Sept/Oct 2006 fellowship!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

Fellowship, schools, churches work together to discover, develop, nurture leaders

More than 2,000 students attend the Cooperative Bap-tist Fellowship’s 14 partner schools in theological educa-tion. Th ese students spend an average of three to four years preparing for careers as min-isters, chaplains, counselors, missions work-ers, teachers and leaders in non-profi t and faith-based or-ganizations.

Th e major-ity of students are enrolled in master of divinity pro-grams, the tra-ditional degree of church leaders. But there are a growing number of master’s degrees and areas of concentration at seminaries, including counseling, busi-ness administration, missional church studies and urban mis-sion, a concentration recently started at McAfee School of Th eology. (See page 5 for more on McAfee’s concentration.)

“Th ere is a broadening of the areas of ministerial work,” said Daniel Aleshire, execu-tive director of the Association of Th eological Schools (ATS), which accredits schools in the United States and Canada. “When I went to school, you were either going to be a pastor, musician or educator. Th ere are so many more kinds of work for which ministerial de-grees are relevant. Students are now confronted with so many more options. Th ey are coming with the same call and this huge range of choices in which they can choose to invest that call.”

Another trend at Fellow-ship partner schools is the increasing number of fe-male students. At four of the Fellowship’s partner schools,

female students equal or out-number male students. (See pages 4-5 for information on partner schools.)

According to ATS statistics, the number of female students

at Baptist seminaries in the U.S. and Canada has increased more than 50 percent in the past 10 years.

“Since the time I started seminary in the early 70s there has been a remarkable surge

in the number of women,” said Central Baptist Th eological Seminary president Molly T. Marshall, who is the fi rst female to lead a Baptist seminary. “I think culturally ministry is much more open to women as a vocation. Some of the tradition-al barriers have broken down in all denominations, and for moderate and progressive Bap-tists, we have done the theologi-cal homework that welcomes

women to pastoral leadership and other specialized ministries, but we have far to go in being fully inclusive.”

Kathy Naish, a 2006 gradu-ate of the M. Christopher White School of Divinity at

Gardner-Webb University, fi rst felt a vocational call in college, but a variety of obsta-cles, including what she de-scribes as a “gender wall,” kept her from pursuing a degree.

At the age of 42, Naish was encouraged to attend Gardner-Webb by her pastor, Dixon Free, at First Baptist Church of Lincoln-ton, N.C. With two children in high school, Naish active-ly applied for schol-arships, knowing she couldn’t aff ord to use her children’s college fund to pay for seminary. Naish was named a CBF leadership scholar, receiving a scholar-ship for three years.

Th e Fellowship provides scholarships to 87 students distributed among the partner schools. Recipients, who receive $4,000 a year toward tuition, books and fees, are selected by the individual schools.

Churches like FBC of Lin-colnton support theological education by encouraging individuals such as Naish to follow their calling, but con-gregational involvement in

theological education does not end there. Th e supportive relationship between theologi-cal schools and congregations is essential to the existence of each, especially with the re-cent increase in the number of Baptist seminaries. Half of the Fellowship’s partner schools

were started in the past 15 years. Th ey face the challenge of most new schools, including building relationships with churches and com-munities and estab-lishing sources for funding. (See pages 6-7 for a timeline of school starts.)

“Communities need centers of

study and refl ection, and theo-logical schools need to prepare people for service in commu-nities of faith,” said Aleshire. “If you let go of either side of that relationship, then you have just another school.”

Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., supports students at the Baptist Th eo-logical Seminary in Richmond by nurturing student interns and participating in the

In the classrooms of theological schools across

the country, the future of Baptist life studies,

learns, writes, refl ects, discerns, engages and

follows vocational callings.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

CBFfellowship! COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP | WWW.THEFELLOWSHIP.INFO

IT’S BEEN fi ve years of listen-ing, learning and growth for To-gether for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative, which launched in 2001 as a new way of address-ing domestic poverty in 20 rural counties across the nation.

Th at new way involves using the model of asset-based com-munity development, which values the community’s existing and potential assets, the ability of residents to change their own community, and the mutual learning that can occur between relationships with residents and the Fellowship’s personnel and volunteers. Combined with Together for Hope’s Christ-cen-tered approach and other prin-ciples, it is proving eff ective.

Chosen based on 1995 federal poverty statistics, the 20 counties are in seven states — Alabama, Ar-kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missis-sippi, South Da-kota and Texas. By 2003, eff orts had started in eight of the 20 counties. Currently, Together for Hope (TFH) eff orts exist in 17 coun-ties, with the eff orts in these counties as unique as the coun-ties themselves.

“When we go into a commu-nity, we try to listen to the peo-ple and learn from them what their resources are,” said national

TFH coordinator Tom Prevost. “And then we try to come along-side them and address poverty together. Th is is not top-down. Th is is not pre-packaged. Th is is a learning process.”

For example, eff orts in Loui-siana have revolved around lo-cal schools and prison min

istry,

while Mississippi has channeled much of its work through churches in its fo-cal counties. And in Appalachia work is characterized by construction proj-ects and a strong summer ministry in one county.

Investing in children and youth

— the future leadership of these counties — has been a signifi -cant area of TFH work. Fel-lowship partner churches help conduct children’s camp pro-grams in Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama and Texas. Annual collections of backpacks and

— Continued on page 3

Together for Hope marks fi ve years of addressing poverty in rural U.S. counties

“Communities need centers of study and

refl ection, and theological

schools need to prepare people for service in communities

of faith.”

Glenn Hinson (center), who has more than 30 years of teaching experience, is now a professor at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

Phot

o co

urte

sy B

SK

Chris Thompson (right), TFH economic development adviser, has worked with South Dakota resident Ben Elk Eagle.

— Continued on page 4

Carla

Wyn

n ph

oto

G L O B A L M I S S I O N S

M i d d l e E a s t V i o l e n c e I n t e r r u p t s M i n i s t r y | A s Yo u G o A f f i l i a t e s i n M e x i c oC O O P E R A T I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o

2

‘Celebrate Jesus’ Middle East violence interrupts ministry

It’s a part of Operation Antioch, an in-terdenominational eff ort among Middle East evangelical churches to “reach people for Christ,” said Maha Boulos, who leads the eff ort along with her husband Chaouki.

Th e Bouloses, two of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Mission’s fi eld personnel, work in the Middle East with a large part of their ministry focusing on evangelistic revival meetings they call Celebrate Jesus.

Th e meetings typically involve wor-ship, a sermon and time for prayer. Local churches follow up with those who attend or make faith decisions at the meetings. Th e interdenominational aspect is impor-tant to the Bouloses, and so far they have involved about 40 local churches in work-ing to share the gospel in the Middle East.

Th e Bouloses were amid a Celebrate Jesus meeting in late July when nearing military combat — associated with recent confl ict between Israel and Hezbollah fi ghters in Lebanon — made it too danger-ous to continue. Shortly thereaft er, the Bouloses and their two teenage sons were evacuated to the United States. Th ousands of southern Lebanon residents fl ed to uni-versities, schools and other public places to avoid danger.

“We have a huge open door with refugees,” Chaouki said. “We’ll be extremely busy doing aid with people for several months.”

Some of the same interdenominational networks formed through Celebrate Jesus meetings have helped to distribute pack-ages of food and relief supplies to refugees.

Th e Bouloses plan to return to the region to continue their ministry. Th ree Celebrate Jesus meetings have been

planned for this fall and winter. “We are experiencing a mighty change

in the Middle East, causing government leaders to be more open to religious tolerance,” Chaouki said. “We will be playing an important role during this transitional time.”

In Lebanon, about 39 percent of the population is Christian and 59 percent Muslim. It’s not uncommon for non-Chris-tians to attend a Celebrate Jesus meeting because “diff erent religions talk about Je-sus, so it makes it easy for people from all backgrounds to come,” Chaouki said.

U.S. volunteers have also helped with the meetings, including more than 60 in the past two years. Teams have taught basketball clinics, prayed around the city, visited local churches, done street evangelism and visited orphanages in conjunction with celebrations.

In 1999, the Bouloses felt a calling

to share the gospel among people in the Middle East. Chaouki took some preliminary trips to Lebanon to form relationships with local evangelical churches. In 2000, the Bouloses went with 35 volunteers to conduct the fi rst Celebrate Jesus meeting in Lebanon. Six

years later, more than 15 similar meetings have occurred. f!

GIVE – To give to the Offering for Global Missions, go to www.thefellowship.info/landing/giving.icm.

By Carla Wynn, CBF Communications

A few times a year, hundreds gather to celebrate Jesus in Lebanon

or surrounding countries. Th ey sing, they learn and many

respond. Last year more than 1,500 people expressed new faith in

Jesus Christ.

Vol. 16, No. 5COORDINATOR • Daniel VestalCOORDINATOR, COMMUNICATIONS & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT • Ben McDadeEDITOR • Lance WallaceMANAGING EDITOR • Patricia HeysASSOCIATE EDITOR • Carla WynnPHONE • (770) 220-1600FAX • (770) 220-1685E-MAIL • [email protected] SITE • www.thefellowship.info

fellowship! fellowship! f is published 7 times a year in Sept./Oct., Special I (Oct.), Nov./Dec., Jan./Feb., Mar./Apr., May/June, Special II (Aug.) 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, fellowship!” Newsletter, fCooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 450329, Atlanta, GA 31145-0329

RELYING ON faith and a strong sense of calling to minister among isolated peoples, Connie and Rod Johnson spent the past fi ve years in Oaxaca, Mexico, alleviating human need and striving to make spiritual con-nections with local residents.

Appointed in June as Coop-erative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions AsYouGo affi liate per-sonnel, the Johnsons minister to people in extreme poverty, partic-ularly families left behind by illegal immigrants to the United States.

“Th e further south you go, the more people head to the United States,” Rod said. “Th ey come to try to escape ex-treme poverty.”

Many people in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, which borders the Pa-cifi c Ocean, don’t have access to running water or medical care, and there are high rates of infant mortality and diseases like tuberculosis. People are still martyred for their faith, and 190 spoken dialects create communications challenges.

Th e diffi culty of living in rural south-ern Mexico is something Rod knows fi rsthand as a third-generation missionary kid who lived in Mexico until he was 18 years old. In 2000, Rod quit his job, the family sold everything and took the full-time missions plunge, moving to Oaxaca,

where they lived off con-tributions from family, friends and ministry supporters.

As indepen-dent missionar-ies, the Johnsons developed a broad ministry to meet the wide array of need in Oaxaca. Although not medical special-

ists, the Johnsons were sometimes the clos-est thing to medical assistance that Oaxaca residents had. Th ey also provided food, con-struction help and friendship for the people of Oaxaca.

“Almost all of our evangelism starts with establishing relationships as friends,” Rod said. “You become their friends. You eat what they eat. You hug their kids, and over time, they begin to see something in you that they haven’t seen.”

Th e spiritual message was received far better than the Johnsons thought. Many times, it is the Oaxaca residents that initi-ate conversations about faith, Rod said.

Th e Johnsons have helped plant four churches led by Oaxaca residents, and they’ve also created volunteer experiences

for U.S.-based individuals and churches to experience the ministry. Th e Johnsons’ church, University Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, sent medical volunteer teams to Oaxaca, where they treated more than 700 people within one week.

Since February, the Johnsons have been living in Houston, letting the Oaxaca ministry “thrive by itself and stand on its own two feet,” Rod said. Th ey have led several volunteer trips to Oaxaca, includ-ing youth groups for humanitarian eff orts and a medical team. Th ey have started a new ministry in the northern Mexi-can state of Coahuila, a desert area with extreme poverty in many scattered, low-populated villages.

Closer proximity to the United States — a 12-hour drive to Coahuila as opposed to a three-day drive to Oaxaca — will en-able more U.S. volunteers to participate in the creation of a new ministry. As AsYou-Go affi liates, the Johnsons aim to facilitate more short-term missions experiences for Fellowship partner churches. f!

SERVE – For more information on the Johnsons’ ministry, contact them at [email protected]. For more information on the AsYouGo affiliate program, visit www.destinationmissions.net or contact Matt Norman at (770) 220-1609 or [email protected].


AsYouGo affi liates minister among isolated in Mexico

Since 2000, Chaouki Boulos has helped bring 15 Celebrate Jesus meetings to the Middle East.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f the

Bou

lose

s

Rod and Connie Johnson

CBF

phot

o

3

Vo l u n t e e r M i s s i o n s S p o t l i g h t | A n t i p h o n y C o n f e r e n c e w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

G L O B A L M I S S I O N S

Volunteer Missions spotlightTexas couple sponsors Kosovo student in United States

A native of Gajokova, Kosovo, Gojani was an interpreter for an English as a Sec-ond Language course Jesmarie, who passed away in January, was teaching in Kosovo while on a mission trip.

“We recognized how bright and intelligent he was and the leadership skills he had,” Dick Hurst said. “We met his family and established a rela-tionship.”

That relationship led to a sponsorship to the United States and an additional family in the Hursts. While living with the Hursts, Gojani attended and graduated from The Brook Hill School, a private Christian school located just outside Tyler, Texas. During that time he also made a profession

of faith at the Hursts’ church, First Baptist Church of Tyler.

“The Brook Hill high school taught me to be patient and produc-tive with my time and gave birth to my Christian roots,” said Gojani. “I have grown tall on those roots, and I have tried to direct my life and serve the purpose for which I have been brought to earth.”

With the help of the Hursts and a number of other sponsors who are

paying for his tuition, Gojani has just com-pleted his freshman year at Baylor Univer-sity. A pre-med major, Gojani finished his first year with a 3.42 grade point average.

Gojani works in the library while tak-ing a full course load, and he has found a

friend and mentor in John Wilson, director of library advancement and special projects at Baylor, and a friend of the Hursts.

“He is tenacious,” said Wilson. “I think he wants to make his parents proud, be a role model for his siblings, and wants to go back and make a difference in his country. And the kindness that the Hursts have shown him, he would like to do that for others.”

Gojani has the opportunity to visit his parents and two sisters once a year. He trav-elled to Kosovo this summer and worked in Rajavek with Rick Shaw, one of CBF’s Global Missions field personnel.

“We need to educate the young people to be leaders over there — that is one of the most critical things we can do,” Hurst said. f!

SERVE – To volunteer with CBF Global Missions contact Timothy Wood, volunteer program manager, at (800) 782-2451 or [email protected]. Also, visit www.thefellowship.info/globalmissions/volunteers.

By contributing writer Alison Wingfield, Dallas, Texas

As a young teen, Barlet Gojani’s knack for languages and

entrepreneurial spirit put him in the path of Dick and Jesmarie

Hurst, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missions volunteers.

Antiphony to challenge students to respond to God’s call

UNIVERSITY AND graduate students will have the opportunity to talk about things that matter during the Antiphony conference Dec. 29-Jan. 2, 2007, in Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Under the theme “Call and Response,” the conference will challenge students to reflect on God’s call and their response amid a global context of need, change, conflict and disparity.

“Antiphony literally means a recip-rocal exchange of voices,” said Amy Derrick, who chairs the Antiphony steering committee. “The Antiphony conference creates a space where a reciprocal exchange of thoughts, ideas, questions, convictions and hopes can happen through facilitat-ing conversations about topics and issues that matter.

“Our hope is that in doing so, the students are able to listen for the call of God, enter into deeper conversa-tion with God and consider their response to God’s call to them.”

The event is co-sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions and The Samuel Project, which includes Passport Inc. and Bap-tist Theological Seminary at Richmond.

Students will engage in dialogue through small group sessions and relevant “chat rooms” on topics including social justice, poverty, HIV/AIDS, life between college and graduate school and global activism. Worship will blend Web-cam inter-views with those ministering around the world, innovative music facili-tated by guest artist Kate Campbell and worship leader John Wiles, and sermons from guest speakers Amy Mears of Glendale Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn., and Reggie Blount, pastor of Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church in Waukegan, Ill.

Other activities include a New Year’s Eve gala, a coffeehouse including a concert by Campbell, a luau party, square dance and film festival focusing on the confer-ence theme. Students are invited to create a 10-12 minute video on the conference theme “Call and Response.” Films must be submit-ted by Oct. 15.

Registration costs start at $200, based on lodging four people per hotel room. The registration fee covers four nights lodging, confer-ence fees, two lunches and the New Year’s Eve gala. Registration opens Aug. 15 and closes Nov. 15. For more information or to register, visit www.antiphonyonline.org.

By Carla Wynn, CBF communications

Barlet Gojani and Jesmarie Hurst

Phot

o co

urte

sy D

ick

Hurs

t

school supplies by churches and individuals are distributed to children in Louisiana and Mississippi. Books of Hope, a children’s book distribution project, was an effort to combat illiteracy, a systemic problem that often be-gins during childhood. In several counties, partnerships have been made with early education centers. Teenagers from some regions have participated in an annual TFH basketball tournament in Helena, Ark. Teens benefit from seeing a different part of the United States and forming friendships with teens from different cultures.

These projects have emerged from TFH personnel’s and volunteers’ listening to com-munity members and learning what efforts would be meaningful to the community. In many counties, the Fellowship has worked with people of faith and other anti-poverty organizations.

But Together for Hope has had its chal-lenges. While not a new idea, local asset-based community development requires a shift from the traditional need-based ap-proach to doing missions. Federal poverty statistics brought TFH to these 20 coun-ties, but viewing community members as impoverished undermines an underlying and foundational principle of TFH — that all people are valuable, each with hopes, dreams and the ability to transform their own community, according to Jeremy Lew-is, TFH program manager.

“There is a real challenge that we face when we go into a community to not have a superiority complex,” Lewis said. “We have a sincere desire to help and to also solve problems, but we shouldn’t look al-ways to change or influence community members’ decision-making. It’s important that they are the ones determining the way their assets are used.”

The next 15 years of TFH efforts may look much like the first five — a lot of listen-ing and learning how to best be involved. TFH will continue to forge partnerships with local leaders and organizations. Prevost hopes TFH begins better advocacy efforts on behalf of the counties, encouraging public policy that could promote economic and educational development in rural areas.

“It’s easy to come in and help people by doing something for them, but that’s not the kind of organization that we’re trying to be,” said Jennifer McClung, who served as a TFH intern last summer in Kentucky. “It’s really hard to do something for people and at the same time move in a different direc-tion, to create systems [of change].”

Fellowship partner churches and indi-viduals have responded to the biblical man-date to come alongside the poor. In 2005, more than 6,000 volunteer contacts were made in TFH focal counties.

Many volunteers have connected with TFH through state CBF organizations physically near TFH focal counties.

“It gives our churches and people an oppor-tunity to do holistic missions right here in our

state,” said Ray Higgins, CBF of Arkansas co-ordinator. “It gives our people the opportunity to be evangelistic in authentic, practical ways.”

The steady teams of volunteers mostly come from churches. The creation of annual missions blitzes like the two-week All Church Challenge in Helena, Ark., and KidsHeart activities in Texas have encouraged churches to make long-term commitments to TFH counties by making repeated trips to a particular area.

Prevost hopes that more Fellowship volunteers will make a personal long-term commitment to counties, particularly by living in the rural communities and being a physical presence among residents.

TFH’s second objective involves ad-dressing poverty not just in the 20 focal counties but in other communities around the United States. Recognizing poverty in their own communities, several state CBF organizations have done work in seven ad-ditional rural counties. Many Fellowship partner churches also have taken on new ministries in their own communities be-cause of their TFH volunteer experiences.

“We are hoping that those who partici-pate will take back home the lessons they have learned and that they will address poverty in their own community,” Prevost said. “We’re genuinely hoping this becomes a movement.” f!

LEARN – For more information on Together for Hope, visit www.ruralpoverty.net.


Together for Hope— Continued from page 1

T H E O L O G I C A L E D U C A T I O N

T r u e t t O f f e r s G l o b a l L e a r n i n g | P a r t n e r S c h o o l P r o f i l e sC O O P E R A T I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o

4

Truett offers opportunities for global learning

Th e concentration is a popular one at Truett, which is part of Baylor University, and many graduates enter the fi eld of mission service aft er graduation, including more than 20 who are serving with CBF Global Missions.

“I had always been taught that missions is about us being the ones to off er our knowledge or gift s, that we are the ones to do the giving,” said Lizzie Fortenberry, a Truett graduate commissioned in June as a CBF Global Service Corps member. “But [classes at Truett] teach

that mission is about our learning from other cultures. We receive, in relationship and in friendship, with the people we’re ministering to. It’s not about hierarchies, but about walking alongside.”

Michael Stroope, associate professor of Christian missions at Truett, oversees the missions and world Chris-tianity concentration. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience serv-ing in missions fi elds that include Sri Lanka, England, Germany and Hong Kong.

“One of the strengths of Truett is, I believe, the balance between the theological and the practical,” said Stroope. “Th eology is in need of good practice and good practice is in need of good theology. Students get to see the con-nection between what they’re learning in the classroom and how it applies to ministry.”

Th e concentration in-cludes four core courses on understanding cross-cultural living, focus on biblical/theo-logical themes, the history of missions and exploration of religion and world views. Stu-dents are also required to par-

ticipate in a mentoring program and work with ministers and missions workers in the local community of Waco, Texas, and as far away as Turkey, Cypress, India and Ghana.

Select students in the global missions concentration have the opportunity to participate in a fi ve-week summer course that includes a trip overseas. Students visit with people working full-time in missions and work alongside them. Th is summer, Stroope led the students through eight cit-ies in India, and they had the opportunity to work in Mother Th eresa’s Calcutta min-istry, doing laundry and serving food.

“Th e important take-away from student’s practical experience is to see that missions are more complicated that they’ve read about or imagined,” said Stroope. “Th ere’s a whole world of issues — culture, history, religion — to be opened up to them, to try to understand as best they can in four or fi ve weeks. Th e goal is in learning how to do that, then transfer that to another culture or ministry setting.” f!

By contributing writer Cindy Bell, Atlanta, Ga.

In 2001, Truett Seminary introduced a missions emphasis to

its master of divinity degree, and now, fi ve years later, nearly a

fourth of Truett’s 400 students are enrolled in the missions and world

Christianity concentration.

Surrounded by children of India, Truett student Sarah Rochelle Montoya learned cross-cultural missions first-hand as part of an immersion course.

Fellowship’s residency program for recent graduates. (See page 7 for more on Taber-nacle Baptist.)

Th e Fellowship encourages this relationship between schools and congregations, especially as students graduate and pursue full-time ministry. Terry Hamrick, the Fellowship’s coordinator for leadership development, said the Fellowship’s goal is to eventually partner with 200 churches to establish teaching congregations.

“One reason that fewer people are feel-ing called into congregational ministry is that they don’t have positive role models, and that’s the value of teaching congrega-tions” said Hamrick. “We not only want to discover leaders, but also develop and nurture leaders.”

Th rough a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the Fellowship has provided nine residencies to graduates from fi ve partner schools in the past two years. Residents serve in churches for two years, learning and developing in an environment where they receive mentoring, collegial and congregational support.

“[Th e residency program] is an added aspect that we didn’t have,” said Th omas Brisco, dean of Logsdon Seminary. “It’s been a good program for the student and church. It’s the kind of experience that you would covet for every graduate. It’s a valuable experience that prepares them more accurately for the ministries that lie ahead.” f!

LEARN To learn more about the Fellowship’s partner schools and leadership development, contact Hamrick at (770) 220-1615 or [email protected] or go to http://www.thefellowship.info/LD/.

By Patricia Heys, CBF Communications

Fellowship, schools, churches — Continued from page 1

Baptist Seminary of Kentucky www.bsky.orgLocation: Lexington, Ky. Started: 2002Student body: 50 (40% female, 60% male)Degrees: Master of DivinityConcentrations: Pastoral Care and CounselingInteresting fact: Baptist Seminary of Kentucky started with just three full-time staff, which included the president, one faculty member and one offi ce staff person.

Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmondwww.btsr.eduLocation: Richmond, Va.Started: 1991Student body: 333 (46% female, 54% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Doctor of Ministry, Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work, Master of Divinity and Master of Science in Patient CounselingConcentrations: Church Music, Christian Education, Youth and Student Ministry, Children and Family MinistryInteresting fact: In addition to advanced theological programs, BTSR remains a frontline resource for congregations providing training for laity via its on-line School of Christian Ministry

Baptist Studies Program at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian Universitywww.brite.tcu.eduLocation: Fort Worth, TexasStarted: 1914Student Body: 300 (52% female, 48% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Christian Service, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, Doctor of PhilosophyInteresting fact: Brite offers a newly renovated housing community for seminary students – Leibrock Village.

Campbell University Divinity Schoolwww.campbell.edu/divinityLocation: Buies Creek, N.C.Started: 1996Student body: 209 (42% female, 58% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Divinity and Master of Business Administration, Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Community Counseling, Master of Arts in Christian Education, Doctor of MinistryConcentrations: Biblical Studies, Christian Education, Counseling and Chaplaincy, Church Music and Worship, Historical and Theological Studies, Missions and Evangelism, Preaching and Pastoral MinistryInteresting fact: Campbell’s spiritual and vocational formation program has produced a retention rate among students that is more than 15% higher than the average for ATS-accredited schools.

Baptist Studies Program at Candler School of Theology, Emory Universityhttp://candler.emory.eduLocation: Atlanta, Ga.Started: 1991Student body: 70 (50% female, 50% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Theology, Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Counseling, Interesting fact: Candler houses the second largest theological library in the country.

Central Baptist Theological Seminarywww.cbts.eduLocation: Kansas City, Kan.Started: 1901 as Kansas City Baptist Theological SeminaryStudent body: 130 (53% female, 47% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Missional Church Studies, Master of Arts in Christian SpiritualityInteresting fact: Central president Molly T. Marshall is the only female president of a Baptist seminary in the United States.

Fellowship Partner School Profiles

Phot

o co

urte

sy T

ruet

t Sem

inar

y

T H E O L O G I C A L E D U C A T I O N 5

M c A f e e U r b a n M i s s i o n C o n c e n t r a t i o n | P a r t n e r S c h o o l P r o f i l e s w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

Urban mission concentration equips McAfee students for inner city ministry

“McAfee is located in the most diverse, challenging and exciting urban environment in the entire Southeast,” said McAfee professor Larry McSwain, who coordinates the concentration. “If we can help students understand how the church can be a resource to its larger community, we will help students and be of assistance to congregations.”

Th e concentration provides greater understanding of urban systems and how churches can collaborate with government and community agencies. A three-year, $100,000 grant from Atlanta-based Faith in the City helps to fund adjunctive faculty and guest speakers, an annual urban mission conference on McAfee’s campus and stipends for urban mission students to work in a two-semester internship.

Th e inaugural conference will be March 19-20, 2007, featuring Ray Bakke, a noted international urban mission strategist. Bakke, the distinguished professor of global urban ministry at

Bakke Graduate University of Ministry in Seattle, Wash., is founder and executive director of International Urban Associates, which networks more than 100 church and missions leaders in urban areas around the world. Th e conference

will also be a resource to Atlanta area churches.

“We believe the city is an important arena for doing mission in a global context,” McSwain said. “If we can’t do it in Atlanta, we probably cannot anywhere else in the world. We are too important a laboratory not to off er [training], and we believe bringing leaders in urban mission to our campus will help church leaders and students.”

Th rough studying public policy and the relationship between churches and cities, students become equipped for vocational service in inner city churches or communities.

“I hope that through this concentration I will be able to further connect my life and ministry with the great human need

and divine presence found in cities,” said third-year urban mission student Katye Parker, who is completing her urban mission internship as minister to children and outreach at Northwoods Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Parker’s church ministry involves using her fl uency in Spanish to work with primarily Latino children, including forming relationships with families.

“I love the vibrancy and diversity found in cities,” she said. “I believe that God’s immense creativity is evidenced in the eclectic blend of culture drawn to the urban setting.”

Adjunct faculty who have served

extensively in urban ministry settings bring real-world experience to the classroom.

“Th e urban minister does far more than just preaching, teaching or leading worship,” said adjunct professor Emmanuel McCall, the Fellowship’s moderator and an Atlanta pastor with more than 20 years of urban ministry experience. “Urban ministry involves interaction with governmental, educational, political, sociological environmental and economic realities.” f!


Atlanta’s size, rapid growth and diversity make it an important

laboratory for seminary students to learn how to do ministry

in urban settings. Mercer University’s McAfee School of Th eology in

Atlanta, Ga., has launched an urban mission concentration to equip

students for the unique challenges and demands of urban ministry.

Third-year McAfee student Katye Parker teaches children at Northwoods Baptist Church, where she is doing an urban mission internship.

Carla

Wyn

n ph

oto

Baptist House of Studies at Duke Divinity Schoolwww.divinity.duke.eduLocation: Durham, N.C.Started: 1980Student body: 100 (42% female, 58% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Master in Christian Ministries, Master of Theology, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of PhilosophyInteresting fact: Eight full-time faculty members work with the Baptist House director to care for the formation of Baptist students.

Baptist University of the Américaswww.bua.eduLocation: San Antonio, TexasStarted: 1947Student body: 200 (34% female, 66% male)Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Biblical/Theological Studies, Associates of Arts Degree in Cross-Cultural StudiesInteresting fact: BUA is dedicated to the formation of cross-cultural Christian leaders from a Hispanic context.

International Baptist Theological Seminarywww.ibts.czLocation: Prague, Czech RepublicStarted: 1949Student body: 137 (23% female, 77% male)Degrees: Master of Theology, Master of Philosophy, Doctorate of Philosophy, Magister of TheologyConcentrations: Applied Theology, Baptist/Anabap-tist studies, Biblical Studies, Contextual MissiologyInteresting fact: IBTS students come from 36 different countries.

M. Christopher White School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb Universitywww.divinity.gardner-webb.eduLocation: Boiling Springs, N.C.Started: 1992Student body: 190 (24% female, 86% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Divinity and Master of BusinessAdministration, Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in English, Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Religion, Doctor of MinistryConcentrations: Pastoral Studies, Pastoral Care and Counseling, Missions, Christian Education, Biblical Studies for TeachingInteresting fact: Gardner-Webb was the fi rst moderate Baptist divinity school in the state of North Carolina.

Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons Universitywww.logsdonseminary.orgLocation: Abilene, TexasStarted: 1983Student body: 101 (20% female, 80% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Family Ministry, Master of Arts in ReligionConcentrations: Pastoral Ministry, Educational Ministry, Family Ministry, Spiritual Care Ministry, Missions and Cross-Cultural MinistryInteresting fact: Logsdon offers satellite programs at three campuses – Corpus Christi, Lubbock, San Antonio – where students can take two-thirds of the necessary courses toward a master of divinity degree or master of arts degree.

James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology at Mercer Universityhttp://theology.mercer.eduLocation: Atlanta, Ga.Started: 1996Student body: 211 (50% female, 50% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Divinity and Master of Business Administration, Master of Divinity and Master of Science in Community Counseling, Doctor of MinistryConcentrations: Academic Research, Business Administration, Christian Education, Church Music, Pastoral Care and Counseling, Urban MissionInteresting fact: McAfee will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall.

George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor Universitywww.baylor.edu/truett/Location: Waco, TexasStarted: 1994Student body: 385 (32% female, 68% male)Degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work, Master of Divinity and Master of Music, Master of Theological Studies, Doctor of MinistryConcentrations: Theology, Christian Religious Education, Global Missions, Student MinistryInteresting fact: Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world and the oldest university in continuous operation in Texas.

Wake Forest University Divinity Schoolhttp://divinity.wfu.edu/Location: Winston-Salem, N.C.Started: 1999Student body: 93 (48% female, 52% male)Degrees: Master of DivinityInteresting fact: Since 2001, the Wake Forest endowment has given over $1,248,000 to its CBF students, who comprise approximately 43 percent of each graduating class.

“I believe that God’s immense

creativity is evidenced in the eclectic

blend of culture drawn to the urban

setting.”


‘ N e w D a y i n T h e o l o g i c a l E d u c a t i o n ’ | Q & A w i t h Te r r y H a m r i c kC O O P E R A T I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o

6

‘New day in theological education’CBF helps usher in young Baptist seminaries

But with guidance from a dedicated faculty, an innovative curriculum and a nurturing congregation, Davis found her-self exactly where she didn’t envision — as minister of spiritual formation and leader-ship development at First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C., where she leads adult education initiatives and preaches.

“Th e Divinity School helped clarify my vocation and gave me the affi rmation to do whatever I feel called to do,” said Davis.

Davis is one of hundreds of graduates from the 14 seminaries, theology schools and Baptist studies programs in the Co-operative Baptist Fellowship’s network of ministry partnerships. Eight of those

schools have emerged in the last 15 years. With their formation, more than 2,000 students are currently enrolled in CBF partner schools.

Th e reasons for the increase in theo-logical schools are many — among them the conservative shift in some Baptist seminaries over the last 20 years, said Campbell dean Michael Cogdill.

Cogdill leads one of the young Baptist schools — Campbell observed its 10th an-niversary during the 2005-06 school year.

Two other Fellowship partner schools are also celebrating signifi cant anniversa-ries in 2006. McAfee School of Th eology is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Baptist Seminary of Kentucky will mark its

fi ft h anniversary this fall.Th e creation of these schools has done

more than fi ll an educational void, said Baptist Seminary of Kentucky president Greg Earwood. He calls it a “new day in theological education,” where cutting-edge curriculum focuses on spiritual for-

mation and the prac-tice of ministry and responds to today’s culture and world.

“Baptist schools are forming ministers holistically by paying attention to a student’s spiritual journey, academics and skills for ministry,” said Terry Hamrick, the Fellowship’s coordina-tor for leadership de-velopment. “Th is ho-listic approach creates

eff ective leaders who can help Christians and churches discover and fulfi ll their God-given mission, and that is CBF’s goal.” f!

By contributing writer Melanie Kieve, Alabaster, Ala.

When Jayne Davis started studies at Campbell University

Divinity School, she didn’t see herself working in a church

— and she certainly didn’t see herself as a preacher.

Campbell students Carlton Bradshaw, left, and Traci Alston are two of the more than 2,000 students at Fellowship partner schools.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Cam

pbel

l Uni

vers

ity

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950

1901 Central Baptist Theological Seminary

1914 Brite Divinity School

1947 Baptist University of the Americas

1949 International Baptist Theological Seminary

Q&A with Terry HamrickTerry Hamrick is the Fellowship’s coordinator of leadership development.

How is the Fellowship involved in theological education?

Our primary involvement is through relationships rather than control. We have 14 theological education partners. Th ese schools have more than 2,000 students enrolled. Obviously, one part of that relationship is CBF’s fi nancial support of both schools and their students. Th ese relationships provide a powerful and eff ective way for CBF to advocate for solid theological education and the development of congregational leaders.

How is theological education changing?

Th eological education is facing chang-es because congregations and culture are facing changes. Th ere was a time when the relationship between church and culture was fairly stable. Th e church was going about doing its work, and the cul-ture was in the background cheering the church on. Th e cheering has stopped, and the culture has moved from encouraging churches to not caring what the church is doing. Th at changes the challenges for leaders, churches and schools.

Th ere are several current trends in theological education. One is the debate between classical theological education and practical theology. Th ere’s a tendency to make it an either-or situation — either tra-ditional education or practical education. Where CBF is trying to work with schools is making this a “both-and” discussion.

How can congregations support theological education?

Schools need to see the churches as a valuable asset in developing leaders, and churches need to see part of their mission as helping train leaders. I think the future of ministerial formation is going to be a robust partnership between theological schools and congregations. We can’t ex-pect the school to provide practical train-ing or expect the congregation to be the

sole provider of classic theological educa-tion, but together they can provide the experiences a minister needs.

What is the Fellowship’s vision for the future of theological education?

We are hoping to put theological edu-cation in the larger context of the CBF

world. Our focus is on how we dis-cover, develop and nurture leaders.

We can discover leaders through groups like the Shiloh Network, a group of pastors and churches committed to focusing on voca-tional discovery and call. We are hoping that the niche CBF’s collegiate ministry

can have is focusing on providing resources for vocational discovery to college students.

We hope to develop leaders by increasing congregational ownership and participation in training leaders. We hope to develop as many as 200 teaching congregations, who will host ministry residents and provide strategic internships, summer placement and learning laboratories for seminary classes. Schools can also provide a place

for learning, helping congregations with theological education and refl ection.

Th eological schools have a great con-cern about their graduates once they leave. It’s important to the church, student and school that these graduates are success-ful. We are going to be looking at a very intentional system to care for — to nurture — graduates, especially in the critical fi rst fi ve years. Statistics show that the greatest drop-out rate from congregational min-istry is during this time. Th e critical care strategy would provide mentors, coaches, peer learning groups and other support.

What is the role of students in the Fellowship?

Th e reason CBF is committed to theological education is because we think the best way to ensure eff ective leaders for the future is to have them theologically trained. Today’s students are current and future leaders — they aren’t leaders-in-waiting, they are leading already. Th e future of the moderate Baptist movement will be greatly infl uenced by the quality of graduates from theological seminaries. f!

LEARN To learn more about the Fellowship’s partner schools and leadership development, contact Hamrick at 770-220-1615 or [email protected] or go to http://www.thefellowship.info/LD/.

CBF

phot

o

Terry Hamrick

7

C h u r c h ’ s R o l e i n E d u c a t i o n | S a t e l l i t e C a m p u s E x p a n d i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6


Churches play important role in education

Now in her fourth year at Baptist Theo-logical Seminary at Richmond (BTSR), Kenley had not considered a vocation ministering within the church setting, but her internship experience changed her perspective. With an undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry, Kenley thought she would become a physical therapist. Now, she dreams of a different kind of therapy for people: building self-sustaining programs that minister to the wide range of demographics inner-city families represent.

“We know [the internship] is highly beneficial to the students,” said Tabernacle pastor Sterling Severns, who is a BTSR graduate. “But we’ve found that it’s also highly beneficial to the church as well. Equipping them doesn’t suck the life out of us, but instead, it creates energy.”

Rooting Kenley on in her journey is an unexpected team of cheerleaders and a critical component of BTSR’s internship program: church laypeople. Students in BTSR’s internship program meet each

month with a ministry consultation com-mittee composed of four to five church members, giving both students and members the op-portunity to ask questions of each other.

“My committee was a great source of affirmation and encouragement,” said Kenley.

Kenley’s in-ternship focused on ministering to children and their families. Set in the heart of Richmond’s Fan district, a diverse demographic has con-verged upon Tabernacle’s Family Ministry program, both from within the city center and areas lying outside it.

“As interns, we strive to create programs that are self-sustaining,” said Kenley. “The goal is to work closely with the congrega-tion so that, when my period of service has ended, congregants are participating in activities and events for children and fami-lies that they are invested in and believe in, rather than my individual ideas.”

At any given time, BTSR has about 35 students interning at approximately 30

churches. Most are located in the Rich-mond area, but some are in other states and even other countries.

“Many of our students say they’re

not going to do church work, but these internships can give them a new perspective,” said Tracy Hartman, assistant professor of practical theology at BTSR. “For instance, students are often adamant that they will never do work in institutional churches again. They have been burned by bad situations, but BTSR and churches open to equipping interns give them room to work through

that, to fall in love and find a place in the church again.”

Seventy percent of BTSR graduates go on to work in the church setting, and Hartman believes that the teaching churches and the laypeople are a key component.

“The role of the lay-people is critical to [the internship] process,” said Severns. “Our laity have what I feel is the right approach to mentoring students. Their frame of mind is not ‘What’s in it for us?’ but “What’s in it

for this young minister?’” f!

By contributing writer Cindy Bell, Atlanta, Ga

As with most theological degree programs, Renee Kenley’s master

of divinity degree includes a practical ministry component

— interning in a church setting. Her two semesters at the re-emerging

Tabernacle Baptist Church in inner-city Richmond were, for her

seminary experience, “the most valuable experience I have had.”

BTSR student Renee Kenley ministered to children and their families while interning at Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Ste

rling

Sev

erns

Central’s satellite campuses expand opportunities for theological educationCENTRAL BAPTIST Theological Semi-nary has expanded beyond the walls of its Kansas City, Kansas, campus, giving peo-ple like Tim Malugin convenient access to theological education.

Malugin works as a computer consultant and runs Toenail Ministries, which serves neighborhood children. With these commitments, Malugin hasn’t had time to drive hundreds of miles to pursue a master of divinity degree. So when Central established a satellite campus just down the street at First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Malugin took advantage of the opportunity.

“I wanted to go to seminary to educate myself, so that when the kids I work with ask the hard questions, I can help answer them,” said Malugin.

Malugin, 45, lives in inner city Murfreesboro and along with his wife,

Bethany, ministers to children in the area through worship services, Bible study, tutoring, field trips and other outings. At

their weekly Tuesday evening worship service, the Malugins welcome 25 to 40 children into their home.

Currently, 45 students are enrolled in classes at Central’s four satellite locations. At the Murfreesboro and Milwaukee satellite centers, courses are arranged so that students can graduate with a master

of divinity degree in four years. Each semester, two classes are offered in a traditional setting and one class is offered online.

“Central has offered my classmates and me the opportunity to make the academic transition in life without the upheaval of a change in our jobs, our involvement and ministry in our churches, and uprooting our families,” said LuAnne Prevost, who also attends the Murfreesboro campus.

Central also offers classes in Oklahoma City and Omaha, Nebraska, with plans to expand these programs so that they also offer the necessary courses for a master of divinity degree. Courses are taught by Kansas City faculty and local instructors such as Ircel Harrison, coordinator for Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Charles “T” Thomas, coordinator for CBF of Oklahoma, and Lavonn Brown, pastor and former Fellowship moderator.

“We are being responsive to the needs of the churches we serve,” said

Lisa Allen, Central’s dean and vice president for institutional advancement. “We have people who can’t move to a traditional campus because of their life commitments, and so the satellite campuses were a response to people’s needs, and it draws from the best of academic teaching and their own context of ministry.”

This fall, Central president Molly T. Marshall will teach Constructive Theology I at all four satellite campuses using DVDs, the Web and conference calls.

“In our previous online offerings students from the four satellites and Kansas City formed learning communities across geographical boundaries,” Marshall said. “I am looking forward to using technology to help students deepen their theological formation and ministry identity in all of our sites.” f!


Central faculty member Laura Moore (center) traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to teach Introduction to Hebrew Bible.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f CBT

S

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

1980 Baptist House of Studies at Duke Divinity School

1983 Logsdon School of Theology

1991 Baptist Studies Program at Candler School of Theology

1991 Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond

1992 Christopher M. White School of Divinity

1994 Truett Theological Seminary

1996 McAfee School of Theology

1996 Campbell Divinity School

1999 Wake Forest Divinity School

2002 Baptist Seminary of Kentucky

WHEN THE congregation of Second Bap-tist Church of Lubbock, Texas, moved into its new building fi ve years ago, it saw an op-portunity to enhance the worship experience with religious art.

From its conception, the new building was designed to be artistic. Even the struc-ture of the building is a work of art, forming an icthus, the ancient symbol of the fi sh, that can be seen from overhead.

“It has always been part of the fabric of our church to appreciate artistic expression,” said Stephanie Nash, Second Baptist’s pastor of Christian education and outreach. “And that was true in our former building, but that building didn’t lend itself as well to the display of art.”

Artists and church members Beth Pen-nington and Jonanna George have led the interior design committee, which was in-volved in the original interior design of the new building as well as serving as a voice in the art selection process for donations or memorials.

“We see artistic expression as being a part of what God created us to be as whole be-ings, including our creative side, appreciating the beauty and the meaning that is found

in visual things,” said Pennington. “Many people learn and grow visually. We have the spoken word and music, and the visual arts can provide another pathway to worship.”

Most of the works have been a gift to the church, commissioned for special occasions or donated in honor or memory of a mem-ber of the congregation. Th e stainless steel dove that hangs in the foyer of the church was a gift from a local synagogue that worshipped at the church while its new building was un-der construction. Th e purchase of a glass sculpture of a man, woman and child was made possible by a memorial gift from a church member.

One of the church’s main arteries, the circular grand hall, contains eight diff er-ent pieces of art — sculptures, tapestries and modern prints. While all the art is not overtly religious, each piece has a spiritual dimension.

“At Second Baptist, the intentional use of selected artwork creates an atmosphere of openness and warmth,” said Philip Wise,

senior pastor of Second Baptist. “Although most of the artwork is religious, it isn’t kitschy. Th e purpose of the art is to commu-nicate both what we believe about God and what we feel about these buildings which

have been dedicated to God. We wouldn’t think of having bare walls in our homes and we don’t think we should have bare walls in God’s house.”

Th at creativity has not been limited to display, but has become a hands-on activity among members of the congregation. Nash organizes Wednesday evening classes called Windows that provide people with the op-

portunity to explore a variety of creative expressions. Th e classes have included every-thing from watercolor to creative writing.

“I’ve always had a great love for the arts,” said Nash. “As a Christian educa-

tor, one of my passions is to help people get in touch with their creativity. I see that as part of our spiritual stewardship — to fi nd whatever gift s of creativity we may possess and develop them.”

Th ere is also a quilters’ group that meets weekly, designing and quilting banners, vestments and other creative worship aids. Th e quilters present a new quilt to each baby born in the church, as well as to the children served by a church ministry to homeless families.

“Everyone has diff erent artistic tastes, so a variety of styles and genres will be represent-ed in the artwork throughout the church,” Nash said. “Hopefully, the art will show that we take creativity seriously. I don’t know if Baptists have done that historically, but may-be it’s something we want to reclaim.” f!


C O N G R E G A T I O N A L L I F E

A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n C h u r c h S t a r t | A r t E n h a n c i n g Wo r s h i pC O O P E R A T I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o

8

New Jerusalem Christian Church is one of the Fellowship’s four African-American church starts. Th e church was launched two years ago and has grown to about 50 mem-bers, primarily new Christians hailing from a variety of countries and large families.

Aft er some setbacks but with an un-daunted sense of call to start a church, pastor Bernard Roberson and his wife, Andrea, relocated from nearby Westmin-ster to Baltimore, rented the Leith Walk Recreation Center, purchased a sound system and launched their eff orts through a community dinner. Th e church now has people involved in home-based cell groups, Bible study and recovery groups.

Th e church’s mission is reaching the lost, restoring the broken and reclaiming the kingdom, all of which require an out-ward focus on reaching people where they are, Bernard said.

“We don’t expect [people] to come in clean,” he said. “We expect people to have problems and to be hurt. We want to try to help people become healthy.”

Th e church has partnered with several other churches to engage in missions work throughout Baltimore, including feeding and

providing warm clothes and blankets for the city’s homeless. Th e church has also minis-tered among alcoholics, addicts and people with AIDS. Recently, the church launched a ministry to a local nursing home.

Th e church is diverse, with members from Liberia, Kenya, Jamaica and Ghana. Worship integrates mul-ticultural songs and practical teaching focused toward the many members who are new Chris-tians unfamiliar with traditional church practices. For example, the church started with one person who tithed and now everyone does. Th e same growth happened with prayer.

“At the beginning, no wanted to lead in prayer,” Bernard said. “It’s been a joy to watch them go from people who didn’t

pray at all to people who pray in public.”While the church has grown, the con-

gregation has remained close-knit, partly because of the cell groups and also because of the family nature of the congregation.

“Our church is very, very close,” Ber-nard said. “Th e people are in and out of each other’s houses all week long.”

Although Bernard is the church’s pastor,

Andrea feels equally called to this church-planting eff ort, particularly among the church’s children and youth, who account for two-thirds of the church’s members.

“Th ey have such a desire to be a part, and we use them,” she said. “Th e children like that because they don’t feel that they’re

left out. Th at makes them eager to come back and be a part of the ministry.”

Children and youth are heavily includ-ed in worship services through drama and singing, operating the sound system, col-lecting the off ering and serving as ushers. Th ey also have their own cell groups that meet twice a month.

Bernard and Andrea have a vision that the church will maintain its multicultural and close-knit components while growing to meet even more practical needs of people.

“I see the church as a healing place to restore people,” Andrea said.

Bernard, who has held ministry roles at three other churches, serves as a bi-vocational pastor, relying on fi nancial support from his occupation as an addictions specialist at Total Health Care in Baltimore. Andrea works as a child support enforcement specialist for Baltimore City Child Support.

“Urban church starts can be instrumen-tal for CBF,” said Edgar Berryman, direc-tor of the Fellowship’s African-American network. “Urban ministry is important because I think that’s where Christ is, and that’s where Christ wants us to be.” f!

LEARN – For information about CBF church starts, visit www.thefellowship.info/CL/ChurchStarts.


In a handful of Baltimore houses and a recreation center on the

city’s east side, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church start is

reaching and restoring people.

Lubbock church uses visual art to enhance worship experience

New church start spotlightCBF African-American church start reaches, restores people in Baltimore

Bernard and Andrea Roberson

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f the

Rob

erso

ns

From an aerial view of Second Baptist Church of Lubbock, an icthus can be seen in the building’s structure.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Sec

ond

Bapt

ist C

hurc

h

9

D a l l a s C h u r c h C h a n g i n g w i t h C o m m u n i t y | H a r l e m B a p t i s t E x p a n d s M i n i s t r y w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

M I S S I O N A L C H U R C H

Dallas church transforms with community

Located in North Oak Cliff, a southwestern suburb of Dallas, Cliff Temple saw the neighborhood change in the 1970s from predominantly white, middle to upper class residents to a poor, predominantly Hispanic and black community. While the majority of churches in the area relocated, Cliff Temple decided to stay where it had been since 1899 and minister in the changing community.

Cliff Temple pastor Glen Schmucker, a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Coordinating Council, called the church’s decision “proactive.”

“They decided this is where their mission was and have spent the last 25 years determining what missional means,” Schmucker said.

The diverse communities surrounding the church offer many challenges. A variety of people call the area home — first through third generation Hispanics, blacks, whites, people with disabilities and occupants of halfway houses. Part of Cliff Temple’s response to these challenges includes

partnering with other organizations and sharing its considerable space.

In addition to the predominantly white congregation of Cliff Temple, three indepen-dent churches meet in its building — Mission Central, a Hispanic congregation; Union Cathedral, a predomi-nately African-Ameri-can congregation; and The Well, which is the

only church in the United States exclusively for people with disabilities.

The Goslin Care Center, which has been a primary ministry of Cliff Temple

for many years, provides food and clothing to 20,000 to 30,000 people a year. After a fire to the Center’s building in 2005, the food ministry is now housed in Cliff Temple’s fellowship hall and the clothing ministry is housed in a neighboring church.

As a result of a $1 million gift from church member Jeannette Sadler, Cliff Temple is partnering with Buckner Chil-dren and Family Services to build a com-munity center. This new center will replace the Goslin Care Center building and ex-pand the ministry to provide English as a Second Language classes, adult and family education, and programs for senior adults. In a recent community needs assessment conducted by Buckner, the number one need indicated by people was parenting skills, so the expansion will include pro-

grams that minister to parents. Construc-tion is scheduled to begin in July 2006.

“The reason we went into the partner-ship with Buckner is because it became clear to us that the needs were going to outstrip our resources in a hurry,” said Schmucker. “The key word is partnering. It is the only

hope for churches like ours.”In addition, the church

reaches out to the community with a thriving youth service on Wednesday nights called 24/7. The youth walk to the church from area schools to attend the 90-minute wor-ship/celebration time led by Cliff Temple’s youth minister, Kenny Cheshier. Following the worship time, choir mem-bers from the church drive the students home.

“It has been a transform-ing experience for a lot of our older adults who have com-

mitted to take these kids, some of whom are pretty rough,” Schmucker said. “They’ve grown to love each other.” f!

By contributing writer Alison Wingfield, Dallas, Texas

Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, provided an

example of a missional church before the word missional was

even in use.

Missional takes church ‘here, there and everywhere’AS HARLEM Baptist Church has em-braced the idea of being a missional church, it has also adopted the motto “Here, there and everywhere” to describe the reach of its ministries.

Under the lead-ership of pastor Phillip Vestal, the congregation has begun to identify itself as a missional church, focusing activities around its participation in God’s mission in the world. With this missional fo-cus, the church has expanded its outreach from its local com-munity of Harlem, Ga., to international locations like Guatemala.

“I think there are many churches that say, ‘this is what we want to do and let’s pray that God blesses us,’ when I think living missionally means discovering what God’s plan is in Harlem, in nearby Augusta, around the state and around the

world, and us participating in and helping with that,” Vestal said.

In Harlem, the church’s local ministries include construction projects to repair

homes for senior adults and partnering with six churches to help meet the needs of people in the community. Church members have previously participated in missions trips to New York, and this year a group is headed to Alaska. In 2004, the church participated in its first interna-tional mission trip.

“Once you go on a foreign mission trip,

you get the bug and start understanding all the needs that are out there,” said Scott Dean, who has been a part of the first two trips to Guatemala. “The ‘everywhere’ in

our motto refers to international communities, and it’s been a process to push church members to do more and see how God works outside of their comfort zone.”

Harlem Baptist, which works with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner Buckner Orphan

Care International in Guatemala, has sent church members to Guatemala for three years in a row — each year sending more people and expanding its ministry. This year, church members worked in two orphanages, participated in construction projects and worked with senior adults.

“I’ve seen what missions trips mean to the people participating in them,” Vestal

said. “Everyone who goes expects to have an impact in some way on the place they are visiting. What many probably don’t ex-pect is the impact these trips have on them. It changes their perspectives on the way they do missions, the way they do church. It changes their spiritual formation.” f!

By contributing writer Bob Perkins Jr., Atlanta, Ga.

What is a missional church?

Missional is an adjective that describes the way in which churches do all activities, rather than identifying one particular activity. To be missional is to align all of the program, function and activities of the church around the mission of God in the world.

The missional church movement leads congregations to ask, “What is God wanting us to be, become and do to continue the ministry of Christ within our present community and global context?“ Instead of focusing on denominational templates and traditional programming, each church determines its own unique answer to the question. Church members play a more active role in activities such as missions, pastoral care and education, and the church refocuses itself on participating in God’s mission.

For more information and resources on the missional church movement, visit www.thefellowship.info/CL/FF/MC/Home.icm.

Contact Bo Prosser at (770) 220-1631 or [email protected] or contact Rick Bennett at (770) 220-1605 or [email protected].

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Sco

tt De

an

Members of Harlem Baptist Church ministered to children at a Guatemala orphanage.

Phot

o co

urte

sy S

andr

a M

artin

ez

As part of its community ministry, Cliff Temple hosted a neighborhood health fair in the church’s parking lot.

Phot

o co

urte

sy J

udy

Lew

is

Each year Cliff Temple’s Child Development Center holds a Fourth of July parade.

I N S I D E C B F

A s We J o u r n e y | V i e w p o i n t | 2 0 0 7 G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y H o t e l I n f oC O O P E R A T I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o

10

Social justiceJESUS SAID, “Blessed are the peacemak-ers,” which compels those of us who say we are his disciples to work for peace. Both Scripture and history teach us that apart from truth, righteousness and justice, there can be no peace. How then are those of us who would be activists and advocates to live in the struggle for social justice?

Enter into restBefore we can be a peacemaker, we must

ourselves experience peace, real peace,

inward peace, peace that passes under-standing. Before we can be an instrument of reconciliation, renewal and community, we must become a partaker and participant in these realities. Th ey are already true, but they must become true for us and in us. Th e joy of the Lord must become our joy.

Richard Rohr wrote recently, “You can bear the hardness of life and see through failure if your soul is resting in a wonder-ful and comforting sweetness and soft ness. Th at’s why people in love have such an ener-gy for others. If your truth does not set you free, it is not the truth at all. If God cannot be rested in, he must not be much of a God.”

Engage the powersTh is kind of language may be uncom-

fortable for some of us because we are such rationalists. But when we address social ills such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, racism and violence, it doesn’t take long to discover the presence and reality of entrenched, systemic, long term evil. It is what I call institutional and structured sin. Scripture tells us that “we wrestle not with fl esh and blood but with principalities and powers.” How shall we engage them?

First, we engage the powers by naming them, identifying them for what they are. Aft er the Enron verdicts, I read a number of articles saying that Enron was evidence of a system and structure of greed. A lot of people believe that Washington is trapped in a “culture of corruption.” Th e justice sys-tem in this country isn’t the same for a poor person as it is for an affl uent person. Nei-ther is the health care system or the educa-tional system. Th ese are powers of injustice.

Second, we engage the powers through prayer. It was instructive for me to hear the prayers of Baptists from the develop-ing world during the BWA Congress last year in England. Th ey would begin their petitions with “O, God of justice” because they live in poverty and powerlessness. In-tense petition and intercession is one of the

weapons in this spiritual struggle for justice. Th ird, we engage the powers with pro-

phetic words and actions. If Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Dorothy Day taught us anything, they taught us the prophetic power of non-violent speech and deeds. Let us seek wisdom and the courage to do the same in our present context.

Embrace sufferingWhile governments, NGOs and

churches discuss, debate and analyze HIV/AIDS, human beings continue to suff er. Th e question for us is, “Will we embrace those that suff er?” An acid test of faith is what we do with pain, fi rst our own and then of others. Will we anesthe-tize ourselves to suff ering? Or will we be present with those that suff er and become instruments of comfort and relief? If so, we will be changed in the process.

I remember specifi cally in 1981 when I fi rst read about HIV/AIDS in a Time magazine article. In May of this year, the cover story of Newsweek described how HIV/AIDS has changed America in the past 25 years. I confess that it has changed me and many of my perspectives. My prayer is that I will continue to be changed that I might truly be the presence of Christ to others. f!

As We journey By CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal

IT’S COMMON for church members to warn theology students that “seminary will change you.” Oft en, this is accompa-nied with advice that the student must be especially sure to hold on to his/her faith while in school.

Sometimes these conversations are mo-tivated by the concern that theological educa-tion is contrary to faith and/or disruptive to church life. Other times these conversations are based on the awareness that theological education is rigorous, full of new ideas about God and scripture and how to express the Christian faith in daily life. Students have impor-tant decisions to make about these ideas — which to hold fast and which to let go. Both of these concerns carry validity.

Th e fi rst concern prompts one of two responses — either the process of theo-logical education is fl awed and wrongly encourages students to leave healthy and vibrant traditions or the departing Chris-tian found a good reason for leaving.

It is possible for a theological school to go rogue, failing in its mission to recover and ap-ply the best of the Christian tradition for the benefi t of the local church. Hopefully, this is prevented by academic openness to dialogue with other committed scholars and schools across the varied theological spectrum.

Th is concern might be based on the fear that some church traditions will be left in light of diff erent ones, but this is of-ten a part of the process. Th eological edu-cation is a renewal movement — it renews the individual student and it renews the community in which that student leads and worships, hopefully in order to pro-

vide a clearer witness to God’s Kingdom. Th e second concern, based on the

awareness that theological education is challenging on many levels, is a pastoral concern. It is true that theological educa-tion is intense. Along with the stresses of study, students have the added pressure of having long-cherished theological notions challenged and sometimes changed. Hav-ing a solid church home, where students can worship and participate through-out the week, is an invaluable source of grounding throughout a student’s career.

Of course theological education is not free, and another pressing concern may be — what is the real benefi t of supporting stu-dents throughout the educational process?

Th e fact that the world and the church had not yet been fully redeemed was not a lost realization to me before I entered seminary. Th e reality of a painful and hurting world that badly needs redemp-tion is blatantly obvious to most theology students. And we are left with the ques-tion — how can we respond?

We entered seminary out of our fi rm conviction that God redeems and renews the world through local faith communi-ties and a call to work with God in that renewing action. We entered knowing that loving God with all of our minds includes understanding how God is in-volved in renewing the world.

Th eological education is a renewal movement itself; therefore, it has the abil-ity to feed the renewal movement that is the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. f!

Michael Goodman is a Cooperative Bap-tist Fellowship leadership scholar at Emory University’s Candler School of Th eology and is schedule to graduate in 2007. Goodman attends Peachtree Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Theological education is a renewal movement

viewpoint: Michael Goodman

Online — For pre-registration and reservations, go to www.thefellowship.info/CL/General Assembly/reg.icm. After registering online, you will be directed to the room reservation Web site for the Grand Hyatt or Renaissance. You will be asked for a credit card number to hold the reservation, and your credit card will be charged at that time. The deposit is refundable if cancelled 7 days prior to arrival.

Phone — Please call the CBF Resource Center at (800) 352-8741 to pre-register for the General Assembly. After registering, you will be given instructions to make your reservations by phone at either the Grand Hyatt or Renaissance. Once in touch with a hotel, you will be asked for a credit card number to hold the reservation and your credit card will be charged at that time. The deposit is refundable if cancelled 7 days prior to arrival.

Helpful Reminders

1. Reservations should be made by May 30, 2007, to receive advertised room rate. Reservations received after the cut-off date will be accepted on a space available basis and at the hotel’s prevailing room rate.

2. Sharing a room: Please make only one reservation per room, listing all occupants in the room. A confi rmation listing each occupant will be mailed to you (the primary occupant) if reservation is completed by phone. Please print your confi rmation if completed online.

3. All reservations holding more than 10 rooms will be required to forward a nonrefundable, one night’s deposit for each room by April 1, 2007. If not, all rooms held will be released back to the CBF housing room block for re-sale.

4. Changes/Cancellations: Please call the Grand Hyatt or Renaissance hotels directly for all changes/cancellations and reference your confi rmation number. When canceling a reservation, please be sure to ask for a cancellation number and keep a record of the number.

5. RATES DO NOT INCLUDE the current room tax of 14.5%.

O F F I C I A L H O T E L I N F O R M AT I O N

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2007 General Assembly

Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.June 27-30, 2007

(Auxiliary events only will be held June 27 and June 30, main General Assembly meeting will be held June 28-29.)

H O T E L I N F O R M A T I O N

Grand Hyatt Washington (headquarter hotel) – 1000 H Street NW • Washington, DC 20001Single/Double – $160 plus tax (Current room tax 14.5%)Triple/Quad – $180 plus tax (Current room tax 14.5%)

Renaissance Washington DC Hotel – 999 Ninth St. NW • Washington, DC 20001Single/Double/Triple/Quad – $160.00 plus tax (Current room tax 14.5%)

Pre-registration for the 2007 General Assembly is required before making a hotel reservation at the Grand Hyatt or Renaissance.

Please make your hotel reservations by phone or online by May 30, 2007.

Michael Goodman

11

F e l l o w s h i p R o u n d u p | U p c o m i n g E v e n t s w w w . t h e f e l l o w s h i p . i n f o S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

I N S I D E C B F

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

Sam Chaffin was named Rotarian of the Year by Little Rock Rotary Club 99, the eighth largest in the world, for his leadership in Lacombe, La., where Rotary partnered with CBF of Louisiana and CBF of Arkansas in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The club helped rebuild five homes in Lacombe, a small African-American community that flooded during Katrina.

■ FloridaCarolyn Anderson, coordina-

tor of CBF of Florida, announced at the Florida meeting of the General Assembly her intent to retire effec-tive December 31, 2006. Candace McKibben, moderator of the Florida Fellowship, will be appointing a search committee. Contact McKibben at [email protected].

Rob Nash, CBF Global Missions coordinator, will be on a “Florida Tour” hosted by Anderson and the CBF of Florida staff from September 20-28. The group will be visiting with Fel-lowship churches and people from Pensacola to Homestead, giving Fel-lowship people the opportunity to meet Nash and vice-versa. There will be regional groups hosting these events in each major city where CBF Florida has churches. They will also visit Touching Miami with Love and Open House Min-istries in Homestead.

■ GeorgiaThe Cooperative Student Fellowship

(CSF) is a new organization at Mercer University this year. With the help and encouragement of CBF/GA, CSF strives to continually build a Christian faith community that welcomes oth-ers, serves others, and develops the whole person in relationship with God. If you are interested in finding out more about CSF, email [email protected].

■ OklahomaFollowing the Oklahoma General

Assembly in Stillwater, the coordinating council held its first retreat. The time of

fellowship included a visioning process to consider “who we are” and “what we are becoming.”

The summer months offered oppor-tunities for several mission endeavors. In June, a group of six, representing four churches, participated in a distri-bution of insecticide treated mosquito nets. The group traveled to Ghana with His Nets, where more than 2,000 nets

were distributed through churches and clinics to those most in need. Later this year, a smaller distribution will take place in Kenya and plans will be laid for further distributions in Burkina Faso. A larger group of Oklahomans, from five churches, traveled to Texas and spent a week working with KidsHeart.

■ South CarolinaRivertown Community Church

in Conway, S.C., is small, but that doesn’t keep the congregation of 48 from pursuing its many goals. The church’s youth recently participated in a summer outreach/mission project to Appalachia. The group also decided to sponsor a student at the Ruth School in Romania and is now raising funds to meet that goal. In missions, church members serve meals at the local homeless shelter, work at the food bank and at a center for homeless teens, and in the summer distribute Bibles and food to lifeguards at nearby Myrtle Beach.

Members of First Baptist Church in Blackville, S.C., have discovered they don’t have to venture far from home to find missions opportunities. Recently the congregation held a Missions Blitz during which members worked in the yards of people with disabilities, baked and delivered cookies to show appre-ciation to local teachers and town lead-ers, and helped beautify the small town.

■ TennesseeFor the second year, Central Baptist

Theological Seminary of Kansas City, Kansas, will offer classes at First Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, as part of the Teaching Church Initiative. The Teaching Church Initiative was created with non-traditional, working students in mind. The two degrees offered are the master of divinity (75 credit hours) and the master of arts in theological studies (48 hours). Currently, the seminary is offering two classes in Murfreesboro per semester and one online class, giving a student the opportunity to be full-time with three classes. Each

class taught in Murfreesboro meets during four weekend sessions on Friday night and all day on Saturday with three to five weeks between sessions. For more information, contact Steve Guinn at (800) 677-CBTS or go to the seminary

Web site www.cbts.edu.“Celebrating the Preaching Voices

of Women,” the first women’s preach-ing conference sponsored by the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellow-ship, was held in Crossville. Thirty-five participants were involved in worship experiences that featured women preachers and attended two seminars on preaching skills.

SEPT. 7

Church and State in the 2006 Elections

Religious Life Center, Mercer University, Macon

A morning with J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty

Cosponsored by the Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University, and CBF/GA.

Info: (478) 301-5467, www.centerforbaptiststudies.org

SEPT. 10

11-on-11

Multiple locations

Current, the Fellowship’s network of young Baptists, will host its annual 11-on-11 event, involving young Baptists in simultaneous missions projects in different states. This fall, Current will begin accepting registration for its annual retreat Feb. 7-9, 2007, in Austin, Texas.

Info: www.thefellowship.info/current

SEPT. 30

Congregational Leadership Training

Clemmons First Baptist Church, Clemmons, N.C.

CBF of North Carolina is sponsoring training for lay leaders and ministers, which will include more than 25 workshops. The cost is $25 per person including lunch.

Info: (888) 822-1944, www.cbfnc.org

OCT. 6-7

Bringing Singles Together for Christ

First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C.

Sponsored by CBF of North Carolina, the single adult retreat will feature speaker Kathy Gore Chappell, director for student life and the director of The Samuel Project. The cost, which does not include lodging, is $30.


OCT. 7

CBF Midwest Gathering

Ashworth Baptist Church, Des Moines, Iowa

This is a first-ever event for Fellowship Baptists in five states to connect, inform and inspire with each other. This is a collaborative event sponsored by Ashworth Road Baptist Church, CBF North Central Region and CBF of Missouri.

Info: Tim Deatrick at [email protected]

OCT. 16-17

IME Regional Learning Event

Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.“Dancing with Your Dream: Remaining Vibrant All of

Your Life” will be led by Scott Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas.

Info: http://www.healthychurch.org/program.asp?permanent_id=-1&id=26

OCT. 16-18

Interim Ministry for Today’s Church

CBF National Office, Rm 225, McAfee Theology Bldg, 2nd Floor, Atlanta, Ga.

Sponsored by the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., and CBF, this conference is designed to meet the needs of interim pastors and to prepare them to assist a church in making wise decisions about choosing their next pastor. A pastor can qualify for 15 hours toward training as an intentional interim pastor.

Info: Robin Danner (336) 716-9722, [email protected] or www.healthychurch.org

OCT. 23-24


University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va.

“Dancing with Your Dream: Remaining Vibrant All of Your Life” will be led by Scott Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas.

Info: http://www.healthychurch.org/program.asp?permanent_id=-1&id=26

OCT. 24

Missional Church Conference

CBF of North Carolina is partnering with the Wake Forest University Divinity School to host a day-long conference on the missional/emergent church featuring speaker Brian McLaren. The cost is $50 per person.


NOV. 4


First Baptist Church, El Paso, Texas

“Leadership for the Missional Church” will be led by Reggie McNeal. This workshop will explore questions regarding the rise of the missional church. The event is sponsored by the El Paso Baptist Association, CBF and Center for Congregational Health. There is no charge for the event.

Info: [email protected] or [email protected] or call at (915) 544-8671

NOV. 5-6

CBF/GA Fall ConvocationFirst Baptist Church of Christ of Macon, Ga.“A Gift Too Good to Keep!” is the theme for the fall

convocation. Speakers include Rob Nash, CBF Global Missions coordinator, and Bill Underwood, Mercer University president.

Info: (877) 336-6426, www.cbfga.org

NOV. 12-15

Youth Workers SummitWalt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake

Buena Vista, Fla.

The Fellowship is one of 11 religious organizations sponsoring an ecumenical conference for youth ministers and workers. The conference cost is $275. Room costs are $387 for a single room and $195 for a double.

Info: (800) 769-0210, www.youthworkerssummit.org

NOV. 13

CBF of South Carolina Fall ConvocationFirst Baptist Church, Clinton, S.C.

Speakers include Evelyn Oliveira, SC/CBF urban minister in N. Charleston, and CBF moderator Emmanuel McCall. The theme of the event is “Missions: The Heart of CBF.”

Info: Contact Marion Aldridge at [email protected] or visit www.cbfofsc.org

To submit an event to be listed on the calendar, email [email protected].

Check out the CBF Calendar online at www.thefellowship.info/Inside%20CBF/Calendar/.

Four Oklahoma churches distributed mosquito nets to the Ghana Children’s Home.

Correction: There was an error in the partner school

commencements listing in the May-June issue of fellowship! Chuck Bugg is dean of the M. Christopher White School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University. We regret the error.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f CBF

Okl

ahom

a

Upcoming Events

Cooperative Baptist FellowshipP.O. Box 450329 • Atlanta, Georgia 31145-0329www.thefellowship.info(800) 352-8741

MA

ND

Y L

OC

KH

ART

, a m

embe

r of F

irst

Bapt

ist C

hurc

h in

Bry

an, T

exas

, exp

erie

nced

a

part

ners

hip

fi rst

-han

d w

hen

she s

pent

four

w

eeks

on

a m

edic

al m

issio

n tr

ip.

Lock

hart

, a se

cond

yea

r med

ical

stud

ent

at th

e U

nive

rsity

of T

exas

Med

ical

Bra

nch

at

Gal

vest

on, h

ad b

een

invo

lved

with

mis-

sions

wor

k in

col

-le

ge th

roug

h se

vera

l av

enue

s, bu

t it w

as

thro

ugh

Laur

a C

a-de

na, C

oope

rativ

e Ba

ptist

Fel

low

ship

m

issio

ns p

artn

er-

ship

rela

tions

hip

man

ager

, tha

t she

be

cam

e fa

mili

ar

with

the

Bapt

ist

Med

ical

Den

tal F

el-

low

ship

(BM

DF)

an

d an

opp

ortu

nity

to

serv

e al

ongs

ide

Gui

llerm

o Lo

zano

in

free

med

ical

clin

-ic

s in

Mat

amor

os,

Mex

ico,

a b

orde

r ci

ty o

f app

roxi

mat

ely

450,

000.

“CBF

Glo

bal M

issio

ns p

artn

ers w

ith

orga

niza

tions

bec

ause

it a

llow

s us t

o sh

are

reso

urce

s and

cre

ates

mor

e op

tions

for

chur

ches

and

indi

vidu

als,”

said

Cad

ena.

With

a m

issio

n to

enha

nce a

nd ch

ange

liv

es th

roug

h fe

llow

ship

and

heal

th ca

re m

is-sio

ns th

roug

hout

the w

orld

, the

BM

DF

has

had

a for

mal

par

tner

ship

with

CBF

sinc

e 20

00. S

hare

d go

als o

f the

par

tner

ship

inclu

de

crea

ting

a con

greg

atio

nally

-bas

ed m

edic

al/

dent

al cl

inic

net

wor

k, p

rovi

ding

med

ical

and

dent

al ca

re in

poo

r rur

al co

untie

s in

the U

nit-

ed S

tate

s and

dev

elop

ing

a med

ical

miss

ions

m

ento

ring

prog

ram

for y

oung

pro

fess

iona

ls.

“I w

as se

arch

ing

for s

omeo

ne w

ho w

as

trul

y m

akin

g us

e of

his

med

ical

skill

s for

th

e Lo

rd. Th

at’s

exa

ctly

wha

t I fo

und

in D

r.

Loza

no,”

Lock

hart

said

. In

May

and

June

, Loc

khar

t tra

vele

d w

ith L

ozan

o’s te

am a

roun

d th

e M

atam

oros

ar

ea, t

reat

ing

patie

nts w

ith m

inor

col

ds,

arth

ritis

, gas

triti

s, hy

pert

ensi

on a

nd d

ia-

bete

s, an

d ev

en a

ssis

ting

with

lapa

rosc

opic

su

rger

ies,

incl

udin

g th

e re

mov

al o

f a c

on-

geni

tal h

erni

a fr

om a

4-

year

-old

boy

. Lo

zano

’s tea

m sp

ent

one t

o tw

o da

ys at

each

ch

urch

clin

ic, d

epen

d-in

g on

the n

eed,

and

saw

100

pat

ient

s a

day o

n av

erag

e. Ev

ery

patie

nt th

at ca

me t

o a

clini

c was

giv

en m

ulti-

vita

min

s, a t

ooth

brus

h an

d to

othp

aste

. “[

Loza

no] r

eally

un

ders

tood

how

to

trea

t the

pat

ient

s and

w

as se

nsiti

ve to

thos

e w

ho n

eede

d to

con

-ne

ct w

ith so

meo

ne

on a

per

sona

l lev

el,”

Lock

hart

said

. “H

e ju

st p

ut it

out

ther

e: ‘I

’m

a C

hrist

ian,

and

no

mat

ter w

hat,

I will

be

pray

ing

for y

our s

pirit

ual a

nd p

hysic

al c

on-

ditio

n be

caus

e th

at’s

how

I’m

put

toge

ther

.’ I t

hink

that

for p

atie

nts,

whe

ther

they

are

C

hrist

ian

or n

ot, t

hat b

uild

s a b

ond

of tr

ust.

Th ey

kno

w y

ou’re

not

just

usin

g w

hat y

ou’v

e le

arne

d in

med

ical

scho

ol, b

ut a

lso lo

ve

— w

hat t

he L

ord

has g

ift ed

you

with

.” f

!

S

ERVE

– F

or in

form

atio

n on

vol

unte

erin

g th

roug

h C

BF G

loba

l Mis

sion

s, c

onta

ct T

imo-

thy

Woo

d, v

olun

teer

pro

gram

man

ager

, at

volu

ntee

r@th

efel

low

ship

.info

or

call

(800

) 78

2-24

51 o

r vi

sit w

ww.

thef

ello

wsh

ip.in

fo/g

lo-

balm

issi

ons/

volu

ntee

rs.

By L

aurie

Ent

reki

n, co

ntrib

utin

g writ

er,

Atla

nta,

Ga.

Part

ner

Spot

ligh

tC

BF

vol

unte

er s

erve

s in

Mex

ico

wit

h B

apti

st M

edic

al D

enta

l Fel

low

ship 06

10P0

06C

OO

PE

RA

TIV

E B

AP

TIS

T F

EL

LO

WS

HIP

w

ww

.th

efel

low

ship

.in

fo

The

past

or’s

child

ren,

Gen

esis

and

Jai

me,

wel

-co

med

the

med

ical

tea

m t

o th

e ch

urch

in S

an

Raf

ael,

whe

re t

he t

eam

saw

mor

e th

an 3

00

patie

nts

in t

hree

day

s.

Photo courtesy of Mandy Lockhart

CB

Ffe

llow

ship

!

CO

OP

ERAT

IVE

BA

PTI

ST

FELL

OW

SH

IP

| W

WW

.TH

EFEL

LOW

SH

IP.IN

FO

fello

wsh

ip!

fello

wsh

ip!

fSe

rvin

g C

hris

tians

and

chu

rche

s as

the

y di

scov

er a

nd f

ulfi l

l the

ir G

od-g

iven

mis

sion

SEPT

EMBE

R/O

CTO

BER

2006

1

| 2

| 8

| 9

| 11

|To

geth

er F

or H

ope

mar

ks 5

th a

nniv

ersa

ryCe

lebr

atin

g Je

sus

in L

eban

onN

ew C

hurc

h St

art s

potli

ght

Cliff

Tem

ple

embr

aces

m

issi

onal

per

spec

tive

Upco

min

g ev

ents

Photo courtesy of Truett Seminary

As p

art o

f Tru

ett S

emin

ary’s

m

issi

on e

mph

asis

, CBF

le

ader

ship

sch

olar

Jos

h Br

ewer

tr

avel

ed to

Koc

hi, I

ndia

, whe

re

a lo

cal c

hild

wal

ked

up a

nd

took

his

han

d as

he

rest

ed

outs

ide

a sy

nago

gue.

The

land

scap

e of

theo

logi

cal

e

duca

tion

St

orie

s on

page

s 4-7

Date post:	25-Jul-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	cooperative-baptist-fellowship
View:	222 times
Download:	2 times

Sept/Oct 2006 fellowship!

Documents