ray Roberts, Charleston, SC (CH)

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FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

23 Michael Weaver, Beaumont, TX (CH) 24 Charles Lumpkin, Greensboro, NC (CH) 24 Wes Monfalcone, Casselberry, FL (CH) 24 Robert Powell, Birmingham, AL (CH) 24 Rick Ruano, North Miami Beach, FL (CH) 25 Doug Cobb, McGregor, TX (CH) 27 Robert Carter, Virginia Beach, VA (CH) 27 Kathy Hoppe, Broken Arrow, OK (CH) 27 Terrell Moye, Palm Beach Gardens, FL (CH) 29 Sam Scaggs, Dublin, GA (CH) 29 Troy Todd, Sneads Ferry, NC (CH) 30 Richard Brown, Troutville, VA (CH) 30 Hazel Thomas, Houston, TX (CH) 31 Abina Johnson, San Francisco, GA (CH)

Church Starters

3 Greg Long, Elgin, TX (CST) 10 Fredricc Brock, San Antonio, TX (CST) 17 Bob Cheatheam, Abilene, TX (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

1 Tina Bailey, Southeast Asia (FP/CH) 2 Maha Boulos, Lebanon (FP) 2 Keith Holmes, Netherlands (FP) 3 Jonathan Bailey, Southeast Asia (FP) 3 Matt Norman, Spain (FP) 5 Jo Ann Hopper, Emeritus (FP) 11 Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey, New York, NY (FP) 12 Ben Newell, Emeritus (FP) 13 Bob Newell, Emeritus (FP) 13 Fran Turner, Emeritus (FP) 22 Missy Ward-Angalla, Uganda (FP) 25 Suzie, Thailand (FP) 26 Dean Dickens, Emeritus (FP) 29 Mike Hutchinson, Togo (FP)

Staff Members

7 Mary Kaylor (S-North Carolina) 8 Lucas Dorian (S-Alabama) 18 Jenine Crew (S-Decatur) 25 Panina Goldston (S-Decatur) 31 Phyllis Boozer (S-Northeast)

Experiencing God’s Presence through Chaplaincy Today, over 780 chaplains and pastoral counselors endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, stand ready to provide love, care and support to people in crisis; to remind them that God loves them, and cares about all the details of their lives. We are providing pastoral care at the bedside in a VA clinic, hospital, and nursing facility. We are leading worship aboard a naval vessel and sharing communion with soldiers in a combat zone. We are counseling a student who has experienced an assault on a university campus. We are sitting with a grieving mother. We are providing safe space for a police officer to process the needless tragedy she just witnessed. We are listening to a dying father find meaning in his suffering. We are advocating for a child whose voice is not heard. We are reminding an old man, who has been incarcerated for years, that he is loved and a precious child of God. As chaplains and pastoral counselors, we seek to usher in the peace, hope and joy that Christ provides. Practicing the presence of God in our own lives, day after day, moment by moment, is the only way to remain truly faithful to that call. We invite you to pray that we might be diligent as we seek God’s presence in our lives, so we might be His presence in the world.

Rev. Layne Rogerson serves as hospice chaplain for McLeod Hospice in Cheraw, South Carolina, and is a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Council on Endorsement.

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Gennady and Mina Podgaisky

NOVEMBER 1-8

Kiev, Ukraine

www.cbf.net/podgaisky Gennady and Mina Podgaisky have served in Kiev, Ukraine, since December 2002, where they facilitate the ministries of the Village of Hope, a center that assists foster families and families in transition. They also lead Bible studies, provide counseling, organize and lead family seminars/couples retreats, partner with a refugee center and provide training on the Life-Skills Manual for Youth.

Pray for: • • • •

for a foster mother from the Village of Hope raising five teenagers plus three elementary age children on her own. peace in the country following elections and in relations with neighboring countries. a cease fire in the war zone in the East. full recovery of a foster father from the Village of Hope involved in an automobile accident.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

Ephesians 1:17-19

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Jonathan and Tina Bailey

NOVEMBER 9-15

Bali, Indonesia

www.cbf.net/bailey Jonathan and Tina Bailey serve in Bali, Indonesia, with emphasis on spiritual expression through music, dance and visual arts. Bali is home to a diverse community of people from around the world who have migrated there for work or to explore a simpler way of life. The Baileys encourage artists through the Narwastu Art Community, which provides the space for meaningful relationships that bridge cultural, linguistic and religious differences to begin and grow.

Tina also teaches in a prison arts program for inmates in Bali’s high security prison, mentoring prisoners in art-making and forming relationships with inmates.

She works to develop artistic technique as well as instilling life-skills to assist them as they re-integrate into society after they are released. She also consults for other prisons that are interested in developing similar programs.

Pray for: • • • •

expressions of justice and mercy in the prison system. encouragement for youth whom God has gifted with artistic skill. understanding and peace among faith communities. openness to the link between the arts and spirituality.

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.

Job 19:25

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Angel Pittman

NOVEMBER 16-23

Miami, Florida

www.cbf.net/pittman Angel Pittman, along with her husband, Jason, ministers through Touching Miami with Love, which is committed to serving the most vulnerable of MiamiDade County. With a continued focus on children, youth and adults with the greatest educational, social and safety needs, TML operates two centers in the neighborhoods of Overtown and West Homestead.

Angel and Jason live and serve in the community of Overtown, a historic AfricanAmerican neighborhood that struggles with poverty. Education levels are extremely low, leading to a high unemployment rate of 28 percent. Drugs, crime and violence are commonplace, and children in Overtown are exposed to high rates of untreated trauma, impeding their ability to function well in school and continuing the cycle of poverty.

Pray for: • • • •

the families served by TML as they face financial pressure while supporting the needs of their children. the safety of the children and youth in communities plagued by violence. opportunities for children and youth to explore their God-given potential. the hope of Jesus to bring light to dark situations.

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Isaiah 65:17 www.cbf.net/pray

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NOVEMBER 24-30

Such has been my common practice ever since I entered into religion; and though I have done it very imperfectly, yet I have found great advantages by it. These, I well know, are to be imputed to the mere mercy and goodness of God, because we can do nothing without God; and I still less than any. But when we are faithful to keep ourselves in God’s holy Presence, and set God always before us, this not only hinders our offending God, and doing anything that may displease God, at least willfully, but it also begets in us a holy freedom, and if I may so speak, a familiarity with God, wherewith we ask, and that successfully, the graces we stand in need of.

In fine, by often repeating these acts, they become habitual, and the presence of God is rendered as it were natural to us. Give God thanks, if you please, with me, for God’s great goodness towards me, which I can never sufficiently admire, for the many favours God has done to so miserable a sinner as I am. May all things praise God. Amen. from The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35

THANKSGIVING

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November Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Lynne Mouchet, Johns Creek, GA (CH) 2 Mark Elder, Spartanburg, SC (CH) 2 Jesse Hunt, Fort Drum, NY (CH) 2 Mickie Norman, Leland, NC (CH) 2 Ryan Yaun, Wetumpka, AL (CH) 3 Michael McCawley, Louisville, KY (CH) 3 David Reid, Boise, ID (CH) 4 Mary Stinson, Berea, KY (CH) 4 Mark Westebbe, Waynesboro, VA (CH) 4 Tarvick Linder, Durham NC (CH) 5 Cameron Gunnin, San Antonio, TX (CH) 6 Kyle Fishbaugh, Fayetteville, NC (CH) 6 Gloria Hopper, Monroe NC (CH) 6 Meghan McSwain, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 7 Craig Butler, Sugar Land, TX (CH) 7 Pat Coley, San Diego, CA (CH) 7 Darrell Hudson, Georgetown, TX (CH) 8 Mark Weiler, Greeley, CO (CH) 9 Debby Bradley, Owensboro, KY (CH) 9 Charles Seligman, Italy (CH) 9 Audrey Wilson, Durham, NC (CH) 10 Kevin Crowder, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 10 Holly Johnson, St. Petersburg, FL (CH) 10 Ralph Mikels, Jr., Seymour, TN (CH) 11 Scott Blair, San Antonio, TX (CH) 11 Bert Sanders III, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 11 Steve Sweatt, Birmingham, AL (PC) 12 John Lepper, Louisville, KY (PC) 13 Gail Smith, Hillsborough, NC (CH) 13 Cindy Wallace, Carpentersville, IL (CH) 14 Katie Anderson, Louisville, KY (CH) 15 Elizabeth Eaton, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 15 David Simmons, Harrisburg, PA (CH) 15 Eric Whitfield, Cheyenne, WY (CH) 16 Andrew Stubblefield, Pensacola FL (CH) 16 Gloria Hopper, Monroe NC (CH) 16 Edwin Hollis, Odenville, AL (CH) 17 Elizabeth Thompson, Littleton, CO (PC) 18 Elaine Greer, Frankfort, KY (CH) 18 Kristin Long, Richmond, VA (PC) 19 Will Kinnaird, Keller, TX (CH) 19 T. Nancy Cox, Georgetown, KY (CH) 20 Chuck Christie, Loganville, GA (CH) 20 Kevin Park, Bellingham, WA (CH) 21 Fred Madren, Indianapolis, IN (CH) 23 Julie Walton, Richmond, VA (CH) 24 Will Barnes, Savannah, GA (CH) 24 Peggy Gold, Durham, NC (CH) 24 Will Manley, Johnson City, TN (CH) 24 Callie McManus, Birmingham, AL (CH) 24 David Posey, Medina, TN (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

24 Ruth Santos-Ortíz (CH) 25 Gary Batchelor, Rome, GA (CH) 25 Tony Biles, Richfield, NC (CH) 25 Robert Cooke, Selma, NC (PC) 25 Ed Farris, Topeka, KS (CH) 25 Brad Hood, Knoxville, TN (CH) 25 Chan Shaver, Jamestown, NC (CH) 25 Lee Weems, Pineville, LA (CH) 25 Cassandra Wilson, Gahanna, OH (CH) 26 Carol Fletcher, Athens, GA (CH) 26 Randy Penneroud, Anderson, SC (CH) 26 Michael O’Rourke, Fort Campbell, KY (CH) 27 Posey Branscome, Charlotte, NC (CH) 27 Saul Burleson, Weaverville, NC (CH) 28 Ronald King, Midland, GA (PC) 28 Mark Tidsworth, Chapin, SC (PC) 29 Paul Mullen, Clemmons, NC (CH) 30 Jeffrey Ross, Iwakani, Japan (CH)

Church Starters

2 Clint Akins, Fort Walton Beach, FL (CST) 27 Joshua James, Salisbury, MD (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

2 Karen Alford, Uganda (FP) 6 Jeff Lee, Macedonia (FP) 10 Brooke, Southeast Asia (FP) 11 Phoebe Khano, 2010, Belgium (FPC) 13 Shelia Earl, Emeritus (FP) 13 Earl Martin, Emeritus (FP) 16 Anita Snell Daniels, Emeritus (FP) 21 _______, Middle East (FP) 22 Becky Smith, Emeritus (FP) 25 Sue Smith, Fredericksburg, VA (FP) 27 Macarena Aldape, Spain (FP) 28 Abigail Parks, 2004, Slovakia (FPC) 28 Joel Whitley, Emeritus (FP) 30 Lucas Pittman, 2003, Miami, FL (FPC)

Staff Members

1 Kasey Jones (S-Decatur) 8 Jay Kieve (S-South Carolina) 10 Jim Smith, Atlanta, GA (FP/S-Decatur) 12 Jason Coker (S-Mississippi) 12 Harry Rowland (S-Decatur) 13 Devita Parnell (S-Decatur) 18 Jody Long (S-Georgia) 20 Steven Porter (S – Decatur) 23 Dihanne Moore (S – Decatur) 24 Rob Fox (S-Decatur) www.cbf.net/pray 30 Rick McClatchy (S-Texas)

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Jessica Hearne

DECEMBER 1-8

Danville, Virginia

www.cbf.net/hearne Jessica Hearne, along with her husband, Joshua, serves among people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, hunger, poverty, addiction and other injustices through Grace and Main Fellowship. This intentional, ecumenical Christian community is devoted to the practices of hospitality, simplicity, shared life and resources, common prayer and grassroots community development. The foundation of their ministry is simple: building relationships and community.

Pray for: • • • • •

the family and friends of a long-time Grace and Main member who passed away recently. people experiencing homelessness, poverty and other injustices. developing grassroots leaders and new expressions of God’s kingdom in our neighborhoods. new homes to join the Hearnes in hospitality and opening extra rooms to provide shelter, food and family. the multiplication of peace, justice and love in our neighborhoods.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Isaiah 2:5

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Karen Morrow

DECEMBER 9-15

Fort Worth, Texas www.cbf.net/morrow Karen Morrow ministers among internationals and refugees who have been forced to flee their home countries due to violence and persecution and are being resettled in Texas. Karen seeks to be an advocate for the needs of these refugee families, working to inform, educate and engage Christians and churches in relational ministries with refugees. She is passionate about walking alongside refugees as they acclimate to life in the U.S. through ESL and “Ready for School,” a family literacy project for preschoolers and their parents.

Pray for: • •

•

a refugee friend who is suffering from mental health issues and for family and friends trying to support her through this difficult situation. living wage jobs for refugees, many of whom were professionals in their home countries and struggle to find work in the U.S. Pray for employers willing to hire and retrain them for alternate jobs. the funding and volunteers needed to lead and expand the "Ready for School" program.

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Matthew 11:4-5

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Greg and Sue Smith

DECEMBER 16-24

Fredericksburg, Virginia www.cbf.net/smith

Greg and Sue Smith serve the first-generation Latino immigrant community in Fredericksburg, Virginia, through LUCHA Ministries, Inc.. This holistic ministry addresses the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of immigrants by advocating for the rights of immigrants and their families, offering a legal services clinic, and helping them obtain services in Spanish. Greg and Sue equip others to work with the immigrant population by offering training and by serving as consultants to individuals, churches and other organizations.

Pray for: • • • • •

migrants in camps on the Mexican side of the border. Many are ill-prepared for the challenges that face them. local communities and congregations to be open to and accepting of their immigrant neighbors. newly-arrived Latino families to adapt to the realities of life in a different land. needs to be met and Christ to be revealed as the Smiths form relationships and offer services among immigrant friends. transformational development among Latino neighbors and friends.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Psalm 80:1-3 www.cbf.net/pray

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DECEMBER 25-31

Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. God is always near you and with you; leave God not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone, who came to visit you: why then must God be neglected? Do not then forget God, but think on God often, adore God continually, live and die with God; this is the glorious employment of a Christian; in a word, this is our profession, if we do not know it we must learn it. I will endeavor to help you with my prayers, and am yours in our Lord. from The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

John 1:1-5

CHRISTMAS

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December Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

1 Joseph Farry, Greenville, SC (CH) 2 Beth Joyner, Rochester, MN (CH) 2 Connie Beemer, Kirkwood, MO (CH) 2 Laura Roach, Morgantown, NC (CH) 3 Rosemary Barfield, Jeffersonville, IN (CH) 3 Ed Beddingfield, Buies Creek, NC (PC) 3 James Heath, Dry Prong, LA (CH) 3 David Wilson, Chapel Hill, NC (CH) 4 Jose Albovias, Louisville, KY (CH) 5 Kenn Lowther, Columbus, OH (CH) 5 Chris O’Rear, Nashville, TN (PC) 7 Robert Wilder, Jacksonville, FL (CH) 8 Tommy Deal, Dalton, GA (CH) 8 Edward Erwin, Pensacola, FL (CH) 8 Shane Gaster, Deland, FL (CH) 8 Virginia King, Columbia, SC (CH) 8 Donald Kriner, Canton, GA (CH) 9 Robert Gregory, Waldorf, MD (CH) 9 Wayne Hyatt, Spartanburg, SC (PC) 10 Beth Roberts, Chapel Hill, NC (CH) 10 Gary Strickland, Sioux Falls, ID (PC) 10 James Williams, Montgomery, AL (CH) 13 Rick Landon, Lexington, KY (PC) 13 Scott Lee, Snellville, GA (CH) 13 Frank Stillwell, Lexington, KY (PC) 13 Robin Sullens, Dallas, TX (PC) 15 James Close, Louisville, KY (CH) 15 Sheree Jones, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 16 Lee Ann Rathbun, Austin, TX (CH) 17 Buddy Presley, North Augusta, SC (CH) 17 Ronald Wilson, Northport, AL (CH) 18 Loris Adams, Indian Trail, NC (CH) 18 Joel DeFehr, Oklahoma City, OK (CH) 19 Bernard Morris, Chester, VA (CH) 19 James Palmer, Pensacola, FL (CH) 20 Robert Brasier, Queen Creek, AZ (CH) 20 Melissa L. Dowling, Austin, TX (CH) 20 Larry Glover-Wetherington, Durham, NC (PC) 20 Alan Willard, Blacksburg, VA (PC) 21 Bethany McLemore, Roanoke, VA (PC) 21 Deborah Wall, Smithfield, NC (CH) 22 Sarah Wofford, Mooresville, NC (CH) 23 Frances Brown, Surfside Beach, SC (PC)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

23 Robert Elkowitz, Cumming, GA (CH) 23 Steven Ivy, Indianapolis, IN (CH) 23 Hal Lee, Clinton, MS (CH) 23 Linda Strange, Denton, TX (CH) 24 Michael Carter, Dallas, TX (CH) 26 Freddy Hinson, Rocky River, OH (CH) 26 Scottie Stamper, Charlotte, NC (CH) 26 Nicole Tota, Tampa, FL (CH) 27 Larry Austin, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 27 Solon Smith, Louisville, KY (CH) 28 Claudia Forrest, Cordova, TN (CH) 28 John Halbrook, Pound Ridge, NY (PC) 28 Thomas Holbrook, Berea, KY (PC) 29 Kimberly Miller, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 29 Art Wiggins, Norfolk, VA (CH) 30 Shay Crenshaw, Raleigh, NC (CH) 30 James Garrison, Arden, NC (CH) 30 Kenneth Kelly, Black Mountain, NC (CH) 30 Ramona Reynolds-Netto, Orlando, FL (CH) 30 Lex Robertson, Oklahoma City, OK (CH) 31 David “Tod” Smith, Farmington, NM (CH)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

3 Shane McNary, Slovakia (FP) 3 Gennady Podgaisky, Ukraine (FP) 4 Elizabeth Richards, Emeritus (FP) 9 Julie Brown, Emeritus (FP) 15 Anna Anderson, Scotland Neck, NC (FP) 16 Cayden Norman, 2000, Spain (FPC) 16 Ina Winstead, Emeritus (FP) 17 Maria-Grace Khano, 2014, Belgium (FPC) 19 Anna-Grace Acker, 2005, Uganda (FPC) 21 Lynn Hutchinson, Togo (FP) 27 Steve Clark, Louisville, KY (FP) 30 Revonda Deal, Emeritus (FP)

Staff Members

3 Rachel Gunter Shapard (S-Florida) 3 Andy Jung (S-North Carolina) 10 Terri Byrd (S-Alabama) 20 Kyle Kelly (S- Louisiana) 25 Natalie Moore (S-Decatur)

Available on iTunes and SoundCloud www.cbf.net/podcast

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PRAYING FOR CBF MINISTRIES

Ministerial Excellence Initiative

Decreasing Debt…Increasing Confidence…Building more effective leaders…

www.cbf.net/mei

The Ministerial Excellence Initiative (MEI) is designed to help pastoral and congregational leaders identify and respond to personal and congregational financial stress. Pastoral leaders cannot perform with maximum excellence when stressed about personal or congregational finances. Congregational leaders cannot make informed, strategic decisions when burdened with financial pressures. The priorities of the initiative include: • • • •

empowering pastoral leaders to minister and lead so that congregations can flourish. partnering with pastoral leaders and congregations to understand and overcome the economic barriers that impede their mission. equipping pastoral leaders and congregations by providing a variety of resources, including financial education, coaching and grants. providing executive coaching and peer learning as vital components for rising above personal anxiety about financial matters.

The initiative provides funding for personal debt relief for qualifying pastoral leaders. It also identifies resources and provides training events for both the pastoral leader and the congregation to aid in managing and maintaining financial integrity. Our goal is to stimulate a sense of confidence and increased knowledge in the lives of our pastoral leaders and congregations.

One pastoral leader shared: “You have no idea of the stress that my wife and I have been carrying. I’ve felt like a failure…failing my family, failing my church, failing in my faith. You have given me a plan to move beyond personal debt! I am forever grateful to you for the non-judgmental grace you have shown me in these months.”

Pray for: • •

our pastoral leaders and congregations. the faculty who help make this ministry such a blessing of grace and restoration. www.cbf.net/pray

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Being Present in the Little Things “We ought not be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God Little things make a difference. It’s practicing your baby language skills to invite someone to coffee. It’s taking a meal to new parents. It’s offering a ride to the elderly. It’s showing up time-after-time for a Bible study. It’s letting ALL you do express your love for God. It’s being present in the daily lives of those among whom you live.

No matter where we were going in the village of Derecske, Hungary, we walked by the house on the corner of our street. With a raggedy fence and a crumbling barn, the smell of cow manure could be overwhelming during warm weather. Kati, a woman whose life had been hard as evidenced by the deep crevices in her face and her cracked, scaly hands, was often at the gate when we passed. Though my Hungarian was at the level of a two-year-old. I greeted her and tried my best to inquire about her health. One day, Kati invited me in to see their cow milking business. She was proud of the automatic “milkers” and talked rapidly as she drug the apparatus through the muck, dipping it in a dirty bucket, before attaching it to the cow. I politely listened, catching only a few words of her explanation. A few days later, Kati knocked on my door with a two liter soda bottle full of very fresh milk! She said, “I know I’m not much to look at, but you took the time to talk to me. Thank you.” Taking the time to stop and listen made all the difference in our relationship. It was a little thing to me, but an act of love for her.

Tammy Stocks and her husband, Ralph, served through CBF as field personnel among the Roma of Eastern Europe for 22 years. She currently works as a nurse serving low income mothers as they venture into parenthood for the first time.

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Jon and Tanya Parks

JANUARY 1-8

Kosice, Slovakia

www.cbf.net/parks Jon and Tanya Parks serve among the Roma community in Košice, Slovakia, and surrounding areas. Despite their status as Europe’s largest ethnic minority group, many Roma — especially in Slovakia and other Eastern European countries —experience discrimination and live in generational cycles of poverty and dependence. Through teaching English and leading clubs at a school for Roma children and teaching English classes around the city and region, Jon and Tanya provide opportunities for Roma to gain skills that help lift them out of cycles of poverty and oppression.

Pray for: • • • • •

guidance for community development workers as they begin work in a new village in Eastern Slovakia.

Roma leaders to find their place in the global community and God’s Kingdom. parents and teachers committed to educating Roma children.

Gospel transformation so that unheard Roma voices may be amplified. local Christian leaders as they work to start community development and evangelism programs in Roma villages.

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

Psalm 8:1-2 www.cbf.net/pray

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Keith Holmes and Mary van Rheenen

JANUARY 9-15

Westervoort, Netherlands www.cbf.net/holmes Keith Holmes and Mary Van Rheenen serve as resource coordinators for Romany and those working with Romany throughout Europe, focusing on Christian media resources in major Romany languages and educational resources.

Keith partners with the Wycliffe translation team to create and distribute culturally appropriate media resources. Since Romany have an oral rather than a written culture, this includes dubbing scripture videos as well as working with Faith Comes

By Hearing to make audio recordings of the entire New Testament. Mary works with a network of educators and Romany workers to promote culturally-sensitive education for Romany children entering school. Mary and Keith also partner with the Moldovan Baptist Union to facilitate Romany outreach in the poorest country in Europe.

Pray for: • • • •

the dubbing of the Jesus video into the Oltenian Ursari language in Romania. equal access to education for Romany children. the Holy Spirit to work through scripture resources in Romani languages. safe travel to and from project sites and ongoing encouragement in our work.

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations….

Isaiah 42:6 34 |

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Anna Anderson

JANUARY 16-23

Rocky Mount, North Carolina www.cbf.net/anderson Anna Anderson is a CBF field personnel serving alongside her husband, LaCount, in northeastern North Carolina with Together for Hope, CBF’s rural development coalition, focusing on providing poverty relief.

Anna and LaCount are involved with Conetoe, a “food desert” community in eastern North Carolina, where they help to provide resources in partnership with Rev. Richard Joyner and the Conetoe Family Life Center. Through volunteers, residents, churches and other area organizations, the Center is able to provide healthy foods, resources and education to empower the youth and community.

Pray for: • • •

resources that can help in the Andersons’ ministry. wisdom and strength to meet the challenges of ministry in Halifax County. those with whom the Andersons work to gain understanding of their health and of God.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:4-7 www.cbf.net/pray

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Jenny Jenkins

JANUARY 24-31

Grand Goâve, Haiti www.cbf.net/jenkins Jenny Jenkins serves through medical and relational ministries in Grand Goâve, Haiti, a rural community approximately 60 miles southwest of Haiti’s capital. Many of the 125,000 people of Grand Goâve are farmers, tradesmen, small business owners and educators. Ninety percent of the population live in the mountains and countryside with limited access to medical care and other services including electricity. A lack of literacy, education and business skills plagues the community and there is an overwhelming need for full-time work. But God’s presence is strong and the local churches are active in discipleship, education and other efforts to transform the community.

Pray for: • • • •

the community and partners working to build the Mountain Medical Clinic in Magandou Jenny’s outreach to widows through food kits, worship, medical care, visitation and home repair. the mobile medical clinics that provide basic family medicine and follow-up on chronic issues like hypertension and diabetes. the Grand Goâve Education Initiative that offers tutoring, Christian mentoring and meal fellowship, literacy classes, educational seminars and other opportunities like Vacation Bible School and youth sports.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1 36 |

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January Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Rebecca Brown – Elizabethtown, KY (CH) 1 Varughese Jacob, Houston TX (CH) 1 Christina Pittman, Summerville, SC (CH) 3 Christopher Bowers, Powhatan, VA (PC) 3 William McCann, Madisonville, KY (CH) 4 Joshua Hickman, Newnan, GA (CH) 5 Richard Durham, Mount Pleasant, NC (CH) 5 Charles Kirby, Hendersonville, NC (CH) 5 Kevin Lynch, Spartanburg, SC (PC) 5 Calvin McIver, Sacramento, CA (CH) 5 Linda Serino, Memphis, TN (CH) 6 Larry Hardin, Topeka, KS (CH) 7 Richard Catlett, Richmond, VA (CH) 7 Denny Spear, Dunwoody, GA (CH) 8 Luis Caiza, Greenwood, SC (CH) 8 Rachel Hill, Shelby, NC (CH) 9 Paul Hamilton, Lodge, SC (CH) 9 Jeffrey Perkins, Knoxville, TN (CH) 10 Jill Zimmer, Columbia, TN (CH) 11 Michael Gerace, Casper, WY (CH) 11 Ed Waldrop, Augusta, GA (CH) 12 Neil Cochran, Greenville, SC (CH) 12 Larry Connelly, Decatur, GA (CH) 12 Phillip C Moody, Lexington KY (CH) 12 Scott Smallwood, Englewood, FL (CH) 14 Thomas Cantwell, Paducah, KY (CH) 15 Keith Ethridge, Yorktown, VA (CH) 15 John Foxworth, El Paso, TX (CH) 16 David Hormenoo, Durham, NC (CH) 17 Matthew Hanzelka, Round Rock, TX (CH) 17 Glenn Norris, Sherwood, AR (CH) 18 William Beaver, Fort Hood, TX (CH) 18 Jeanell Cox, Cary, NC (CH) 18 Justin Nelson, Mount Airy, NC (CH) 19 Jackie Ward, Goshen, KY (CH) 19 Lyndsay Williams, Chesterfield MO (CH) 20 Marshall Gupton, Smyrna, TN (CH) 20 Kevin Morgan, Pisgah Forest, NC (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

22 Bruce Moore, Barrington, IL (CH) 23 Richard Atkinson, Bastrop, TX (CH) 23 Brent Raitz, Cleveland, OH (CH) 23 Trevor Wilson, Knoxville, TN (CH) 25 Chris Nagel, Houston, TX (CH) 27 Darrell Bare, Charleston, SC (CH) 27 Ben Sandford, Hampton, VA (CH) 28 Chuck Ahlemann, Des Moines, IA (CH) 29 Christopher Bowers, Powhatan, VA (CH) 29 Darryl Jefferson, Charlotte, NC (CH) 30 Matthew Benorden, Lawrence, KS (CH) 30 Hal Ritter, Waco, TX (PC) 30 Nathan Rogers, Anchorage, AK (CH) 31 Rebecca Adrian, Irving, TX (CH) 31 Paul Smith, San Diego, CA (CH) 31 Ally Ohki, Owensboro, KY (CH)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

1 Sam Bandela, Emeritus (EP) 2 Jon Parks, Slovakia (FP) 2 Tammy Stocks, Emeritus (FP) 8 Ethan Lee, 2009, Macedonia (FPC) 9 Bill Cayard, Emeritus (FP) 10 Melody Harrell, Emeritus (FP) 13 Dianne McNary, Slovakia (FP) 17 Aaron Norman, 2005, Spain (FPC) 19 Kaelah-Joy Acker, 2008, Uganda (FPC) 23 David Bass, Cambodia (FP) 25 Mich, Emeritus (EP)

Staff Members

2 Rick Bennett (S-Tennessee) 4 Scott Hudgins (S-North Carolina) 6 Santiago Reales (CH/S-North Carolina) 14 Steve Graham (S-Oklahoma/Kansas) 22 Jim Hylton (S-North Carolina) 24 Stephen Reeves (S-Decatur) 29 Glen Foster (S-West Region)

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Diann Berry

FEBRUARY 1-7

McAllen, Texas www.cbf.net/berry Diann Berry engages individuals and communities located on the U.S./Mexico border through ministries and partnerships which address systemic poverty. Since 2011, her primary focus has been on literacy.

Literacy is a long-term development ministry which, in this case, targets Latino adults and families who want to address their lack of education or English skills in order to find better employment. Diann has helped to lead and maintain a local Literacy Center offering ESL and GED classes to the community.

Pray for: • • • •

the Central American families and individuals that have been separated or incarcerated for long periods of time in the U.S. strength and wisdom as Diann lends support to other community needs that stem from poverty. literacy initiatives, projects and grants that are part of Diann’s continuous efforts. partnerships with local, area and state organizations that also focus on literacy and poverty.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 www.cbf.net/pray

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Steve Clark and Annette Ellard

FEBRUARY 8-14

Louisville, Kentucky www.cbf.net/clark Steve Clark and his wife, Annette Ellard, serve among among the more than 1,000 refugees from Burma living in Louisville, Kentucky. Through their ministry of availability and hospitality, Annette and Steve strive to share the love of God through a host of ministries including pastoral care, social work, crisis management, education, advocacy and consulting to refugees and those who seek to serve them.

Steve and Annette welcome Karen, Chin, Karenni and other refugees from Burma while encouraging churches in Louisville and across the country to build relationships with these refugees and develop ministries to meet their spiritual and physical needs.

Pray for: • • •

advisory efforts with the Karen Community Committee, the local school district and hospital systems. churches that seek to connect with refugees from Burma and other countries. hospitality work among the refugees from Burma living in Louisville.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Matthew 5:14-15 40 |

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Cindy and Eddy Ruble

FEBRUARY 15-21

Malaysia and Indonesia www.cbf.net/ruble

Cindy and Eddy Ruble serve in Malaysia to transform systems of oppression, build capacity with partners, bring relief to vulnerable populations in the wake of disaster, and empower young people through higher education. Cindy works to create safer communities for women and children by aiding and empowering the survivors of human trafficking. Eddy is CBF’s International Disaster Response Coordinator, building on experience gained from responding to the Asian tsunami in 2004.

Pray for: • • • • •

areas hit hard by tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Pray for those who lost family and friends, their homes and businesses and their sense of safety. funds to be made available to help disaster survivors rebuild their lives. health challenges with extended family. local and global partners joining hands, resources and skills to bring Christ’s love and justice to those in need. justice and restoration for the survivors of human trafficking.

If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

Deuteronomy 30:16 www.cbf.net/pray

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FEBRUARY 22-29

Since by God’s mercy He gives us still a little time, let us begin in earnest, let us repair the lost time, let us return with a full assurance to that Father of mercies, who is always ready to receive us affectionately. Let us renounce, let us generously renounce, for the love of God, all that is not Himself; God deserves infinitely more.

Let us think of God perpetually. Let us put all our trust in God: I doubt not but we shall soon find the effects of it, in receiving the abundance of God’s grace, with which we can do all things, and without which we can do nothing but sin. from The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence

Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 99:9

ASH WEDNESDAY

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www.cbf.net/pray

February Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

1 Susan Collins, Stone Mountain, GA (CH) 1 Brad Jackson, Springfield, OH (CH) 2 Joe Alverson, Nicholasville, KY (CH) 2 Veronica Martinez-Gallegos, Concord, NC (CH) 2 Terry Tatro, Louisville, KY (CH) 3 Richard Dayringer, Grove, OK (PC) 3 Rachel Erickson, Lupton City, FL (CH) 3 William Elliott, Lexington, KY (CH) 4 Delores Kay Smith, Hickory, NC (CH) 5 Brian Cleveland, New Orleans, LA (CH) 5 Joanna Tarr, Kansas City, MO (CH) 8 John Boyles, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 8 Biju Chacko, Durham, NC (CH) 8 Larry Johnson, Midlothian, VA (CH) 9 Shaquisha Barnes, Durham, NC (CH) 9 Nathan Cooper, Greenville, SC (CH) 9 Jo Kirkendall, Biloxi, MS (CH) 9 Elizabeth Milazzotto, Louisville, KY (PC) 9 Willie Smith, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 10 James Rentz, Spartanburg, SC (PC) 10 Cynthia Thomas, Houston, TX (CH) 11 Lauralee Estes, Northport, AL (PC) 11 Katee Harris, Rose Hill, NC (CH) 11 Will Runyon, Albany, GA (CH) 13 Dianne Swaim, North Little Rock, AR (CH) 14 Roger Bolton, Conyers, GA (PC) 14 Charla Littell, Burlington, NC (CH) 15 Tolly Williamson, Decatur, GA (CH) 16 Rebecca Hewitt-Newson, Glendale, CA (CH) 16 Brad Mitchell, Birmingham, AL (CH) 16 Carter Sapp, Houston, TX (CH) 18 Edward Fleming, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 18 Jean Pruett, Charlotte, NC (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

20 Amanda Ducksworth, Smyrna, GA (CH/CST) 20 Younsoo Park, Fort Rucker, AL (CH) 21 Rebecca Church, Louisville, KY (CH) 21 Linda McComb, Clinton, MS (CH) 21 Jeffery Thompson, Gainesville, GA (CH) 22 Stephanie McLeskey, Mars Hill, NC (CH) 23 Michelle Robinson, Columbia, SC (CH) 24 Edwin Badillo, Levittown, Puerto Rico (CH) 24 Danny Tomlinson, Belton, TX (CH) 25 Lindell Anderson, Fort Worth, TX (CH) 25 Rick Foster, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 26 Christa Chappelle, High Point, NC (CH) 26 Rodney Craggs, Louisville, KY (CH) 26 Sheryl Johnson, Richmond, VA (CH) 26 Louise Mason, Richmond, VA (CH) 27 Linda Moore, Greenville, NC (CH)

Church Starters

14 Heather Folliard, Durham, NC (CST) 16 Kanisha Billingsly, Lawrenceville, GA (CST) 28 Leo Garcia, Tucson, AZ (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

12 Sasha Zivanov, St. Louis, MO (FP) 25 Mira Zivanov, St. Louis, MO (FP)

Staff Members

5 Rubén Ortiz (S-Decatur) 8 Taisha Seabolt (S-Decatur) 9 Ray Johnson (S-Florida) 14 Grace Martino (S-Decatur) 21 Ellen Sechrest (S-Decatur)

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Stephanie Vance

MARCH 1-8

Athens, Alabama www.cbf.net/vance

Stephanie serves as the manager of Together for Hope, CBF’s rural development coalition partnering in over 300 counties and parishes across the United States.

She also serves as the Area Coordinator for Mission Teams for the Rural Americas Team of CBF field personnel.

Launched in 2001, Together for Hope is a long-term commitment to working with people in the nation’s poorest counties in order to effect change and break the cycle of economic disparity. The ministry is about establishing long-term relationships, listening, learning and walking alongside local leaders. The hope is that communities will be transformed as will the churches and individuals who serve in focal counties.

Pray for: • • •

rural and urban ministers and practitioners who may feel isolated in their work. Pray that they feel God’s sustaining presence in their communities. those working in the rural Americas. the future of rural communities in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean.

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:3-4 www.cbf.net/pray

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Hunter and Mary

MARCH 9-15

Southeast Asia

www.cbf.net/huntermary Hunter and Mary serve among a minority group in Southeast Asia through education, resourcing, Bible translation and outreach. For 19 years, Hunter and Mary have formed relationships within this minority group that is feared and misunderstood and with partners who wish to share the good news with these people. In a country where less than one percent of the population is Christian and Christian resources are written from a different perspective, much of the ministry is outreach and creating and providing resources with the appropriate terminology. Alongside local and other partners, Hunter and Mary provide assistance with development work, ensuring human rights and obtaining legal status for immigrants.

Pray for: • • • • •

the air quality in Hunter and Mary’s home city. the English camp Hunter and Mary host. a network retreat for local church leaders and pastors. those Hunter and Mary serve to understand and accept the love, grace and forgiveness that can be found only in relationship with Christ Jesus. the unity of Christ’s body and the understanding that we all need each other.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 46 |

www.cbf.net/pray

Dianne and Shane McNary

MARCH 16-23

Kosice, Slovakia

www.cbf.net/mcnary Dianne and Shane McNary minister among the Roma people in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Although the largest minority population in Europe, the Roma experience discrimination in all areas of life—from acceptance in church to education and employment and access to healthcare.

The McNarys focus on partnership in three cities: • Decin, Czech Republic, where they provide support for a new church start.

• Cinobana, Slovakia, where they encourage and support ministry through a local community center.

• Vazec, Slovakia, where they work to build the reputation of local ministry partner, Jekh Drom, by facilitating short-term mission teams.

Pray for: • • • •

those living on the margins of their communities. opportunities to advocate locally, nationally and globally for those without a voice. continued good cooperation with local partners and encouragement as they face everyday struggles and discouragement. safety as Dianne and Shane travel to various ministry sites.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Psalm 23:6 www.cbf.net/pray

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Chaouki and Maha Boulos

MARCH 24-31

Beirut, Lebanon

www.cbf.net/boulos Chaouki and Maha Boulos have a vision to reach the people of the Middle East with the good news of the Lord Jesus. They have been sharing Christ’s love through celebrations, women’s ministry, children’s camps and medical/dental clinics. The light of Jesus shines amidst darkness.

Chaouki and Maha Boulos are Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel ministering in Lebanon and the Middle East through evangelism, leadership training and refugee aid. Their multi-faceted ministry includes refugee assistance, church planting, orphanage support, Christian family relief and the creation of a Christian conference center. In addition, Chaouki and Maha reach large crowds with the Gospel through multi-night open air “Celebrate Jesus” rallies.

Pray for: • • • • •

relief from the bad economic situation and rampant corruption in Lebanon. men, women and children served through the Boulos’ many ministries. safety in a turbulent area. peace and stability in the Middle East. more people to come to know Christ as their Savior.

I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:14 48 |

www.cbf.net/pray

March Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Brent Peery, Conroe, TX (CH) 1 Chris Scales, Lubbock, TX (CH) 2 Glenn Williams, Louisville, KY (PC) 3 David Bosley, Vienna, VA (CH) 4 Kristin Akins, Maitland, FL (CH) 4 Ed Lemmond, Athens, TN (CH) 5 Buddy Corbin, Asheville, NC (CH) 5 Donnie Marlar, Rochester, NY (CH) 7 Wade Rowatt, Louisville, KY (PC) 8 Marian Boyer, Nottingham, MD (CH) 9 Stuart Collier, Vestavia, AL (CH) 10 Dean Akers, Washington, DC (CH) 10 Cindy Bishop, Piedmont, SC (CH) 11 Julia Flores, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 11 Lisa Nisbet, Louisville, KY (PC) 11 Beth Ogburn, Cary, NC (CH) 11 Rebekah Ramsey, Concord, NC (CH) 12 Leah Leath, Concord, NC (CH) 15 Carita Brown, Catonsville, MD (CH) 17 Mary Gessner, Madison, AL (PC) 18 Dodie Huff-Fletcher, Louisville, KY (PC) 18 Gregory Qualls, Mooresboro, NC (CH) 18 Beth Riddick, Fredericksburg, VA (CH) 18 David Robinson, Newport News, VA (PC) 19 Jennifer Bordenet, Orlando, FL (CH) 19 Angel Lee, Durham NC (CH) 19 Kim Schmitt, Fayetteville, GA (CH) 20 Anna Allred, Asheboro, NC (CH) 20 Cynthia Corey, Brunswick, GA (CH) 20 William Hemphill, Stone Mountain, GA (CH) 21 Walter Jackson, Louisville, KY (PC) 21 Alan Melton, Waynesboro, VA (PC) 21 Michael Strickland, Falls Church, VA (CH) 23 J. Claude Huguley, Nashville, TN (CH) 24 Gina Biddle, Dallas, TX (CH) 24 Michael Gross, Roswell, GA (CH) 24 Emory (Chip) Reeves, Martinez, GA (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

24 Mark Spain, Canyon Lake, TX (CH) 24 Todd Walter, Inman, SC (CH) 25 Gary Nistler, Hobbsville, NC (CH) 25 John Thompson, Texarkana, TX (CH) 26 Gale Dollar, Glen Carbon, IL (CH) 27 Ken Chapman, Jefferson City, MO (CH) 27 David Gladson, Pendleton, SC (CH) 27 Amy Karriker, Great Falls, MT (CH) 28 Lynda Schupp, Corinth, TX (CH) 29 Phil McCarley, Charles Town, WV (CH) 29 Michael Shea, Mars Hill, NC (CH) 30 John Emmart, Stoughton, WI (CH) 30 Layne Rogerson, Cheraw, SC (CH) 31 Dale Cross, Lawrenceville, GA (CH) 31 Tim Madison, Clearwater, FL (CH)

Church Starters

2 Erick Moon, Cincinnati, OH (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

4 Jane Martin, Emeritus (FP) 6 Ronnie Adams, Emeritus (FP) 7 Laura Foushee, Japan (FP) 9 Michelle Norman, Spain (FP) 15 Mary van Rheenen, Netherlands (FP) 20 Ada Foushee, 2019, Japan (FPC) 25 Jade Acker, Uganda (FP)

Staff Members

2 Amy Cook (S-North Carolina) 5 Ray Higgins (S-Arkansas) 12 Jim Crumpler (S-North Central Region) 16 Trisha Miller Manarin (S-Mid-Atlantic) 19 Bob Fox (S-Kentucky) 21 Aaron Weaver (S-Decatur) 22 Paulette Blakely (S- Decatur)

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Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey

APRIL 1-8

New York City, New York www.cbf.net/tommey

Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey is the ministry facilitator for Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries in New York City, which seeks to encourage the social, educational, spiritual and economic growth of the Hell's Kitchen community. The ministry offers non-sectarian, multifaceted educational opportunities and direct services to community residents through partnerships. Lesley-Ann works closely with Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries, offering support and leadership for their programs and investing in the lives of veterans who have experienced homelessness, survivors of domestic violence and students seeking greater educational opportunities.

Pray for: • • • •

a Living Well participant who had her first child last year, that she will continue to grow into her role as a single mother. faithfulness and discernment to respond to God’s guiding. the courage to face new challenges as they arise. the compassion needed to share the peace and love of Christ.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8 www.cbf.net/pray

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APRIL 9-15

I must, in a little time, go to God. What comforts me in this life is, that I now see God by faith; and I see Him in such a manner as might make me say sometimes, I believe no more, but I see. I feel what faith teaches us, and, in that assurance and that practice of faith, I will live and die with God. from The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4

EASTER 52 |

www.cbf.net/pray

Carson and Laura Foushee

APRIL 16-22

Tokyo, Japan

www.cbf.net/foushee Carson and Laura Foushee serve in partnership with the Japan Baptist Convention. During their first three years as CBF field personnel, they served alongside Japan Baptist Convention churches in Kanazawa and Toyama by leading English ministries in both congregations, including regular preaching through translation and leading English Bible studies for adults. Carson and Laura led weekly English classes for kindergarten mothers and English summer camps for families. They also helped to connect the Japanese congregations with both Christians and non-Christians through worship and fellowship at Kanazawa International Baptist Church, the English ministry of Kanazawa Baptist.

Pray for: • • •

the Foushees as they transition from language studies to full-time ministry in Japanese alongside Japan Baptist Convention partners. adjustment to life as a family of three, following the birth of daughter, Ada. new ministry and partnership opportunities in Tokyo and other cities in Japan.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:19

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Scarlette Jasper

APRIL 23-30

Somerset, Kentucky www.cbf.net/jasper

Scarlette Jasper serves with Together for Hope in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern and south central Kentucky. A longtime champion for the economically disadvantaged, Scarlette ministers within some of the poorest counties in the United States. She serves as the director of Olive Branch Ministries, which assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic abuse, and families in medical and financial crisis.

Drawing on local assets, Scarlette partners with schools, housing authorities, churches, agencies and other local entities to serve those most in need. These partnerships enable Scarlette to organize grassroots campaigns that enable the materially poor to gain traction in society.

Pray for: • • •

those who feel trapped in generational poverty. those facing addictions or other barriers to finding stability. the community of existing partners and those feeling inspired to join in ministry with these families.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:22-23 54 |

www.cbf.net/pray

April Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Jennifer Dill, Pittsburgh, PA (CH) 1 Craig Walker, High Point, VA (CH) 2 Dorcus Cater, Snellville GA (CH) 2 Christie McTier, Dearing, GA (CH) 2 Wayde Pope, Crestview, FL (CH) 3 Mark Reece, Elkin, NC (CH) 3 Wayne Sibley, Pineville, LA (CH) 3 Thomas Wicker, Salado, TX (CH) 5 Patrick Baxter, Atlanta, GA (CH) 5 Darcie Jones, Columbia, SC (CH) 6 Lauren Deer, Raleigh, NC (CH) 6 Steven Mills, Flat Rock, NC (CH) 7 Bonnie Hicks, Woodstock, GA (CH) 7 Mary Wrye, Henderson, KY (CH) 8 Laura Johnson, New Bern, NC (CH) 8 Drexel Rayford, Birmingham, AL (CH) 9 Jim Pruett, Charlotte, NC (PC) 9 Steve Vance, Charlotte, NC (CH) 10 Alan Rogers, Kaneohe, HI (CH) 11 Laura Broadwater, Louisville, KY (CH) 13 Landon Alberson, Chula, GA (CH) 13 Steve Sullivan, Little Rock, AR (CH) 13 Brian A. Warfield, Spencer, OK (CH) 14 Kerri Kroeker, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (CH) 15 Jeff Flowers, Evans, GA (CH) 16 Kay Wright, Virginia Beach, VA (CH) 17 Allison Anderson, Morgantown, WV (CH) 17 David Jones, Newberg, OR (CH) 18 Cyrus Bush, Pfafftown, NC (CH) 18 Ray Cooley, Wallingford, CT (CH) 18 Mason Jackson III, Fort Myers, FL (CH) 18 Nathan Solomon, Newport, RI (CH) 19 Michael Lee, Hendersonville, NC (CH) 19 Zach Medlin, Salt Lake City UT (CH) 20 Susan Stephenson, Edmond, OK (CH) 22 Judith Wortelboer-Grace, Temple, TX (CH) 22 Barry Pennington, Blue Springs, MO (CH) 23 David Kolb, Lexington, NC (CH) 23 Isaac Lopex, Crowley, TX (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

24 Brenda Atkinson, Greenville, SC (CH) 24 Rhonda Gilligan-Gillespie, Memphis, TN (CH) 24 Laura Mannes, San Antonio, TX (CH) 24 Travis Smith, Forest City, NC (CH) 24 Leslie Stith, Liberty, MO (CH) 25 Connie Graham, Fitzgerald, GA (CH) 27 Pat Davis, Baton Rouge, LA (CH) 27 Pete Parks, Williamsburg, VA (CH) 28 Gary McFarland, Charlotte, NC (PC) 29 Ted Dougherty, Winston-Salem, NC (PC) 30 Melissa Neal, Floyd, VA (CH) 30 Charles Wallace, Fort Worth, TX (CH)

Church Starters

6 Felix Iyoko, Raleigh, NC (CST) 7 Nathan Dean, Atlanta, GA (CST) 17 Doug McKinney, Salisbury, MD (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

1 Greg Smith, Fredericksburg, VA (FP) 2 Leonora Newell, Emeritus (FP) 4 Truett, 2011, Southeast Asia (FPC) 5 Eddy Ruble, Southeast Asia (FP) 7 LaCount Anderson, Scotland Neck, NC (EP) 9 Jessica Hearne, Danville, VA (FP) 9 Scarlette Jasper, Somerset, KY (FP) 15 _______, Middle East (FP) 16 Kaitlyn Parks, 2006, Slovakia (FPC) 22 Brittany, China (FP)

Staff Members

8 Tangie McKinley (S-Decatur) 10 Joi Fitzgerald (S-Decatur) 15 Jeff Langford (S-Heartland) 18 Susan Crumpler (S-North Central Region) 25 Victoria Whatley (S-Decatur) 28 Carrol Wilson (S-Decatur)

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The Gift of the Present “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the ‘present.’”

When I first heard this quote, I was merely a 12 year-old budding theologian watching Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda. It has stuck with me ever since. In the scene, Po was seriously doubting his purpose as a Kung Fu Master and Master Oogway, his teacher, reminded him of the power of receiving and being obedient in the present moment.

The movie helped me understand that practicing presence is really the act of relinquishing control. We so often desire to manipulate and grasp what God wants us to do and become when He more frequently is asking us to just be – to be obedient in the very moment, to be in relationship with Him, to be responsive to the little details and decisions that make up our daily lives. In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to, “Take [our] everyday, ordinary life—[our] sleeping, eating, going-towork, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering” (MSG).

What is this offering but a sacrifice of certainty?

God is the God that presides over the past and the future. What a relief to know the ends are out of our control and into the hands of the One who is. Hearing God, seeking God’s will, and loving others becomes a whole lot easier. We are free to live in communion with the Lord, right now. When we practice presence and trust in God, we can see the present for what it is, a gift.

Grace Martino is a ministries assistant for congregations and leadership at the CBF Global office in Decatur, Ga. She has a heart for community development and desires to help the Church create bridges of love with the world around it.

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www.cbf.net/pray

Pat

MAY 1-8

Persian Ministry www.cbf.net/persianministry Pat and her husband, Mich, serve among Persian-speaking people worldwide and across the East Coast of the United States through a creative ministry of technology. Pat's goals are to bear witness to Jesus Christ, cultivate beloved community, serve the Global Church and assist with poverty and migration issues.

Mich and Pat's ministry includes evangelism and discipleship among Persian speakers, leadership training and equipping Persian Christian workers, partnership and networking with others who reach out to Persian speakers, Persian Christian resource development and distribution and humanitarian relief and human rights advocacy for Persian speakers worldwide.

Pray for: • • • •

an Iranian pastor to come alongside and take over responsibilities of the church in Virginia.

Persian-speaking people to know the love of Christ and to follow God’s calling. communities of faith to develop among Persian speakers. partnerships with other organizations, churches and individuals in this effort.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

Acts 2:42-43

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Janée Angel

MAY 9-15

Antwerp, Belgium www.cbf.net/angel Janée Angel serves in Antwerp, Belgium, working particularly among the Arabic-speaking community, which is ever growing in the midst of the world refugee crisis. Janée and her husband, Hary, live in a Moroccan neighborhood and minister primarily with those who come from the Middle East.

Janée and her family established the first evangelical Arabic church in Antwerp.

The church holds weekly services and Bible studies and has a music ministry and children’s program. Janée also hosts women’s events and a prayer group. Janée and Hary seek to meet the needs of the rapidly growing refugee community, meeting newcomers, hosting refugee dinners and opening their home to those with nothing.

Pray for: • • • •

the new ministry house in Antwerp and the ministries done there.

Arabic speakers to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. protection of those from a Muslim background who come to know Christ. protection, wisdom, direction and provision for Janée’s family.

My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

Psalm 31:15-16

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Kim and Marc Wyatt

MAY 16-22

Research Triangle, North Carolina www.cbf.net/wyatt Kim and Marc serve among the immigrant and refugee populations of North Carolina’s capital, an eight-county region of approximately two million people. The Wyatts help connect resources and mobilize churches to welcome and love their international neighbors.

In 2015, they established Welcome House Raleigh, shaped by their previous ministries to refugees in Canada. Welcome House Raleigh is a temporary reception home for refugees who are resettling in the area that do not have a place to live upon arrival. Welcome House provides a safe home, settlement assistance and bridges into the community. Similar refugee ministries are now underway in Wilmington and Durham, N.C.

Pray for: • • •

individuals and congregations to open their hearts and homes to refugees and immigrants by starting new Welcome Houses in their communities. new House Hosts as they adapt to living at Welcome House Raleigh and seek to provide Christian community to the residents. opportunities to share the Gospel in culturally relevant ways with refugees, immigrants, international students and trafficking victims.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.

John 14:15-16 www.cbf.net/pray

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Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

MAY 23-31

www.cbf.net/chaplaincy Cecelia Walker serves as the director of clinical pastoral education for the Brookwood Baptist Health System and as the director of pastoral care at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. She recalls how a hospital chaplain affected her call to ministry. After her husband’s sudden death, a hospital chaplain came to offer support and asked if she would like to go see her deceased husband.

The chaplain encouraged her and said he would be with her. “When we went to see my husband, he was in a bed and looked as if he were sleeping. We were able to have that last time with him in such a peaceful way and to say our goodbyes.

As I was nearing the end of my studies at Beeson Divinity School, I was thinking about what a Baptist woman in Alabama could do in ministry. I thought about that hospital chaplain and I called him. He told me about clinical pastoral education and that started my journey toward chaplaincy.”

Pray for: • •

•

those participating in Clinical Pastoral Education to enhance their ministry. those who serve as clinical pastoral educators and for the ministry they offer to clergy as they grow in self-awareness and add to their knowledge and skills to minister with persons in crisis. chaplains and counselors who walk with people during times of crisis and trauma in their lives.

God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

Psalm 68:6 62 |

www.cbf.net/pray

May Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Michael Coggins, Navarre, FL (CH) 2 Karen Borchert, Talbott, TN (CH) 2 Cathy Cole, Aiken, SC (CH) 2 Stephen Murphy, Hull, MA (CH) 2 Deborah Reeves, Atlanta, GA (CH) 4 Johann Choi, Fairfield, CA (CH) 4 Gary Metcalf, Kingsport, TN (CH) 4 Skip Wisenbaker, Atlanta, GA (CH) 5 Karen Long, Birmingham, AL (CH) 6 Carol Dalton, Swannanoa, NC (CH) 6 Jessica Jasper, Elizabethtown, KY (CH) 8 Rusty Elkins, Edmond, OK (CH) 8 Brenda Pace Jones, Hendersonville, NC (PC) 9 Rich Behers, Lakeland, FL (CH) 9 Leigh Jackson, Austin, TX (CH) 11 Leah Boling, Waipahu, HI (CH) 11 Jonna Garvin, Manassas, VA (CH) 11 Cy Miller, Marion, NC (CH) 13 Tracy Dunn, Hereford, TX (CH) 13 Samson Naidoo, Denison, TX (CH) 14 Scott McBroom, Charleston, SC (PC) 14 JoAnne Morris, Louisville, KY (CH) 15 Melina Grier, St. Joseph, MO (CH) 16 Lauren Hall, Wilmore, KY (CH) 16 Steven Harris, Salem, VA (PC) 16 John Reeser, Sautee Nacoochee, GA (CH) 17 Jennifer Call, Salem, VA (CH) 18 Clay Polson, Waco, TX (CH) 18 Greg Slate, Littleton, CO (CH) 19 Mary Ahn, Round Lake, IL (CH) 20 Julie Perry, Charlottesville, VA (CH) 20 Marcy Thomas, Brentwood, TN (CH) 22 Jon Ivy, Tuscaloosa, AL (CH) 22 Travis Yelton, Almogardo, NM (CH) 23 Polly Barnes, Brandon, MS (CH) 23 John Schumacher, Columbia, SC (CH) 24 Paulette Porter-Hallmon, Spartanburg, SC (CH) 26 Stephanie Coyne, Conyers, GA (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

26 Valerie Hardy, Loganville, GA (CH) 28 Hardy Clemons, San Antonio, TX (PC) 28 Kenneth LeBon, Fayetteville, NC (CH) 28 David Smith, Alpharetta, GA (PC) 29 Aleesa Naish, Birmingham, AL (CH) 31 Stacey Buford, Murfreesboro, TN (CH) 31 Blake Miller, Atlanta GA (CH) 31 LouRae Myhre-Weber, Twin Bridges, MT (CH) 31 Kelley Woggon, Louisville, KY (CH)

Church Starters

8 Christopher Jones, Lavon, TX (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

5 Austin, 2004, Thailand (FPC) 9 David Harding, Emeritus (FP) 11 Larry Ballew, Emeritus (EP) 11 Robbi Francovich, Emeritus (FP) 16 Lauren Bass, Cambodia (FP) 16 Alex Ruble, 2001, Southeast Asia (FPC) 17 Nell Green, Houston, TX (FP) 21 Carson Foushee, Japan (FP) 21 Pat, New Jersey (FP) 21 Ron Winstead, Emeritus (FP) 24 Meron Acker, 2000, Uganda (FPC) 25 Stephanie Vance, Athens, AL (FP) 25 Rick Burnette, Ft. Meyers, FL (FP) 26 Hunter, Thailand (FP)

Staff Members

6 Terry Maples (S-Virginia) 8 Mike Massar (S- Louisiana) 20 Eddie Hammett (S-North Carolina) 24 Harold Phillips (S-Heartland) 26 Gerry Hutchinson (S-Decatur) 26 Daniel Todd (S-Decatur) 30 Lane Riley (S-South Carolina)

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PRAYING FOR CBF MINISTRIES

Peer Learning Groups www.cbf.net/plg

For ministers, authentic, supportive relationships with peers are vital to health and success. CBF is committed to helping ministers find a group of colleagues to enrich their professional development and prevent isolation. Through CBF Peer Learning Groups (PLGs), ministers form together, shaping one another through opportunities for worship, spiritual formation, discussion of ministry-related issues and fellowship.

When distance is an issue, some Peer Learning Groups meet virtually via phone or video conference. Examples include seminary cohorts that want to continue meeting after graduation, clergy who share a particular theology or ministry focus or ministers with a particular study interest. CBF staff is ready to help make connections with like-minded colleagues, point ministers toward appropriate platforms for group meetings or suggest events around which a group can gather.

There are over 100 PLGs, with new groups forming all the time. Each group is facilitated by a convener and works collaboratively to determine the focus of their meetings. The Fellowship provides the groups with some funding as well as suggested resources related to promoting pastoral excellence and congregational health.

Contact plg@cbf.net for more information.

Pray for: • • • •

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Peer Learning Group conveners as they work to form and sustain their groups. the development of regional learning events.

Peer Learning Groups that meet virtually, to be able to overcome technological challenges presented by new ways of gathering. clergy in new places of ministry, who may find it particularly difficult to connect with peers.

www.cbf.net/pray

Karen

JUNE 1-8

North Africa www.cbf.net/karen-nafrica Karen serves in pastoral ministry with migrants and refugees in North Africa.

She is partnering with local churches as they minister to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the migrant community. Karen will spend the first two years of her ministry building relationships and skills that will equip her to serve effectively in the local context, including enrolling in intensive language courses.

Pray for: • • • • •

the leadership of Karen’s church as they navigate racial, theological, liturgical, linguistic and national diversity those who are training to become pastors in this context. the churches of North Africa as they respond to immigration in their area.

Karen, as she continues to learn French and Arabic.

Karen, as she builds relationships and a support system in her context.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

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Alicia and Jeff Lee

JUNE 9-15

Skopje, Macedonia www.cbf.net/lee

Alicia and Jeff Lee engage in ministries among the ethnic groups of Skopje. They work alongside local grassroots organizations to address the needs of families living in extreme poverty, people neglected by society and children rescued from or who are at risk for human trafficking. They participate in and organize weekly activities at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities and are also partnering in the development of a faith-based children’s home.

Alicia provides counseling services for English speakers in Skopje, while Jeff consults for farmers and local governments to address the environmental issues within Macedonia. Agricultural work includes a cow-bank project that provides livestock to local farmers through a small business development program.

Pray for: • • •

the soon-to-be new residents of Poraka and their adjustment to life in community. the continued growth and impact of the cow bank and the pastors, their farm and their congregations. the Lee family as they continue to build relationships, live in community and share the love of God with those around them.

So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Exodus 19:7-8a 66 |

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Young Baptists

JUNE 16-22

www.cbf.net/young-baptists We all face transitions in life, but, as we grow older and gain life experiences, those transitions typically become easier to navigate. For those young Baptists among us, transition may come with just a tad bit more anxiety. Remember all those first, early life transitions? Walking into the youth group classroom as a sixth grader.

Sitting behind the wheel of a car alone with your brand new driver’s license.

Deciding on a major. Interviewing for a job.

Young Baptists need our support more than ever, even if their way of living life drastically differs from our way. The context in which they are making decisions seems a bit more complicated. Family may look different for them. The order in which they move forward through life may confuse us, and we may not understand their life choices. Our call is to enter their lives as Jesus entered ours, clothed with humility, love and hope. As they navigate the stages and transitions of life, they need mentors who will listen and encourage and pray for them.

Pray for: • •

God to call and equip ministers who love youth and young adults and who will invest in them with patience and persistence. your congregation to be a place where youth and young adults feel at home, without judgment, and are given opportunities to lead and inspire.

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

Jeremiah 20:9 www.cbf.net/pray

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Brooke and Mike

JUNE 23-30

Southeast Asia

www.cbf.net/brookemike Brooke and Mike serve in Southeast Asia among a community to which Christianity is fairly new. They work with the local church to offer hospitality to students from the city’s many college and university campuses. They seek transformational development through education initiatives and English as a Second Language training in public and private religious schools and in their neighborhood. Mike and Brooke also bear witness to the peace of Christ as they partner with interfaith colleagues to promote religious freedom, interreligious dialogue, and reconciliation in a country splintered by religious tensions.

Pray for: • • • •

continued guidance with a new young women’s Bible study. peace among the country’s many religious groups. the universities and the students Brooke and Mike serve.

Christian and other religious minorities, that they would have the freedom to worship fully.

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

Psalm 89:1-2

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June Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Thong, Lun, Houston, TX (CH) 2 Inakali Kuruvilla, San Antonio, TX (CH) 2 Gary Sparks, Tyler, TX (CH) 3 Susan Arnold, La Grange, KY (CH) 4 Sarah Smith, Winston Salem, NC (CH) 5 Jennifer Clamon, Indianapolis, IN (CH) 5 Stacy Sergent, Mount Pleasant, SC (CH) 5 David Smelser, Lucedale, MS (CH) 6 Wayne Bruner, Augusta, GA (CH) 6 Michael Costner, Valdese, NC (CH) 6 Todd DeLaney, Alexandria, VA (CH) 6 Parker Ebglin-Artz, Aurora, CO (CH) 6 Greg McClain, Lillington, NC (CH) 7 Butch Stillwell, Candler, NC (CH) 7 Carol Wilkinson, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 8 Larry Lawhon, Stephens City, VA (CH) 8 Randy Parks, Sparta, NJ (CH) 8 Clay Porter, Stanton, TX (CH) 8 Joseph Primeaux, Honolulu, HI (CH) 8 Jeromy Wells, Beale AFB, CA (CH) 9 Sara Stubbs, Monroe, NC (CH) 9 Patricia Taylor, Tuscaloosa, AL (CH) 9 Doug Wiggington, Pineville, LA (CH) 10 Cindy Goza, Little Rock, AR (CH) 10 Christopher McDaniel, Charleston, SC (CH) 10 Ansia Picou, Highland, NY (CH) 10 Michael Osment, Martin, TN (CH) 12 Mark Chambers, Ness City, KS (CH) 12 Emma Jane Conley, Round Rock, TX (CH) 12 Brady Lanoue, Washington, DC (CH) 13 Richard Forest, Louisville, KY (CH) 13 Kim Thompson, Columbia, SC (CH) 14 Tracey Lopez, Vienna, VA (CH) 15 Melissa Whaley, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 16 Kimberly Emery, Hartville, OH (CH) 18 Bill Hayes, Bogart, GA (CH) 20 Tim Johns, San Diego, CA (CH) 20 Jeff Lancaster, Cartwright, OK (CH) 21 Jim Cook, Salisbury, NC (CH) 21 Susan Harthon, Indianapolis, IN (CH) 21 Jeff Hoppe, Broken Arrow, OK (CH) 21 Ken Lake, Fort Mill, SC (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

21 Adam Page, Kingsport, TN (CH) 22 Sharon Eldridge, Smithfield, NC (CH) 22 Joanne Henley, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 22 Jessica Prophitt, Anchorage, AK (CH) 23 David Lowe, Fort Worth, TX (CH) 24 Robert Brown, Henrico, VA (CH) 25 David Weatherspoon, Memphis, TN (CH) 26 Elias Crosby, Lilburn, GA (CH) 26 Anna Jacks, Birmingham, AL (CH) 26 Tamara Witte-Walczac, Baltimore, MD (CH) 28 Roger Rich, Lexington, SC (CH) 29 Kevin Adams, Cincinnati, OH (CH) 30 Ira Campbell, Nashville, TN (CH) 30 Margaret Guenther, Richmond, VA (PC) 30 Amy Holtz, Richmond, VA (CH)

Church Starters

23 Dustin Payne, Tomball, TX (CST) 29 Danny Buford, Memphis, TN (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

1 Karen, North Africa (FP) 7 Diann Berry, McAllen, TX (FP) 8 Janice Newell, Emeritus (FP) 9 Michelle Cayard, Emeritus (FP) 10 Kim Wyatt, Raleigh, NC (FP) 11 Joshua Hearne, Danville, VA (EP) 14 Chaouki Boulos, Lebanon (FP) 20 Lonnie Turner, Emeritus (FP) 22 Kirk, Thailand (FP) 23 Sarah Ballew, Emeritus (EP) 27 Alicia Lee, Macedonia (FP)

Staff Members

7 Gary Skeen (S-Decatur) 15 Josh Speight (S-Decatur 20 Wanda Kidd (S-North Carolina) ) 24 Latoya Cross (S-Decatur) 29 Carrie Harris (S-Decatur)

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Staying Focused on What Matters Being present seems easy enough. It just requires that you show up, right? Not at all. It is much more than that.

In our “insta”, multitasking, ADD, “in such a hurry,” world, it seems virtually impossible for us to be fully present. I cringe when I see parents on their phones when they are eating dinner or spending time with their kids.

Worse yet, I’ve found myself being distracted when I’ve tended to my own child. I’m returning a text message as he tells me about his day; or I’m rushing the bedtime story so that I can get him to sleep and get back to my work. In the mornings, I’m rushing him into the car to avoid being late for school.

It’s always, rush, rush, rush. Then one morning, he said, “You never let me take my time.” It stopped me cold. On another occasion, before telling me a story, he chastised me. “And don’t return any text messages while I am talking.”

In that moment, I wondered what could possibly be more important than listening to my child. I recalled an old professor saying that when it comes to children, “The days are long, but the years are fast.” It always resonates with me, particularly while seeing how quickly my child was growing up. It also reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s words telling us to, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” I often pray this when I am stressed or worried.

Little distractions and worries prevent me from being fully present with my child and with others. I pray that we all heed Paul’s advice and no longer allow worries about being on time or responding in time to prevent us from being present with our loved ones, because the day will surely come when we realize how quickly the years have passed.

Kimberlee Jones serves as associate minister at Lindsay Street Baptist Church, in Atlanta, Ga., focusing on social justice and community outreach. A Washington, D.C., native, Jones earned her BA at the College of William & Mary, a law degree from Georgetown University, a Masters in Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She and her husband, Charles, are proud parents of one son, Judah.

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Jade and Shelah Acker

JULY 1-8

Kampala, Uganda www.cbf.net/acker

Jade and Shelah Acker are committed to doing holistic ministry through Refuge and Hope International, an organization they operate and which they began in 2004 in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Each year, the organization offers skills and business training programs, youth and women’s ministry, spiritual development and social work programs to more than 1,000 refugees through the Center of Hope. These programs help refugees recover from the effects of war, realize self-sufficiency and become catalysts for change in their communities.

Pray for: • • • • • •

the Acker family. for the teachers and students at the Center of Hope.

Refuge and Hope’s social work team that ministers to refugee families and individuals in crisis situations. opportunities to bring the hope and healing found in Christ to hundreds of people who have experienced trauma. educational programs which provide practical knowledge, English and computer skills and high school diplomas. ministries for women who have been traumatized and exploited.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9 www.cbf.net/pray

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Ministry in the Middle East

JULY 9-15

Middle East

www.cbf.net/middleeast CBF field personnel serve in the Middle East and, due to the dangerous areas where they live and rising levels of persecution against Christians, their identities must remain anonymous. Their work is to plant churches, lead Bible studies, disciple new believers, focus on education and leadership development in local congregations as well as to facilitate a variety of vital programs and ministries to children, women and migrants. Serving alongside local partners, they also provide life-changing relief to Syrian refugees living in dire conditions.

Pray for: • • •

•

partner churches that have received threats – that they may have a spirit of calm. local churches and national leaders, for their strength and perseverance. ministries to the local orphanage, deaf school and blind schools to share Jesus’ love for children and provide for those at the lowest level in society.

The handicapped and the motherless and fatherless who are most at risk. refugees leaving Syria and other countries due to war and religious persecution. Children and babies are at particular risk.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

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Brittany and Casey

JULY 16-23

China

www.cbf.net/brittanycasey Brittany and Casey serve alongside the Christian church in China, where CBF has built strong relationships over the past 10 years. They are forming relationships with local church leaders to provide coaching, training and assistance in developing new areas of ministry and enhancing ongoing church ministries. As they learn Mandarin Chinese, they are investing in a long-term commitment to the ongoing ministries and relationships. As they acquire a deeper understanding of the needs in local churches, they are able to better partner with Chinese Christians and engage CBF churches with the mission of God in China.

Pray for: • • • •

Brittany and Casey’s Mandarin Chinese language study. the heightening of religious restrictions to be lessened in the near future. connections and relationships to be built in order to bear witness to Christ.

Brittany and Casey to be spiritually nourished.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

Psalm 139:1-3

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Church Starters

JULY 24-31

www.cbf.net/churchstarts Partnering with the CBF Church Starting Initiative is a three-step process: Step 1­—Online Discernment Cohort: The process begins with one of our eight-week online cohorts. This free experience offers candidates the opportunity to explore the various facets of church starting and is intended to create a space for creativity and clarity of calling with eight to 12 candidates.

Step 2—Exploratory Conference: Invited candidates participate in a four-day experience of teaching, leadership development, core group and fundraising training, financial planning and coaching. Candidates get to know the church start family and network with their state or regional leadership. This is an opportunity to figure out whether individuals fit well with CBF and if the Fellowship fits well with them.

Step 3—Commissioning: The commissioning of a church starter is the beginning of our journey together. Following commissioning, church starters enter into a covenant with the Fellowship, partnering with CBF, their local CBF state or regional organization, one or more encourager churches as well as other invested individuals.

Pray for: • • •

clarity for potential church starters discerning their call in the online cohort the valuable experiences church starting candidates have during the exploratory conference. strength, encouragement and support for commissioned church starters.

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-32 74 | www.cbf.net/pray

July Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

1 Kyle Boyer, Jacksonville FL (CH) 1 Debra Walters, Lawrenceville, GA (CH) 2 Jennifer Dockum, Ashland, VA (CH) 2 Aaron Mussat, Shreveport, LA (CH) 2 Steven Smith, Shreveport, LA (CH) 3 Elizabeth Ellis, Crestwood, KY (PC) 3 Brenda Lee, Williamsburg, VA (CH) 3 Ascanio Peguero, Fort Worth, TX (CH) 3 Leland Parks, Louisville, KY (CH) 5 Coy Callicott, Louisville, KY (CH) 5 Jeff Fryer, Murfreesboro, TN (CH) 5 Amy Dills-Moore, Atlanta, GA (CH) 6 Debbie Kubo, Arlington, TX (CH) 7 Barbara Dail, Greenville, NC (CH) 7 Steven Flowers, Waynesboro, VA (PC) 7 P. Randall Wright, Rockhill, SC (CH) 8 Renato Santos, Miami, FL (CH) 8 Steve Sexton, Knoxville, TN (CH) 8 Robert Summers, Lexington, KY (CH) 9 Miriam Dakin, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 9 Charles Godfrey II, Charlotte, NC (CH) 10 John Helms, Jefferson, GA (CH) 10 Heather Rothermel-Forrester, Lilburn, GA (CH) 10 Whitney Edwards Russell, Whiteville, NC (CH) 11 Steven Shaw, Norfolk, VA (CH) 12 Christopher Morris, Winston-Salem, NC (CH) 12 Stacey Pickering, Laurel, MS (CH) 12 Jerell Wesley, Rembert, SC (CH) 13 Craig Stevens, Saluda, SC (CH) 14 Denise Massey, Lilburn, GA (CH) 15 Jean Randolph, Swannanoa, NC (CH) 15 James Tippins, Fernandina Beach, FL (CH) 16 Amy Blevins, Jonesborough, TN (CH) 16 Mark Hart, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX (CH) 16 David McDaniel, Kansas City, MO (CH) 17 Cindy Meadows, Roanoke, VA (CH) 17 Leanna Pearse, St. Louis, MO (CH) 17 Kimberly Sheehan, Nashville, TN (CH) 18 David Graves, Atlanta, GA (CH) 18 Timothy Hunter, Gatesville, TX (CH) 18 Tom O’Neal, Charlotte, NC (PC) 18 Luke Tyler Moody, Elizabethtown KY (CH) 18 Collin Wilcox, Houston, TX (CH) 19 Steven Hill, Knoxville, TN (CH) 20 Carol Ashworth, Richmonod, VA (CH) 20 Tim Mayhall, Birmingham, AL (CH) 21 Peter Arges, Durham, NC (CH) 21 Susan Lanford, Wichita Falls, TX (CH) 21 Twyla Nelson, Jackson Springs, NC (CH) 21 Walter White, Arlington, TX (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

21 Lavonia Winford, Monticello, MS (CH) 22 Jessie Kearns, Abbeville, SC (CH) 22 Bonnie Reedy, Lumberton, NC (CH) 23 Mark Traeger, San Antonio, TX (CH) 24 Glynn Ford, Reston, VA (PC) 24 Laurel Link, Winston-Salem, NC (PC) 24 Ronald Oliver, Goshen, KY (CH) 26 Scott Jensen, Saint Joseph, MO (CH) 27 Peter Ott, Oak Harbor, WA (CH) 27 Sandra Smith, Moore, SC (CH) 28 Daniel Fairchild, Holly Springs, NC (CH) 29 Wayne Morris, Lawton, OK (CH) 29 William (Butch) Wise, Spokane, WA (CH) 29 Briana Whaley, Clearwater, FL (CH) 30 Paul Byrd, Birmingham, AL (CH) 30 Garnett White, Midlothian, VA (PC) 31 Amber Blackwell-Childers, Inman, SC (CH) 31 Cindy Thorpe, Greenwood, SC (CH) 31 James Tille, Lakewood, WA (PC)

Church Starters

3 Bill Sloan, Albuquerque, NM (CST) 14 Kan’Dace Brock, San Antonio, TX (CST) 14 Nicole Iyoko, Raleigh, NC (CST) 29 Carrie Tunning, Roanoke Rapids, VA (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

6 Shelah Acker, Uganda (FP) 10 Tiffne Whitley, Emeritus (FP) 14 John Deal, Emeritus (FP) 19 Jason Pittman, Miami, FL (EP) 23 Butch Green, Houston, TX (FP) 24 Casey, China (FP) 26 Rick Sample, San Francisco, CA (FP) 28 Emily, 2000, Thailand (FPC) 29 Karen Morrow, Aledo, TX (FP) 30 James Francovich, Emeritus (FP)

Staff Members

1 Paul Baxley (S-Decatur) 2 Kyle Tubbs (S-Decatur) 5 Mark Snipes (S-Virginia) 6 Sam Harrell (S-Decatur) 8 Ruth Perkins-Lee (S-Decatur) 21 Corina Atkinson (S-Decatur) 22 Natasha Nedrick (S-Decatur) 24 Jeff Huett (S-Decatur) 28 Seth Hix (S-North Carolina) www.cbf.net/pray

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PRAYING FOR CBF MINISTRIES

Reference and Referral www.cbf.net/reference-referral

The Reference and Referral ministry of CBF helps ministers and churches navigate transitions of leadership with practical resources and coaching. In addition to LeaderConnect—www.cbf.net/LeaderConnect—our high-tech database that matches CBF ministers with CBF churches, we now offer a comprehensive, stepby-step search committee resource entitled, “Searching for the Called.” Many churches have already expressed high praise for this “brilliant and refreshing” workbook! Congregations using CBF’s Reference and Referral ministry build their reputations through a hospitality-driven approach to searching that makes recruiting and retaining ministers second-nature.

Likewise, CBF ministers find compassionate support as they listen for and discern God’s will. Countless phone calls, texts and emails detail the excitement and anxiety pastors balance as they move into a new place of ministry. Reference and Referral helps ease the burden of change by encouraging and coaching ministers throughout the search and call process.

Pray for: churches in the interim to: • select leaders to search teams who serve the church’s best interests.

• make space for the Holy Spirit to inhabit their worshipful work.

• honor the past by living boldly into their bright futures. ministers in transition to: • experience Christ’s peace that “the world does not give.”

• seek clarity and discernment before making decisions.

• find joy for the journey from one place to the next. the Reference and Referral ministry to: • listen, inquire, observe, and coach ministers through transitions with grace.

• train new generations of lay leaders to serve on pastor search teams.

• serve churches and ministers as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

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Matthew and Michelle Norman

AUGUST 1-8

Barcelona, Spain

www.cbf.net/norman The Normans serve in Barcelona, Spain, which has seen diverse growth in population, including large numbers of refugees and immigrants from around the world. Spain is also one of the world’s most secular countries. The Normans are engaged in ministry to assist local churches in connecting with their secular communities as well as welcoming immigrants and refugees. They lead trainings for local churches, Bible studies with individuals interested in learning more about the Christian faith and assist local ministry efforts. They are also engaged in social ministry, seeking to address the needs of the community.

Pray for: • • • •

refugees in the Barcelona area seeking work and trying to find affordable housing. for a developing peer learning group for pastors. Pray that pastors will join and find the group to be a blessing. opportunities for conversations about God to arise and for relationships to grow. the local churches that partner with the Normans. Pray that their efforts will be blessed and that leaders will develop.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Isaiah 55:2 www.cbf.net/pray

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Kirk and Suzie

AUGUST 9-15

Thailand

www.cbf.net/kirksuzie Kirk and Suzie serve neglected ethnic minority people groups in Southeast Asia through a ministry of translation, literacy and advocacy. They seek to build bridges among government officials, international development agencies, churches and communities to envision a brighter future for children in areas where illiteracy, drug addiction and human trafficking are rampant.

Pray for: • • • •

favor in the eyes of government officials, so that sustainable help can reach those who need it most. the translated Word in print, audio and smart phone formats, that it will renew hearts and lives. the mother tongue literacy programs to bring transformation to marginalized communities.

Kirk and Suzie’s children to grow in faith and grace as they explore God’s purpose for their lives.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

Psalm 85:10-11

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Butch and Nell Green

AUGUST 16-23

Houston, Texas

www.cbf.net/green After a long-term ministry overseas in Africa and Europe, the Greens continue a strategic ministry to help churches care for refugees, promote transformational development among refugees through social entrepreneurship, and raise awareness about the travesty of human trafficking. The Greens help churches understand Islam, develop multidisciplinary ministries to meet the needs of Internationals, share the gospel of Christ and become effective global partners.

Pray for: • •

•

•

the Greens as they begin a Ready for School program at Victoria Park Apartments for refugee and immigrant children and parents. strengthening, growth and effective programing of the anti-human trafficking coalition that has developed between Texas gateway cities along the border and destination cities. volunteers who will participate in the ongoing work of ministry among refugees in the Ready for School Program, English classes, food basket distribution and adopt-a-family initiative. greater awareness among churches and individuals of the plights of displaced peoples and how to minister to the needs of the displaced.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect Romans 12:2 www.cbf.net/pray

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Rick Burnette

AUGUST 24-31

Disaster Response www.cbf.net/burnette Rick Burnette coordinates and manages CBF's domestic disaster mitigation and response efforts in collaboration with CBF state and regional organizations and partners. Based in North Ft. Myers, Fla., Rick co-directs Cultivate Abundance with his wife, Ellen, engaging in the community-level food security efforts of Cultivate Abundance alongside the Rural Americas Team of CBF Global Missions and Together for Hope, CBF’s rural development coalition.

For nearly 30 years, Rick's work has been focused on international agriculture development ministry, including two years in the Philippines, 15 years as CBF field personnel in Thailand and nine years working with ECHO in Thailand and Florida.

Pray for: • • • •

development of a core group of local residents to manage the Misión Peniel garden and extend its benefits throughout the community.

God’s love to be evident in every activity. wisdom for engaging in two significantly different areas of ministry.

God’s leading of the people and groups who will make these endeavors thrive.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Jeremiah 15:16 80 |

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August Birthdays

CH = Chaplain CST = Church Starter EP = Engagement Partner FP = Field Personnel

Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 1 Steven Safreed, Waynesville, NC (CH) 1 Stephen Saunders, Live Oak, TX (CH) 3 Scott Uzzel, Marietta, GA (CH) 3 Mary Ellen Yates, Louisville, KY (PC) 4 Mark Pruitt, Martinsburg, WV (CH) 4 Diane Stamey, Clyde, NC (PC) 5 Susan Allen, Midway, KY (CH) 5 Ronald Howard, Tuscaloosa, AL (CH) 5 Donald Lederer, Kingsport, TN (CH) 5 John Oliver, Durham, NC (CH) 6 Larry Hamm, Greenwood, IN (CH) 6 Deborah Jenkins, Novato, CA (CH) 7 Vernon Westenbroek, Columbia, MO (CH) 8 LuAnne Prevost, Knoxville, TN (CH) 10 Nicholas Wright, Honolulu, HI (CH) 11 Robbie Byrd, Fayetteville, NC (PC) 11 Justin Murphy, Leesburg, FL (CH) 11 Karen Rector, San Diego, CA (CH) 12 Charline Berry, Baltimore, MD (CH) 13 Clyde Angel, Indianapolis, IN (CH) 13 Rodney Bolejack, Denton, TX (CH) 13 Thomas Dougherty, Mechanicsville, VA (PC) 13 Wayne Maberry, Alturas, FL (CH) 13 Johnny Taylor, Plano, TX (CH) 15 Daniel Shadix, Prattville, AL (CH) 18 Thomas Riley, Wilson, NC (CH) 20 Jim Ivey, New Albany, IN (CH) 20 Sharon Spivey, Wilmington, NC (CH) 21 Inetta Taylor-Shuetz, Lubbock, TX (CH) 21 Alice Tremaine, Corbin, KY (CH) 22 Daniel Hix, Maryville, TN (CH) 22 William Thompson, Los Alamitos, CA (CH) 23 Mike Bumgarner, Norman, OK (CH) 23 Keith Little, New Bern, NC (CH) 24 Timothy Boschen, Waynesboro, VA (CH) 24 Craig Klempnauer, Hewitt, TX (CH) 24 Brian Wilson, Louisville, KY (CH) 25 Robert McMillan, Oklahoma City, OK (CH) 27 Jim Kirkendall, Biloxi, MS (CH)

FPC = Child of Field Personnel PC = Pastoral Counselor S = CBF Staff Member

28 Sarah Greenfield, Honolulu, HI (CH) 28 Penny Hoey, Greenville NC (CH) 28 David Morrell, Jacksonville, FL (CH) 28 Randal Walton, Lynchburg, VA (CH) 29 Robert Blackwood, Melbourne, FL (CH) 29 Pam Foster, Haslet, TX (CH) 29 Blake Strother, Durham, NC (CH) 30 Teresa Darnell, Louisville, TN (CH) 30 Christiana Liem, Houston, TX (CH) 30 Stacey Painter, Charleston, SC (CH) 31 Barbara Miller, Murfreesboro, TN (CH) 31 Cecelia Walker, Birmingham, AL (CH)

Church Starters

17 Susan Rogers, Jacksonville, FL (CST) 23 Danny Prada, Miami, FL (CST)

Field Personnel and Engagement Partners

3 Mina Podgaisky, Ukraine (FP) 4 Paisley, 2012, Southeast Asia (FPC) 5 Mary, Thailand (FP) 7 Merrie Harding, Emeritus (FP) 8 Janée Angel, Belgium (FP) 10 Elliott Sample, 2004, San Francisco, CA (FPC) 14 Mike, Southeast Asia (FP) 16 Don McNeely, Emeritus (FP) 17 Anna Sample, 2001, San Francisco, CA (FPC) 20 Joyce Cleary, Emeritus (FP) 22 Ana Podgaisky, 2001, Ukraine (FPC) 23 Allen Williams, Emeritus (FP) 25 Arville Earl, Emeritus (FP) 26 Cindy Ruble, Southeast Asia (FP) 27 Verr Dean Williams, Emeritus (FP) 31 Karr La Dickens, Emeritus (FP)

Staff Members

13 Martha Kate Hall (S-Georgia) 30 Becky Buice Hall (S-Decatur)

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HELP A PERSON LIVE MORE A B U N DA N T LY

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Your gift will help someone like Assou and Sevi with limited access to food and education grow to become a leader in their community.

GET FREE OFFERING FOR GLOBAL MISSIONS RESOURCES FOR YOUR CHURCH AT WWW.CBF.NET/OGM

Cultivate Christian Leaders Togo, Africa

Meet Local Needs Fort Worth, Texas

Refugee children will have the opportunity to develop their God-given potential through your support.

Your gift to OGM can help a person have life more abundantly. 100% of your gifts keep CBF field personnel in the field sharing the Gospel and restoring hope.

“I am come that they might have life, www.cbf.net/pray and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

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160 Clairemont Avenue, Suite 500 Decatur, GA 30030

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