2003 September/October

Vigil’s swing launched a three-day project to gut and

rebuild the interior of the Lopezes’ home in Progreso,

Texas. Vigil, a member of Wilshire Baptist Church,

Dallas, was part of a joint mission project sponsored by

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Texas, Buckner

Children and Family Services and the Global Missions

office of national CBF.

More than 200

volunteers from 23

Baptist churches

across Texas worked in

the lower Rio Grande

River Valley during the

first-ever KidsHeart

work week, rebuilding

homes, hosting

Vacation Bible Schools,

ministering to women

and running sports

camps. The project in

the Valley is part of a

larger, international

partnership between

the Fellowship and Buckner

known as KidsHeart. Through

the partnership, the Fellowship

provides substantial funding and volunteers to assist

the ministries of Buckner in colonias — small, rural

communities with substandard housing that lack serv-

ices such as electricity, water and sewers. The project

was part of Partners in Hope, the Fellowship’s rural

poverty initiative, and was organized by former CBF

Texas Administrative Coordinator Judy Battles and the

missions committee of CBF Texas. Buckner has been

working in the colonias of

the Rio Grande Valley for

more than 20 years, and

year-round churches

come down to work.

“That’s the beauty of

COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP’S MISSION: SERVING CHRISTIANS AND CHURCHES AS THEY DISCOVER AND FULFILL THEIR GOD-GIVEN MISSION.

Students Train in Cross-cultural

Ministry

Meet CBF’s New Moderator: Cynthia Holmes

Child Provides Example of

Sacrificial Giving

New Church Start Flourishes in North Carolina

Being Baptist: A Fellowship Perspective

INSIDE

CBFfellowship!C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003

WWW.CBFONLINE.ORG

Children attended VacationBible School at four localHispanic churches and onecommunity center during theKidsHeart work week.

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Online Newsletter

You can access the fellowship!

newsletter online in a PDF format.

Go to Newsstand/fellowship!

newsletter at www.cbfonline.org.[continues p. 2]

KidsHeart brought more than 200volunteers from 23 Texas churchesto the Rio Grande Valley to runVacation Bible Schools, do homerepairs and conduct sports camps.

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Texas Volunteers Gather in Rio Grande Valley for Work in ‘KidsHeart’ Partnership

J U L I A N V I G I L R A I S E D T H E H A M M E R

over his head and, with a violent swing,

struck the bedroom ceiling of Jorge and

Ramona Lopez. As he pulled the hammer

down, Vigil brought with it a cloud of dust,

drywall and rat feces.

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this partnership,” says Tom Ogburn, CBF’s liaison to

Buckner for the KidsHeart partnership and assistant coor-

dinator for partnership missions. “Buckner has been work-

ing here for 25 years, so they know the people, they know the

needs. CBF has made a 25-year commitment to be here and

improve the conditions. We have access to resources to plug

into the existing work as well as the commitment to be here

long term.”

Church groups composed of children through senior

adults traveled up to 15 hours to participate in the pilot

project that resulted

in changed lives,

among both the

church workers and

Valley residents alike.

“When we met in

January in Dallas to

begin planning for

this event, we asked

ourselves, ‘How can

we capture the hearts

and imaginations of

Texas Baptists?’” says

David Wright of

Willow Meadows

Baptist Church in Houston and chair of the CBF Texas mis-

sions committee. “We all knew the answer – missions and

ministry. That’s how this was born.”

The committee, with guidance from Jorge Zapata and

Tommy Speed of Buckner and Ogburn of national CBF,

decided to plan an event where small and large churches

could plug into a pre-

planned project.

Zapata, director of

border ministries for

Buckner Children and

Family Services, identi-

fied the construction

sites as one of the most

pressing needs in the

Valley colonias. Under

Ogburn’s supervision

and with approximately

$7,500 from the

Fellowship, the con-

struction projects made

dramatic gains in three

days.

“I wasn’t expecting

this much help,” says

homeowner Jorge Lopez

through an interpreter.

“I thought we might get

the bedroom and bath-

room finished, but they

have done the whole

house.”

In addition to the

construction projects,

the churches hosted

Vacation Bible Schools

at five sites and sports

camps each evening that drew nearly 100 kids at each of the

three locations.

“We’re excited because we’re seeing people being trans-

formed by the power of God and by the love of these people

who came from all over Texas,” Zapata says. “Even though

there are a lot of churches, we have become one body this

week.”

Each work team brought school supplies for the children

at Valley community centers to assemble into packages to

send overseas through World Vision’s school kits project.

“The children can give of their time and energy to put

these packets together, and they get to feel the satisfaction

of doing something for someone else,” says Battles, the

main logistical organizer on site during the week. f!

For more information about KidsHeart, contact Tom Ogburn at

(800) 782-2451 or [email protected].

By Scott Collins, Buckner Communications, and Lance Wallace, CBF

Communications

Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas andFirst Baptist Church of Gatesville helpedrun Vacation Bible School at IglesiaBautista Southside in Mercedes, Texas.

Do Something

Teams and individuals are needed

to volunteer in the Rio Grande

River Valley area in the following

positions:

• Children, Family and

Construction Ministry Texas.

Working with Buckner Children and

Family Services, types of ministry

opportunities include food basket

preparation, distribution of winter

items and school supplies, home

and church repairs, sports camps,

VBS, summer enrichment programs

and construction.

• Community Building and

Construction Texas. Working with

Valley Baptist Mission Education

Center, duties could include office

help, facility remodeling and

repairing, groundskeeping, VBS,

ESL, backyard Bible clubs,

missions in Mexico, teaching,

library, beach ministries, sports

and recreation. Dormitory housing

and RV hook-ups are available.

(Length: 1-2 weeks.)

For more information, call

(877) 856-9288 or e-mail

[email protected].

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COOPERAT IVE BAPT IST FELLOWSHIP w w w . c b f o n l i n e . o r g

VOLUNTEERS CAME from the

following Texas churches: Ash

Creek Baptist Church, Azle;

Clear Lake Baptist Church,

Houston; Crossroads Baptist

Church, Rotan; Elkins Lake

Baptist Church, Huntsville;

First Baptist Church, Arlington;

First Baptist Church, College

Station; First Baptist Church,

Copperas Cove; First Baptist

Church, Donna; First Baptist

Church, Gatesville; First

Baptist Church, Harlingen;

First Baptist Church, Hereford;

First Baptist Church, Lewisville;

First Baptist Church, Richmond;

First Baptist Church, Tyler;

Gambrell Street Baptist Church,

Fort Worth; Iglesia Bautista

Getsemani, Elsa; Iglesia

Bautista Southside, Mercedes;

Keys Valley Baptist Church,

Belton; Mision Bautista

Calvario, Weslaco; Primeria

Iglesia Bautista, Santa Maria;

The Springs Baptist Church,

San Antonio; Willow Meadows

Baptist Church, Houston; and

Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas.

First Baptist Church, Abilene;

First Baptist Church, Sanger;

and Iglesia Bautista, Alice,

sent donations for the work.

Participating KidsHeart Churches

w w w . c b f o n l i n e . o r g SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003

Without any initial explanation, each student was given a

$20 bill. Then Tutterow – who is also on the Fellowship’s

missional church task force – read the parable of the

talents taken from Matthew 25, challenging the group to

use the money in any way they saw fit. Their only instruc-

tions were to glorify the name of Jesus by being the

presence of Christ in Charlotte that afternoon.

Jerry Layton, from Campbell University Divinity School,

joined four other Campbell students. “We brainstormed and

decided to pool our money,” he recalls. “One of our mem-

bers was familiar with RAIN – Regional AIDS Interfaith

Network,” which had an office within walking distance.

When the five students asked how they could minister

through RAIN, they were shown the supply closet in need

of restocking. The group made a list of needed items and

found a way to make their money grow.

“We went to local stores and told the various managers

what we were doing and asked if they would like to partici-

pate,” Layton explains. “We doubled our money through

donations and gifts, ending up with more than $200 in

supplies.”

Jake Myers, from Gardner-Webb University’s M.

Christopher White School of Divinity, formed a two-person

team with Brandy Albritton from Baptist Seminary of

Kentucky. They decided to use their money to minister to

children, buying toys, bottled water and Popsicles, along

with two ice-filled coolers.

The original plan was to minister to children at a park

in the area, but God had a better idea. After a wrong turn

caused them to miss the park, Myers turned the car

around, spilling one of the coolers. The first available stop

for cleaning up the ice happened to be a church. Going

inside for directions, Albritton discovered that the church

was a day camp for 40 underprivileged children.

Albritton and Myers spent the afternoon playing games

and sharing the love of Christ with the children. They gave

them the new toys, tripling what they already had, and

presented the remaining $20 to the camp director. Her

eyes filled with tears as she explained that $20 would allow

another child to attend camp.

That evening, the group gathered again to share a meal

and to talk informally about the day’s experiences.

“We were all given the same task – to embody Christ’s

presence to a hurting world – and everybody had different

ideas,” Myers says. “God worked in different ways, through

each person and group, to do something really special.” f!

Use the envelope provided in this issue to help fund the

Fellowship’s leadership development initiative. Your contri-

bution to CBF’s general missions and ministries budget will

help support leadership scholarships for students.

By staff writer Jo Upton

Scholars Transform a Few Dollars into Blessings for Charlotte Residents

W H E N 5 0 C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P L E A D E R S H I P S C H O L A R S attended the

Ministry Leadership Retreat at this year’s General Assembly, they expected to hear a message

about missions from North Carolina pastor Michael Tutterow. But as the seminarians entered

the room, it became immediately clear that this would be much more than an ordinary lecture.

LEADERSH

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Baptist Studies Program,

Candler School of Theology,

Emory University. Greg Boyd,

pastor of the Woodland Hills

Church in St. Paul, Minn., will

speak on open theism at 11

a.m., Sept. 25. For more

information, contact David Key

at (404) 727-6350.

Logsdon School of Theology,

Hardin-Simmons University.

Thomas Brisco is the new

theology school dean, succeed-

ing Vernon Davis, who retired in

May. Brisco has been professor

of religion at Baylor University

since 2001. He previously

taught and was an administra-

tor at Southwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary and was

on the faculty at Ouachita

Baptist University.

Kenneth Lyle has joined the

faculty as associate professor

of theology and Greek.

Truett Theological Seminary,

Baylor University. The Dobbs

Lecture in Applied Christianity

with C. Stephen Evans of

Baylor, will be at 9:30 a.m.,

Oct. 8. His topic will be “Can

Love Be Commanded?

Kierkegaard on the Foundations

of Moral Obligations.” The

Willson-Addis Lecture with Ellen

T. Charry of Princeton

Theological Seminary, will be at

9:30 a.m., Nov. 5. The topic is

“The Myth of the Autonomous

Individual.” Both lectures are

free and open to the public.

Class Notes: News from Partner Schools

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“Student.Go is a great program for students because it

provides the opportunity to serve alongside CBF global

missions career field personnel and ministry partners and

learn hands-on what a career of cross-cultural ministry is

like,” says Amy Derrick, the Fellowship’s director for the

Student.Go program.

“The positions include a wide variety of locations and

types of ministry — including creative, innovative assign-

ments, requiring specific skill sets — as well as more

traditional ministry options,” Derrick says.

Student.Go projects are not only an interesting way to

serve a community; they can also help students confirm or

discover a call to missions work.

Jo Ann Sharkey, a third-year student at Baylor

University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, experi-

enced this while serving in Toronto this summer. “This

assignment has helped solidify in me a desire to work with

internationals,” Sharkey says. “I have always been interested

in overseas mission work, yet having the chance to experi-

ence it for a brief time

this summer has given

me a taste of what kind

of international mis-

sions opportunities

are out there for me.”

Experiencing the

life of global missions

field personnel first-

hand, rather than in

the classroom, shows

students that working

in missions means

there is no such thing

as a typical day or a

typical job description.

Jeannette Jordan just finished her first year at Mercer

University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta and

worked with Sowing Seeds of Hope in Alabama. “You just

never know what your day is going to be like,” says Jordan,

who stayed busy serving with the Alabama component of

Partners in Hope, the Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative.

“One minute I’m conducting a worship service, the next I’m

passing out chicken to the community and the next I’m

picking up scaffolding for a construction project.”

Sharkey’s experience was similar. “Each day holds so

many surprises,” she explains. “The first month was dedi-

cated to teaching ESL classes to women and assisting with

an after-school program.”

During her second month, Sharkey tutored in homes. “I

teach the kids reading skills, spelling, pronunciation, and

math. I also get the fun opportunity to taste many foreign

foods as each family takes pride in preparing a meal for me,

which usually consists of foods I have never even heard of

before,” she says.

Deanna Lavery from Mary Washington College interacts with children atTouching Miami With Love Ministries.

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Students Get Firsthand Training in Cross-cultural Ministry

M O S T C O L L E G E A N D S E M I N A R Y S T U D E N T S TA K E A B R E A K during the summer months

to hang out with friends, lounge by the pool, or work for extra money; but none of these

activities is on the agenda of students who participated with the Student.Go program. The

program is a joint venture of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions and Passport,

Inc., which provides summer and semester missions opportunities for undergraduate and

graduate students.

Erica Jordan, Jeannette Jordan, NatalieMcIntyre (l-r) and Amy Pennington (front)assist Sowing Seeds of Hope in PerryCounty, Ala.

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Despite the crazy schedules and the hard work, most

students walk away from the experience feeling they have

made a change in themselves as well as the community

they serve.

Julie Case, a recent graduate of the University of Mary

Hardin-Baylor, says that working with the rural poverty

initiative in Arkansas “has been out of my comfort zone,

but I know that God has been stretching me and molding

me and teaching me while I’m here. I may never be the

same after I walk out of here.” f!

For more information about Student.Go, call (877) 856-9288

or e-mail [email protected]. Or go to

www.destinationmissions.net.

By contributing writer Amy Walker, Atlanta

THE 29 STUDENTS who served

this spring and summer, with

their locations of service are

as follows:

•Jennifer Adams, Matthew

House ministry for refugees,

Ft. Erie, Canada;

•Bill Ballard, ethnographic

interviewing, Fremont, Calif.;

•Amanda Bordeaux, Touching

Miami With Love Ministries,

Miami;

•John C., information

technology support, Asia (John

cannot be identified for security

reasons.);

•Julie Case, mission teams

coordinator for Partners in

Hope, the Fellowship’s rural

poverty initiative, Helena, Ark.;

•Adam Cheney, children’s and

youth camps, Brooklyn, N.Y., in

conjunction with Virginia

Baptist Mission Board;

•Kristen Connolly, Macedonia;

•Christy Craddock, videogra-

phy, northern Africa;

•Adam Dunsworth, videogra-

phy, northern Africa;

•Brian Eastland, children’s

and youth camps, Brooklyn,

N.Y.;

•Monica Garris, children’s

program manager, Raleigh,

N.C.;

•Richard Grant, research and

community development with

Partners in Hope, the

Fellowship’s rural poverty

initiative, Arkansas;

•Jessy Grondin, ethnographic


•Jennifer Harris, ethnographic


•Emily Hogge, mission teams

coordinator with Buckner

Children and Family Services,

Harlingen, Texas;

•Robbie Hott, missions and

media technology support,

Houston, Texas;

•Erica Jordan, Sowing Seeds

of Hope, Perry County, Ala.;

•Jeannette Jordan, Sowing

Seeds of Hope, Perry County,

Ala.;

•Deanna Lavery, Touching


Miami;

•Natalie McIntyre, Sowing


Ala.;

•Amy Pennington, Sowing


Ala.;

•Mandy Ransone, teaching

English, northern Africa;

•Beth Riddick, medical team,

Angola, Africa;

•Jo Ann Sharkey, refugees,

Toronto, Canada;

•Ashley Skiles, Touching


Miami;

•Sarah Slagle, ethnographic


•Holly and Matt Sprink, oral

history preservation of margin-

alized people and a mentor

ministry, South Africa; and

•Sarah Stone, children’s

home, northern Africa.

ALSO SERVING with Fellowship

field personnel this summer:

• Marjorie Patterson, Matthew

House ministry for refugees,

Ft. Erie, Canada, in conjunction

with Virginia Baptist Mission

Board;

•Christen Roszkowski,

Touching Miami With Love

Ministries, Miami, in conjunc-

tion with Kentucky Baptist

Fellowship;

•Sarah Thompson, children’s


N.Y., in conjunction with

Virginia Baptist Mission Board;

•Bethany Warren, children’s


N.Y., in conjunction with

Virginia Baptist Mission Board;

and

•Christina Wright, Quest

Farms, Kentucky, in conjunction

with Kentucky Baptist

Fellowship.

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Student.Go participants enjoy a week of fellowship and training priorto their commissioning.

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Julie Case from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor serves as missionteams coordinator in Helena, Ark., for Partners in Hope, theFellowship’s rural poverty initiative.

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“It’s hard for me to consider a pastor’s wife, a teacher at a

Baptist University, a WMU national leader, or someone who

has given hundreds of hours of volunteer service to their

church as their primary work to be laity,” says Holmes,

referring to the five women laity and clergy who have previ-

ously held the position of Fellowship moderator.

When Holmes attended the first General Assembly in

1991, she didn’t know anyone in the Fellowship movement.

“I was always proud to be a Baptist because of the principles

on which we stand, including absolute religious liberty and

soul freedom,” she recalls. Since 1991, Holmes has been at

every national and CBF of Missouri Assembly.

The St. Louis attorney will preside at Coordinating

Council meetings and at the 2004 General Assembly in

Birmingham, Ala.

What are your

goals as moderator?

My goal is to tell

the Fellowship

story. I still believe

there are innumer-

able Baptists out

there who do not

understand the

current realities of

Baptist life. They

would find a home

in the Fellowship.

After this year’s

General Assembly, a story about CBF and

me appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

My pastor received telephone calls from

numerous people indicating that they had given up hope of

continuing to be Baptist, that they did not realize there was

a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and people like us.

What are the challenges that you see ahead for CBF in

the upcoming year?

First, the continuing struggle to finance all of the

meaningful initiatives and priorities of CBF. The economy

in general presents a challenge as every church and

nonprofit agency of which I am aware has had a severe

falling off of donations. The second challenge is to impart

to the next generation the Baptist principles we cherish.

The third challenge is to continue our Baptist tradition of

combating an ever increasing agenda by both politicians

and some religious people to mingle religion and govern-

ment. I strongly believe that the Church’s prophetic witness

suffers when we look to government for affirmation of our

worth, or for financial support for our ministries. Christ

did not tell us to look to Caesar to fund the care of the least

of His children.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

I believe that I have the respect of most of my peers and

clients. On many occasions, a new client has come in the

door and when asked who referred them, answered that it

was someone in a prior case. Many times it has been not my

client, but the party on the other side, who has sent their

friend to me.

What personal achievement are you most proud of?

I’m probably most proud that I have maintained my

sanity in balancing my personal and professional roles, and

the fact that my husband, Al, still values me as his spouse

after nearly 25 years of marriage, and that I have a wonder-

ful relationship with all my family.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in St. Louis, Mo., and grew up in Overland, a

suburb in St. Louis County. I still attend Overland Baptist

Church, the church in which I was raised and where my

mom (now 96) is still a member.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

What I enjoy is having free time, which is becoming

more and more rare these days. My hobbies include my

avocation, fighting for religious liberty and separation of

church and state. Others are running (I have finished four

marathons), reading and playing with my husband, dog and

family. f!

For more of the Q-and-A with Cynthia Holmes, go to

Newsstand/CBF News/News Archive at www.cbfonline.org.

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Holmes Brings Unique Perspectiveto Her Role as Fellowship Moderator

C Y N T H I A H O L M E S likes to joke that she’s the first “laywoman” moderator of the Cooperative

Baptist Fellowship.

“I WA S A LWAY S P R O U D

to be a Baptist because of

the principles on which we

stand, including absolute

religious liberty and

soul freedom.”— C B F

M O D E R AT O R

C Y N T H I A H O L M E S


EVERY PARENT AND GRANDPARENT has children

stories to tell, I know. But I want to share one of mine.

When she was 9 years old, our granddaughter,

Madeline, spent a few weeks with us during the summer.

She helped out around the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

office by folding offering envelopes and doing other odd

jobs. My wife, Carolyn, and I promised to take her with us

to visit mission work in Miami, and then to drive to Key

West for some sightseeing. We paid her a penny each to

fold the envelopes, and she earned about $6 as her

“spending money.”

In Miami, she sat with us during meetings with the staff

of Touching Miami With Love Ministries and for the first

time, I believe, she met some homeless people. She went

with us to an AIDS hospice and visited the city park where

many Fellowship volunteers and staff work among the

poorest children in Florida. She quietly overheard our

conversations, the plans for ministry, the needs of lost and

hurting people.

Later, on our way to Key West, we stopped at Open

House Ministries in Homestead, where Madeline met

Open House volunteers and saw uninsured poor people

who desperately needed medical assistance. Again, she sat

quietly as we discussed the ministries and the plight of

poor and disadvantaged people.

Headed for Key West, we talked excitedly about what we

would experience there. After a long time of silence as we

drove through the Florida Keys, Madeline said, “Would it

be OK if I gave some of my money to Touching Miami With

Love and Open House?”

Carolyn and I looked at each other, and Carolyn said,

“Why, sure, sweetheart … if that is what you want to do, I

think it would be a wonderful thing to do.” Madeline

thought further and said, “I think I’ll give $2 to TML, and

$2 to Open House … and then I will still have $2 for myself!”

I could see Madeline in the rearview mirror as she con-

templated this, happy and at ease in sharing what she had.

The Offering for Global Missions gives each of us the

opportunity to follow Madeline’s good example. “Would it

be OK if I gave some of my money? …” You and I have been

blessed to such an extravagant extent that, by comparison,

Madeline’s $6 seems paltry. But, in proportion to the

resources available to her, Madeline’s generosity inspires us.

You and I are much more knowledgeable than Madeline

about Fellowship global missions. We know about unevan-

gelized, poor, isolated, marginalized people — living on the

edge, without justice, homeless, hurting. Our field personnel

in hard places communicate the needs and challenges and

victories. We have ears to hear and eyes to see and

resources to share.

As you prayerfully prepare to participate in the Offering

for Global Missions, will you respond generously?

Fellowship field personnel depend on our financial support,

and many people are blessed by the resources we can garner

to share Christ-like love. [“Everyone … Everywhere:

Being the Presence of Christ” is the theme for the 2003-04

Offering for Global Missions, with a goal of $6.1 million.]

Also, since our hearts and treasures coexist in the same

place, will you pray with all of your heart for the work of

Christ throughout the world?

Listen, see and respond … give, pray and go … . f!

The insert in this issue provides information about 2003-04

Offering for Global Missions resources.

By Patrick R. Anderson, Fellowship missions advocate

Would it Be OK if I Give My Money?Listen, See, Respond

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Thanks to volunteers fromSnyder Memorial Baptist Churchin Fayetteville, N.C., children atTouching Miami with LoveMinistries summer camp ‘trav-eled’ back to the land of Egypt.

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PASTOR GAIL COULTER RECEIVES GUESTS on the

front lawn of Providence Baptist Church on a perfect sum-

mer Sunday morning when she notices that several letters

have fallen to the bottom of the church message board.

With a quick turn, she excuses herself and dashes into the

church, returning with a screwdriver.

Clutching the screwdriver in her right hand, her left

gingerly retrieves and replaces the recalcitrant letters.

“When you’re the pastor of a small church, you have to be

prepared to do almost everything,” she says with a laugh.

Providence Baptist Church in Hendersonville, N.C., is a

church start sponsored by six Fellowship churches in the

Asheville area, in

cooperation with

Cooperative Baptist

Fellowship of North

Carolina, national

CBF and the Baptist

State Convention of

North Carolina.

Two local Baptist

associations refused

to admit Providence

because it is aligned

only with CBF. Refusal

of fellowship by the

association dictates

that the Baptist State

Convention may not

provide new church

support to Providence.

A second problem:

their pastor was a woman. The pain of those rejections

ended when the United Association of Charlotte, a group of

like-minded congregations, invited the fledgling congrega-

tion to join them. Providence was thrilled to find a home.

Recently, with the financial and spiritual support of 11

partner congregations and the sacrificial giving of its 40

members, the congregation moved from a rented movie

house and bought a “real” church building in a historic

Hendersonville community. Despite the controversy swirling

around its formation, the small congregation is growing in

numbers, in love for each other and in ministries to its

community.

According to those who know her best, Coulter’s practice

of shared leadership, her loving, welcoming spirit and her

unflappable style are key to the congregation’s successful

beginning.

“There is something of Christian elegance about Gail,”

says Buddy Corbin, pastor of Calvary Baptist in Asheville,

and her mentor. “For her, it was never about being a

woman pastor. It was all about calling. She is flexible,

articulate, creative and grace-filled, able to extend herself

to people who are very critical of her role as pastor. She’s

turned something negative into something positive.”

“There’s an openness here to show Christ’s love to all

people and to impact the lives of those who would fall

through the cracks,” says Carolyn Sierk, who with her

husband, Herb, has been a part of the church since the

beginning.

“Most churches are inwardly focused,” adds Herb. “This

church is outwardly focused.”

Providence is Coulter’s first pastorate. Now a grand-

mother, she began her journey to ordination in middle age

with the solid support of her husband, Dutch, and their

three children. While assistant pastor of First Baptist

As pastor of a small church, Gail Coulterdoes a little bit of everything — whichsometimes includes fixing up thechurch’s message board.

Using creative worship planning, pastor Gail Coulter hangs tongues offire around the Communion table and behind the pulpit for her sermon on Pentecost.

Ever

ett

Gill

pho

to

Ever

ett

Gill

pho

to


New Church Start FlourishesBy God’s ‘Providence’

“T H E R E ’ S A N O P E N N E S S H E R E to show

Christ’s love to all people and to impact

the lives of those who would fall

through the cracks.”— C A R O LY N S I E R K ,

P R O V I D E N C E B A P T I S T

C H U R C H M E M B E R


Church of Asheville, Coulter served on the Hendersonville

CBF church-start committee – whose tasks included

finding a pastor. Jim Fowler, missions coordinator for

CBF of North Carolina, asked, “Gail, how about you?”

“It took my breath away,” Coulter recalls. “His question

was like a bolt out of the blue – only from the imagination

of the Holy Spirit.” Now, after two years as pastor, she

describes Providence as “a group of courageous, committed

Christians, authentic in their faith and in relating to folks

around them.”

Arbuna and Guy Wiggins came to Providence from a

larger church where they didn’t feel needed. No longer.

At Providence they happily do it all: from maintenance to

running the vacuum, from serving on the finance committee

to making Chrismons for the Advent tree.

“This is a family,” says Arbuna, shedding tears of grati-

tude. “We all do whatever we can.” f!

Contact Gail Coulter at [email protected]

or (828) 697-2878.

For more information on new church starts, contact Phil

Hester, CBF associate coordinator for church starts, at

(678) 429-9753 or [email protected]. Or go to

www.churchstarts.net.

By contributing writer Rachel Granger Gill, Weaverville, N.C.

THE FELLOWSHIP and its

partners offer the following

resources to help Christians

and churches discover and

fulfill their God-given mission.

Web/e-Resources

Online Resource Catalog.

Resources for congregations

and individuals are organized

around the areas of inclusive-

ness, learning/teaching,

pastoring, proclamation,

relationships, servanthood and

worship. Post reviews online.

To access, go to

Resources/Resource Directory

at www.cbfonline.org. (free)

The Truth About CBF Web

Site. CBF has launched a new

Web site for correcting and

addressing ongoing attacks by

groups that seek to discredit

CBF and its ministries. This

site, www.truthaboutcbf.net,

has up-to-the-minute postings

correcting misinformation from

Baptist or secular media along

with educational articles on

Baptist history. (free)

It’s Time: an Urgent Call to

Christian Mission Study Guide.

This online study guide

accompanies Daniel Vestal’s

book, It’s Time: an Urgent Call

to Christian Mission. A down-

loadable PDF version of the

12-page study guide is available

at Resources/Study Guides/Its

Time at www.cbfonline.org.

(free)

Copies of Vestal’s book are

available from the CBF

Resource Link at (888) 801-

4223 or the CBF e-Store at

www.cbfonline.org. ($9.95, plus

shipping)

EthicsDaily.com e-newsletter.

Delivered three times a week

to subscribers, this e-newsletter

produced by the Baptist Center

for Ethics contains ethics

sermons, movie reviews, book

reviews and articles related to

current topics. To subscribe, go

to www.baptists4ethics.com

and E-Newsletter. (free)

Congregational Life e-zine.

Produced each month by the

Fellowship’s coordinator of

congregational life, this e-zine

provides a compilation of

resources and ideas related to

all aspects of congregational

life. Also includes Web links for

Fellowship partner resources.

To subscribe, e-mail Bo Prosser

at [email protected]. (free)

Congregational Life

Companions in Christ. A 28-

week spiritual formation

resource made available

through the Fellowship’s

partnership with Upper Room

Ministries. Weekly two-hour

sessions are aimed at

strengthening the Christian

walk. A sampler provides an

overview with sample pages

from various Companions in

Christ resources. Order from

the CBF Resource Link at (888)

801-4223 or the CBF e-Store

at www.cbfonline.org. (free,

plus shipping)

Celebrating Baptist Heritage

Brochure. Judson Press has

produced a brochure that

features books on Baptist

history, Baptist identity, Baptist

guides and Christian education.

To order, call (800) 458-3766

or go to www.judsonpress.com.

(free)

FaithSteps for Preschoolers

and Children. A dated Sunday

school curriculum for preschool-

ers (except for infants-twos)

and children produced by Smyth

& Helwys Publishing. The

series supports Bible skills

development, family ministry

and worship education. For

additional information, go to

www.helwys.com/faithsteps. To

order, call (800) 747-3016.

(prices vary)

“True Survivor” Gathering for

Christian Educators.

Providence Baptist Church in

Charleston, S.C., will host this

gathering Feb. 29 - March 3.

Cost is $50 per person, plus

lodging. Speakers include Dan

Bagby, Theodore F. Adams

professor of pastoral care at

Baptist Theological Seminary

at Richmond. For more

information, contact Toni

Draper at (770) 220-1654,

[email protected] or Bo

Prosser at (770) 220-1631,

[email protected].

Blueprints. Church leaders and

planners can develop and

coordinate church activities

with the congregation’s

mission in mind using this 16-

page workbook. Order from the

CBF Resource Link at (888)

801-4223 or the CBF e-Store

at www.cbfonline.org. (free)

Resources Assist Congregationsin Fulfilling Their God-given Mission

GLO

BAL MISSIO

NS & M

INISTRIES

9

10

CBF

BUD

GET

A CONTINUING DECLINE in undesignated contributions from

churches and individuals resulted in the Cooperative Baptist

Fellowship cutting ministry and program budgets and dipping

into reserves by $513,000 in fiscal year 2003, which ended

June 30. However, thanks largely to a $5 million anonymous

gift, designated contributions helped the Fellowship’s gifts

surpass the previous year’s total by 13 percent.

Through years of sound financial management, the

Fellowship maintains reserves of $8 million and has enacted

a repayment plan to the reserves as contributions rise during

the next few years.

A $5 million gift in April allowed the Fellowship to

commission 18 new global missions field personnel at the

recent General Assembly. Without that gift, which desig-

nated $4.2 million for global missions over the next three

years, the Fellowship would not have been able to send new

field personnel. The gift also included $500,000 designated

for endowment for the CBF Church Benefits Board,

$250,000 for church starts and $50,000 for a new, shared

database system in the Atlanta Resource Center.

“There were no surprises at year’s end,” said Jim Strawn,

the Fellowship’s chief financial officer. “We knew this was

going to be a down year, the mid-year contribution numbers

confirmed it, and we began making cuts and taking fiscally

responsible action early. Without those moves, the deficit

would have been more.”

Total revenues for the fiscal year reached $23.9 million,

with $20.8 million coming from churches and individuals.

The remainder came from a grant from the Lilly

Endowment Inc., resource sales and other earnings. While

total revenue increased by 12.3 percent compared to the

same period last year, contributions from churches fell by

2.1 percent and contributions from individuals increased

by 18 percent.

The number of churches and individuals contributing to

CBF increased for the fiscal year. More than 1,800 churches

and 3,700 individuals made contributions to CBF in fiscal

2002-03. Church counts are approximate because CBF of

Florida began reporting church-by-church contributions

mid-year and because CBF does not receive the names of

churches that contribute through the Baptist State

Convention of North Carolina. CBF also is a part of giving

plans through the Baptist General Convention of Texas and

the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Those two

states provide church counts to CBF.

Undesignated contributions from churches and individ-

uals total $9.03 million, 1 percent more than last year.

Designated contributions have experienced a 23 percent

increase over 2001-02. To break down the designated cate-

gory even further, the Offering for Global Missions brought

in $5.3 million during this fiscal year. Other designated

gifts jumped by 43 percent. This increase is attributed to

the grant from the Lilly Endowment and an anonymous $5

million gift.

Contributions from churches and individuals ran ahead

of the 2002-03 budget by 32 percent.

Fellowship officers recently appointed a seven-member

group to study the Fellowship’s partnership relationships,

chaired by Charles Cantrell of Mountain View, Mo.

The new committee will continue the discussions of

how the Fellowship’s partners should be funded and

evaluated.

The Fellowship has also begun several new, growth-

enhancing projects under the supervision of CBF

Coordinator Daniel Vestal and the recently-appointed

growth team. Because of this work, the Fellowship

remains optimistic about future growth.

“We are grateful for the gifts that have sustained

this movement of Christ from its earliest days,” Vestal

said. “We know there are more people who want to join

in this movement, and we will continue to discover

ways for churches and individuals to discover and

fulfill their God-given mission.” f!

By Lance Wallace, CBF Communications


CBF Dips into Reserves to Balance Year-End DeficitTotal Revenues Grow by 12 Percent

CBF Year-end Contributions

Fiscal Year 2001-02 2002-03 +/–

Contributing Churches 1,715 1,819 6.1%

Church Contributions $13,929,598 $13,640,915 -2.1%

Contributing Individuals 3,128 3,773 20.6%

Individual Contributions $6,104,366 $7,205,837 18.0%

CBF Ministries (undesignated) $8,943,419 $9,032,145 1.0%

Designated Giving* $11,358,291 $13,973,157 23.0%

Total Contributions $20,301,710 $23,005,302 13.3%

Resources & Earnings $1,002,964 $918,239 -8.4%

Total Revenues $21,304,674 $23,923,541 12.3%

* includes Offering for Global Missions and Lilly Endowment grant (2002-03)


A SMALL V ILLAGE IN NORTHEASTERN Macedonia

has water flowing again thanks to a collaborative effort

between the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and

Partnership for the Environment.

Earlier this year, Fellowship global missions field

personnel Darrell and Kathy Smith worked with Terri

Morgan of PFE to complete a project that restored the

supply of fresh water to the village of Turija.

“The need for potable water in communities across

Eastern Europe is severe,” says Morgan, president and

chief executive officer of PFE, a faith-based nonprofit

organization dedicated to agriculture, water and sanitation

projects that improve the quality of human life. “When

Darrell asked PFE to help, we were delighted to provide

the technical assistance and basic engineering needed to

resolve the problem. Collaborating with governments and

local businesses … is an application of the Gospel that is

deeply gratifying.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas, which houses

PFE at its offices, was instrumental in guiding and sup-

porting the work early on in the project, Morgan says.

“In preaching the Gospel without words, our board and

officers found a level of interest among Texas Baptists that

allowed us to meet human needs in very practical ways,”

she says. “CBF was our first international partner in a

specific foreign mission project.”

The village’s needs were assessed in summer 2002, and

the project proceeded with the full support of local gov-

ernments and volunteers until its completion in late 2002.

“The men of the village worked tirelessly, digging

ditches by hand and carrying slabs of broken concrete and

were well-rewarded for their labors,” says Darrell Smith,

who has been working in Macedonia since 1997.

Supported with in-kind contributions from the com-

munity, outside grant funding, and funding from PFE and

the Fellowship, the entire project was completed for about

$15,000. Project management was an in-kind donation

from Darrell Smith, Morgan and PFE board members.

The local people became “stakeholders” in the process,

Morgan says. “It was also amazing to see how far a little bit

of money went in improving the living conditions of the

people,” Morgan adds.

Next on the agenda for the CBF-PFE partnership is a

sewerage project in Kamenjane, Macedonia, an area 50

miles from the border of Kosovo. The current wastewater

disposal method consists of rock-lined cisterns, a primi-

tive system which causes the spread of disease.

The Macedonian government has not addressed the

public health needs of the Albanian Muslim population of

Kamenjane. PFE has contributed $3,000 for the first

phase of this project, estimated to cost $1.5 million.

“The high rate of disease – especially among children –

is closely related to a lack of clean water and sanitation

throughout the region,” Morgan says. “Because the com-

munity is Muslim, they face severe discrimination from

their own government, even for humanitarian needs. But

the opportunity to bring a witness by our actions is a

powerful way to demonstrate the love and grace we know

as Christians.” f!

The Fellowship’s October 2003 missions education curriculum

focuses on ministry among Albanians living in Macedonia.

The November curriculum highlights CBF’s Offering for

Global Missions. (Annual subscription: adult and youth, $20;

children and preschool, $80. Shipping will be charged.) To

order, contact the CBF Resource Link at (888) 801-4223.

By Lance Wallace, CBF Communications

CBF, Partnership for the Environment Build Water System for Macedonian Village

GLO

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11

Local workers dig a trench for the new water line along the hillside inMacedonia. Because of the rocky terrain, most of the excavation workhad to be done by hand.

File

d pe

rson

nel p

hoto

“… T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y to bring a witness

by our actions is a powerful way

to demonstrate the love and grace

we know as Christians.”

— T E R R I M O R G A N ,

C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R O F P F E

12

AS W

E JO

URN

EY

I T IS POSSIBLE TO DEF INEBAPT IST in numerous ways. Some

define it from a historical perspec-

tive. Baptist is a faith tradition born

out of a historical context and shaped

by historical circumstances.

Like all Christian faith traditions,

the Baptist tradition gives witness to

the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Baptists

share a common commitment with

other followers of Jesus to the historic

Christian faith. They also share a

common commitment with one

another to certain biblical truths that

have defined their heritage and tradi-

tion. These include commitments to

the priesthood of all believers, the

authority of Scripture for faith and

life, freedom of conscience, the

autonomy of every local church,

believers baptism, religious liberty

and the separation of church and

state. The Baptist faith tradition is

still strong and vibrant.

Others define Baptist from a

denominational perspective. In

faithfulness to their principles, the

“nerve center” in Baptist life lies in

the individual believer and in the local

church. However, from their begin-

ning, Baptist churches and individuals

have held to the concept of voluntary

cooperation and formed themselves

into associations/unions/conventions/

societies/alliances/fellowships for

witness and ministry. The idea of

organized and organizational cooper-

ation is not new to Baptists.

Within the Baptist faith tradition,

there are hundreds of structures and

systems in which Baptists work

together. In more recent time, the

word “denomination” has come to be

equated with a particular organized

Baptist body, whereas for the

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, it

seems more accurate to say that each

of these organizations are a part

of the Baptist denomination.

Still another way to see Baptists is

from a global perspective. Estimates

vary, but there are perhaps as many as

50 million Baptists worldwide. In

some places, they are a small perse-

cuted minority, and in other places,

they are intertwined in the majority

culture. Globally, Baptists share com-

mitments to historic principles but

are diverse in theology, leadership,

worship and liturgy. A global perspec-

tive is foundational for collaborative

mission and enriching fellowship.

For Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,

all of these perspectives on being

Baptist are important, but the one that

is most important is the congrega-

tional perspective. Our mission is to

serve churches as they discover and

fulfill their God-given mission. With a

commitment to our faith tradition and

the principles it has championed, as

an organized body within the Baptist

denomination and with a global view,

we want to be a resource to and for

local churches.

Our passion is the health and wel-

fare of Baptist churches. Our vision is

congregations being the presence of

Christ locally, globally, cooperatively.

Our strategy is to network, empower

and mobilize churches. We partner

with schools in theological education

to prepare future congregational lead-

ers and we partner with a number of

institutions to strengthen the witness

of churches.

Why is our focus so centered in

congregations? Because we believe that

this is where the Great Commission

will be fulfilled and where the Great

Commandment will be lived out.

Peace, reconciliation and justice will

come in the world as churches incar-

nate the life and ministry of Christ

and proclaim the Kingdom of God in

word and deed. f!

Reprinted with permission of The

Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer

University, from the July 2003 issue

of the e-magazine, The Baptist Studies

Bulletin.

By CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal


Being Baptist: A Fellowship Perspective

“O U R PA S S I O N I S the

health and welfare of Baptist

churches. … Peace,

reconciliation and justice

will come in the world

as churches incarnate the life

and ministry of Christ and

proclaim the Kingdom of God

in word and

deed.”— C B F

C O O R D I N AT O R

D A N I E L V E S TA L


ALABAMASOWING SEEDS OF HOPE –

Alabama’s component of Partners in

Hope, the Fellowship’s rural poverty

initiative – had more than 600 vol-

unteers come to Perry County, May

through August.

Fisher H. Humphreys received

the first-ever Beeson Divinity School

Teaching Award at Samford University

in Birmingham. A Beeson faculty

member since 1990, Humphreys

specializes in systematic theology.

GEORGIACBF OF GEORGIA FALL convoca-

tion will be Nov. 9-10 at First Baptist

Church, Columbus, with CBF

Coordinator Daniel Vestal as speak-

er. Highlights include a ministry fair,

panel of CBF leaders, sermons by

McAfee and Candler school students,

missionary speakers and Tomislav

Dobutovic, director of the Bible

Institute of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

CBF of Georgia is co-sponsoring

a church leadership academy Sept. 20

at First Baptist Church, Gainesville.

New Horizons Camp, a missions

summer camp for children in grades

3-5, registered more than 100 chil-

dren in attendance for the two weeks

of 2003.

Touching Taliaferro with Love,

a CBF of Georgia children’s day

camp for children in grades K-12

in Taliaferro County, enrolled 218

children and adult workers. A third

week, a baseball camp, was added

this year with an enrollment of 54

children and adult volunteers.

MISSOURIMilton P. Horne, professor of reli-

gion at William Jewell College in

Liberty, has been appointed execu-

tive director of the Partee Center for

Baptist Historical Studies at the col-

lege. Horne’s appointment follows

the retirement of Donald Wideman,

who had served as executive director

of the center since 1997.

The annual Ministers’ Retreat

sponsored by CBF of Missouri will be

Sept. 22-23 at Windermere Baptist

Conference Center. The retreat leader

will be Roger Paynter, pastor of First

Baptist Church, Austin, Texas. For

more information, contact Steve

Graham at (816) 781-2824 or Keith

Herron at (816) 942-1729.

The Mid American Indian

Fellowships will gather Sept. 26-28

at Linn County Park on LaCygne

Lake, Kan. For more information,

e-mail Robert Francis at

[email protected].

CBF Missouri will meet Nov. 4,

in St. Louis.

NATIONALChristen “Sissi” Green, daughter of

Fellowship global missions field

personnel Butch and Nell Green,

was selected as one of 350 young

scholars to attend the 2003 Global

Young Leaders Conference, Aug. 3-

14, in Washington, D.C., and New

York City. Green, 17, serves with her

family in Brussels, Belgium.

NORTH CAROLINATHE CHOIR from First Baptist

Church, Asheville, N.C., sang at the

opening ceremonies of Habitat for

Humanity’s Jimmy Carter Work

Project in Anniston, Ala. Minister of

Music Clark Sorrells said the choir

hoped their performance would

inspire other churches to combine

music ministry with work projects.

The choir joined more than 2,000

volunteers who built 92 houses in

Alabama and Georgia.

OKLAHOMAMORE THAN 80 ministers met this

summer at All Tribes Community

Church in Tulsa to discuss how to

better mobilize Native American

congregations for outreach. Keynote

speakers were Emerson Falls, pastor

of Glorieta Baptist Church, Oklahoma

City, and former president of Cook

Theological School; and Richard

Twiss, writer and co-founder of

Wiconi International. Other seminar

leaders included Robert Francis,

Mid American Indian Fellowships;

Herschell Daney, retired director of

Indian Ministries for American

Baptist Churches USA; Will Brown,

director of Indian Ministries for

ABC; and Tom Ogburn, CBF associ-

ate coordinator for partnership mis-

sions. The conference was sponsored

by Indian Ministries of the American

Baptist Churches and CBF.

FELLOW

SHIP FARE

13

Fellowship Roundup News from CBF’s states, regions and national offices

Coming Attractions

Oct. 12-16

Green Lake Chautaugua Conference

Green Lake Conference Center,

Green Lake, Wis.

Leaders: Tom Clifton, Jan DeWitt, Roger

Fredrikson, Molly Marshall, Lee McGlone,

Roy Medley, Walter Shurden, Jeffry Zurheide

Theme: "Awaken to a New Day"

Cost: $340 per person, includes lodging,

meals, program fee

Contact: (800) 558-8898, www.glcc.org

For a complete schedule of events,

go to Community/Calendar at

www.cbfonline.org.

14

FELL

OW

SHIP

FAR

E

SOUTH CAROLINATHE CBF OF SOUTH CAROLINAfall convocation is scheduled for

Nov. 10 with keynote preachers James

Dunn and Brenda Kneece.

TENNESSEETHE SECOND CHURCH Starters

Workshop will be Oct. 3-4 at

Glenstone Lodge in Gatlinburg.

Leaders will be Dan Page, Dynamic

Development Design Network,

Greenville, S.C., and Greg Mumpower,

church starter, The Church at

Mountain Home, Knoxville. Cost is

$75 for individuals and $100 for

couples. For more information,

contact Tennessee CBF at (888) 661-

8223 or [email protected].

WASHINGTON, D.C.CALVARY BAPT IST CHURCHrecently elected Amy Butler as senior

pastor of the 141-year-old congrega-

tion. Butler previously was associate

pastor of St. Charles Avenue Baptist

Church in New Orleans. While in New

Orleans, Butler also was a CBF urban

missionary.

BWA Votes to ExtendMembership to CBF THE BAPT IST WORLD ALL IANCEvoted July 11, 78-25 to extend mem-

bership to the Cooperative Baptist

Fellowship during the BWA’s annual

General Council meeting in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil. The vote concludes a

three-year process by the Fellowship

to gain membership into the largest

and most diverse international Baptist

body.

“It represents an important step

for CBF to be a part of the world

Baptist family,” said CBF Coordinator

Daniel Vestal. “This decision of the

General Council of the BWA repre-

sents a validation of CBF. It was heart-

ening and encouraging to be received

as a member body.”

“We want to be a contributing mem-

ber body of BWA, entering into their

mission, participating and doing our

part financially to provide support,”

Vestal added.

The Fellowship first applied for

BWA membership in 2001. The mem-

bership committee deferred action on

the request at that time, citing con-

cerns about the Fellowship’s relation-

ship with the Southern Baptist

Convention, as well as whether the

Fellowship could be identified as a

separate Baptist entity.

The Fellowship reapplied in 2002

with additional supporting documen-

tation, gaining a favorable hearing

from the membership committee,

which recommended granting full

membership.

The BWA exists to promote

Christian fellowship and cooperation

among Baptists worldwide, to lead in

world evangelization, to respond to

people in need and to defend human

rights and religious freedom. The

BWA is the official global fellowship of

211 Baptist unions and conventions

comprising a membership of more

than 47 million baptized believers.

Cobb Accepts Position withChildren’s Defense Fund

REBA S. COBB ,

Cooperative Baptist

Fellowship chief

operating officer,

accepted the position

of religious action

director for the

Children’s Defense

Fund (CDF) in

Washington, D.C., effective Sept. 1.

Cobb, who also served as coordi-

nator of the Fellowship’s Atlanta

Resource Center, has been with the

Fellowship since 2001.

“Reba Cobb is a gifted individual

with a heart for service and mind

for problem solving,” said CBF

Coordinator Daniel Vestal. “She has

accomplished much in her time with

us in Atlanta, and we pray for her con-

tinued success as she seeks to be the

presence of Christ in the world.”

Cobb said, “It is with mixed emo-

tions that I leave my place of service

and ministry with CBF to pursue God’s

calling in another arena. I appreciate

the opportunities to use my gifts and

abilities at CBF and look forward to

new challenges ahead.”

A graduate of Samford University

and the Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary in Louisville, Cobb is also

a founder of Baptist Women in

Ministry. f!

News articles by Lance Wallace, CBF

Communications


Vol. 13, No. 6

CBF COORDINATOR • Daniel Vestal

EDITOR • Ben McDade

MANAGING EDITOR • Lisa M. Jones

PHONE • (770) 220-1600

FAX • (770) 220-1685

E-MAIL • [email protected]

WEB SITE • www.cbfonline.org

fellowship! is published 8 times a

year in Jan./Feb., Mar., April/May,

June/July, Aug., Sept./Oct., Nov., Dec.

by The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,

Inc., 3001 Mercer University Dr.,

Atlanta, GA 30341-4115.

Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta,

GA, and additional mailing offices.

USPS #015-625

POSTMASTER:

Send address changes to “fellowship!”

Newsletter, Cooperative Baptist

Fellowship, P.O. Box 450329,

Atlanta, GA 31145-0329

Cobb


COMPLETE HOTEL RESERVATION form and return no laterthan May 23, 2004. Three ways to reserve your room:

1. MAIL: Birmingham Convention Housing & Visitors Bureau2200 Ninth Avenue NorthBirmingham, AL 35203-1100

2. FAX: (205) 458-8088

3. ONLINE: Go to www.cbfonline.org/community/ga/ andmake reservations online with the BirminghamConvention Housing Bureau.

If you encounter difficulties making your reservations,please call (770) 619-9671 for assistance.

1. Reservation forms must be RECEIVED by the BirminghamConvention Housing Bureau no later than May 23, 2004.

2. All requests for room reservations must be made inwriting or by e-mail. We are unable to process applicationsvia telephone.

3. Sharing a room: Please submit only one application perroom requested listing all occupants in each room. Anacknowledgement listing each occupant will be sent fromthe Convention Housing Bureau to the individual whosubmitted the request (primary occupant).

4. REQUIRED DEPOSIT: In order to process your request,the housing application must be accompanied by anamount equal to one night’s room rate at your firstchoice hotel for each room requested. Deposits areaccepted by credit card only, you may fax the form to(205) 458-8088 or go to our website(www.cbfonline.org/community/ga/) and click on theConvention Hotel Reservations button, then follow theeasy steps to send reservations online. Your credit cardwill be charged for one night’s deposit by the hotel. Thisis refundable if cancellation is made 72 hours prior toarrival unless otherwise stated on the confirmation youreceive from your assigned hotel. Please include thenumber and expiration date of your credit card. Anacknowledgement will be sent to you from the HousingBureau stating that your reservation has been made,and to which hotel you have been assigned. Faxing andmailing this form twice may cause us to duplicate yourreservations. The BCVB is not responsible for duplicatereservations.

All reservations holding more than 5 rooms will berequired to forward a non-refundable, one nights depositfor each room held by April 1, 2004. All rooms held willbe released back to the housing bureau if no deposit isreceived.

5. Changes/Cancellations: The Convention Housing Bureaumakes all changes and cancellations requested in writinguntil May 23, 2004. After that date, changes andcancellations must be made directly with the hotelassigned. Please reference your acknowledgementnumber when making a change or cancellation. Changes,cancellations, and inquiries concerning reservations maybe faxed to (205) 458-8088 ore-mailed to: [email protected]

6. RATES DO NOT INCLUDE 14% TAX. YOU WILL BECHARGED 14% SALES AND OCCUPANCY TAX WHEN YOUCHECK OUT OF YOUR DESIGNATED HOTEL.

HO

TEL RESERVATION

FORM

15

Official Hotel Reservation FormCooperative Baptist Fellowship 2004 General AssemblyJune 24-26, 2004 • Birmingham, AlabamaReserve quickly at www.cbfonline.org/community/ga/

See hotel listings below. If you list only one choice and that hotel isfull, you will be assigned to the next closest available property.

1st choice:

2nd choice:

3rd choice:

Arrival Date: Departure Date:

Arrival Time, if known:

If dates are not listed, you will be assigned the official conventionhousing dates at the top of this form. (June 24-26)

Hotel Choice

■■ Single (1 person, 1 bed) ■■ Double (2 people, 1 bed)

■■ Double/Double (2 people, 2 beds) ■■ Triple (3 people, 2 beds)

■■ Quad (4 people, 2 beds)

Special Requests: ■■ Nonsmoking ■■ Disabled ■■ Rollaway

■■ Other __________________________________

Unfortunately, special requests are not guaranteed.

Room Type

Send acknowledgement and confirmation to: (one acknowledge-ment/confirmation per room)

First Name: Last Name:

Company/Church/Organization:

Mailing Address:

City: State: Zip:

Day Phone: Fax:

Email:

Sharing Room with:

Attendee Information

Please charge my first night’s deposit to my credit card (check one):

■■ American Express ■■ Diners Club ■■ Discover Card■■ MasterCard ■■ Visa

Credit Card Number:

Expiration Date:

Cardholder’s Name:

Cardholder’s Signature (Required):

Guests wishing to avoid an early checkout fee should advise thehotel at or before check-in of any change in planned length of stay.Reservations received after May 23, 2004 will be referred toavailable hotels.

Deposit Information

Available Hotels:• SHERATON BIRMINGHAM (Headquarters Hotel); Rate: $100; across the street

from Convention Center• THE TUTWILER HOTEL; Rate: $100 Single; $109 Double; 2 blocks from

Convention Center• CROWN PLAZA – THE REDMONT HOTEL; Rate: $95 Single/Double; $110

Triple/Quad; 3 blocks from Convention Center• RADISSON HOTEL BIRMINGHAM; Rate: $89 Single/Double; $99 Triple; $109

Quad; 1.5 miles from Convention Center

P. O. Box 450329

Atlanta, GA 31145-0329

Address Service Requested

Quilt Inspires Virginia Church to SupportGlobal Missions with Creativity

A QUILT INSPIRED Tomahawk Baptist Church in

Richmond, Va., to discover a unique and effective way of

promoting Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Offering for

Global Missions.

Each year, Tomahawk uses the month of February to

focus on raising funds for the Offering for Global Missions.

“Everyone … Everywhere: Being the Presence of Christ” –

the theme for the Fellowship’s 2003-04 Offering for Global

Missions based on Acts 1:8 – focuses on communities of

faith being Christ to those around them. This year’s offer-

ing goal is $6.1 million.

A new way to promote the offering got its start this year

at Tomahawk when several church members bought quilts

from Fellowship global missions field personnel Melin and

Ron.* Then one of the members hit on the idea of using the

quilts to promote the offering. After some brainstorming, a

creative solution was reached.

Instead of using a real quilt, members of the congrega-

tion created a “quilt” frame that fit exactly over the church’s

baptistery opening. A cardboard grid with 48 squares was

placed over the frame to represent the squares of the quilt.

Each square was given a $55 value, for a grand total of

$2,640. For every $55 contributed toward the Offering for

Global Missions, one of the squares is filled in with the

photo of a Fellowship field personnel member.

“We just selected 48 missionaries at random from the CBF

promotional material, and I enlarged them on the computer

and then printed them out,” explains Pastor Clay Thornton.

The church’s high school mission group contributes to

the project by decorating the areas around the photos. The

group is also in charge of hanging the photos on the “quilt”

as the money is raised. “They have really had a lot of fun

with this,” Thornton says. “It’s kept them busy for a num-

ber of Wednesday nights.”

In fact, the project seems to have energized the entire

congregation, Thornton reports. “This is as good of a

response as we’ve ever

gotten to the Offering,” he says. “I think the quilt has given

our members something to focus on.” The church exceeded

its $2,640 goal with a total of $3,416.36.

Thornton says he thinks part of the project’s success lies

in the fact that the $55 amount placed on each quilt

“square” was a good amount for many people to contribute.

“Some of our members have given more than usual,” he

says. “I think the fact that the amount for each square was

not so terribly high made it seem more doable for many

people.” f!

All Fellowship churches that have contributed to the Offering

for Global Missions have been sent a 2003-04 offering resource

packet. If your church has not received a packet, contact the

CBF Offering for Global Missions Promotion Office at (770)

220-1653 or go to Missions/Involvement/Offering at

www.cbfonline.org. Offering resources information is also

available in the insert provided in this issue.

*Melin and Ron’s last name is withheld for security reasons.

By contributing writer April Shauf, Bluefield, W.Va.

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GLO

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& M

INIS

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Receipts from CBF's Offering forGlobal Missions assist the min-istries of field personnel who arebeing the presence of Christ to“Everyone … Everywhere.”

Fiel

d pe

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hoto

2003 September/October

Documents

Transcript of 2003 September/October