Summer 2022 Vol. 27/Issue 2
FOCUS
MISSIONS cbfnc.org
The Gathering is a seasonal publication of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, 2640 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, NC, 27106.
3 Missions in a COVID World 4 Meet the Lolley Scholars 5 Honoring Randall Lolley 6 College Spring Break Missions Experience
Larry Hovis
Executive Coordinator
Jamie Rorrer
The Gathering, Editor
7 FBC Mount Olive Launches The Gratitude Project
The Gathering, Graphic Designer
8 Embracing Neighbors Through Grants for Field Personnel
Amy Cook
Director of Communications Communications Specialist
12 Encourager Church Spotlight: Oakmont Baptist, Greenville
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13 Encourager Church Spotlight: FBC on Fifth, Winston-Salem 14 Welcome House Community Network Continues to Expand
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October 7–9, 2022
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THIS FALL!
Missions in a COVID World
A
big part of my job involves speaking with pastors and other leaders about their churches, including trends, challenges, strengths, needs and much more. So far in 2022, many of these conversations have drifted toward institutional matters such as Sunday morning attendance, financial income, engagement (or lack thereof) of young families and committee work (Nominating committee enlistment, meeting formats, etc.). Only a small percentage of the content of these conversations seems to involve missions—local or global. While we in CBFNC care deeply about our congregations and seek to support them as they address institutional challenges, we continue to maintain a steady focus on missions. These mission efforts sometimes involve CBF field personnel, sometimes involve congregations and often include both. Let me describe some of these efforts.
Welcome House Through the ministry of CBF Field Personnel Marc and Kim Wyatt, serving primarily in the NC Triangle region, the Welcome House ministry had gotten off to a phenomenal start prior to the pandemic. This ministry, in partnership with numerous congregations, engages in providing the welcome of Jesus through housing and hospitality to those without a decent place to live. Welcome House’s primary focus is on newcomers to our state (i.e. refugees, asylum seekers and other internationals). In 2020, in spite of the pandemic, CBFNC embraced Welcome House as a signature missions ministry of our fellowship and established the Welcome House Community Network (WHCN). I conducted two “Welcome Rides,” cross-state bicycle rides, in Fall 2020 and 2021 to raise awareness and funds. Since late summer 2021, the ministry has been heavily involved in welcoming refugees from Afghanistan, many of whom worked with the U.S. military. And now, we are gearing up to welcome refugees from Ukraine. Jesus says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35) and that is exactly what we seek to do with this ministry. Though congregations are needed to offer a myriad of practical expressions of hospitality to these newcomers to our communities, the most critical need is housing. The total number of Welcome Houses now exceeds 30, but more are needed. If your church can lend a property you already own (i.e. an unused parsonage or rental home), or would be willing to secure property, or would simply like to learn about other ways to minister through WHCN, please contact the Wyatts (Wyatt@cbf.net) or the CBFNC office.
By Larry Hovis CBFNC Executive Coordinator
Disaster Response In August 2021, Tropical Depression Fred pummeled western North Carolina, flooding the Pigeon River and causing tremendous damage. CBFNC partnered with FBC Canton and other area churches to provide financial and other support. We organized several work days, including a “bucket brigade” to fill 200 five-gallon buckets with various supplies homeowners would need to clean up their homes, along with 1,000 plastic totes in which to pack their belongings.
Encourager Church CBF’s Encourager Church program seeks to connect congregations with CBF field personnel. The program cultivates relationships between churches and missionaries around four encouragement areas: prayer support; program support; short-term engagement; and financial support. Even though NC has more CBF churches than most other states, we only had 10 Encourager Churches prior to the pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, churches have either renewed their commitment or new congregations have become Encourager Churches, bringing our total to 20. I’m grateful for each of these congregations and dream of the day when every CBFNC congregation will be an Encourager Church for CBF field personnel. For more information about the Encourager Church Program, contact CBFNC Associate Coordinator Mary Kaylor (MKaylor@cbfnc.org).
Ukraine The world has watched in horror in recent months as Russian troops, under orders from Vladimir Putin, invaded and bombarded Ukraine. Mina and Gennady Podgaisky, CBF field personnel, have served in Ukraine for almost two decades. They have continued to minister in Ukraine through virtual platforms from the mission house of FBC Black Mountain. Other CBF field personnel and partners have welcomed refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries such as Poland and Romania. At the 2022 Annual Gathering, CBFNC contributed $50,000 to CBF’s Ukraine Fund. In addition, individuals and churches have contributed thousands more to this effort. At press time for this issue, we have just begun to welcome Ukrainian brothers and sisters to North Carolina through WHCN. See “Missions in a COVID World” on page 5. Summer 2022 | 3
Meet the
Lolley Scholars
Providing support and scholarship assistance to students engaged in theological education is an essential part of CBFNC’s work. Established by Dr. Randall and Lou Lolley, the Lolley Scholarship is CBFNC’s most prestigious scholarship, offered to future Baptist ministers pursuing a Master of Divinity at any of the four partner divinity schools in North Carolina. Candidates are nominated by someone who can speak to their outstanding promise for Christian ministry. Through generous individual and congregational gifts to the Lolley Fund, CBFNC is able to support students for all three years of their Master of Divinity program. Please join us in congratulating the 20222025 Lolley Scholarship recipients.
TAYLOR LONG Master of Divinity Campbell University School of Divinity Benson Baptist Church Benson, NC “I believe that I am called to be present with others as they discover who they are and who God is. My hope for my ministry is that through the work that I do and the space that I create, people would know that they are welcomed in the presence of Christ, that they are loved deeply and that they have a place within beloved community. I hope that they will come to know that God is more loving, more kind and more inclusive than they could ever imagine. I believe that more often than not, people need someone willing to listen and to be with them through this life. I hope that my ministry will reflect the love of Christ above all else.” The goal of the Lolley Fund for Theological Education is to support men and women preparing for Christian ministry who are enrolled in seminaries or divinity schools and who have a commitment to serving in Baptist congregations and ministries. Candidates for the scholarships must be nominated by someone who can speak to her or his outstanding promise for Christian ministry and excellent potential for graduate-level work. Consider making a gift to the Lolley Fund for Theological Education at cbfnc.org/lolleyfundgifts. Your generosity will create a legacy that will impact ministers and congregations for years to come.
PAXTON VAUGHN Master of Divinity Duke Divinity School Highland Baptist Church Louisville, KY “After feeling God’s call for me to work in congregational ministry I began to wonder what that might look like. What are my dreams for my own ministry? My dream, simply put, is to facilitate a Christ-centered community that cares for each other and the world around us. I dream of spaces for teenagers to feel safe and cared for. Teenagers are experiencing a time of great change and self-discovery and they need someone to remind them of the love God has for them. The church must allow space to wonder, dream and question while reflecting the unending love of Christ. I dream of a room full of teenagers being exactly who God created them to be while experiencing life with those around them.”
To support the theological education of future ministers, contributions may be given to the Lolley Fund online cbfnc.org/lolleyfundgifts or by mailing a check to CBFNC, 2640 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.
Your support is essential to providing theological education to future Baptist ministers! 4 | The Gathering
Remembering
D
Randall Lolley
r. Randall Lolley, a pivotal figure in the formation of CBFNC and the Cooperative Baptist movement, passed from this earth on March 21, 2022. A public celebration of life service was held for him on May 14 at First Baptist Church, Greensboro, the last congregation he served as pastor before he retired from Randall and Lou Lolley with the first class of Lolley Scholarship full-time ministry. recipients. CBFNC Executive Coordinator Larry Hovis shares, “To say that Randall Lolley was a giant among free and faithful Baptists would be a gross understatement. From exemplary pastoral leadership to shaping a whole generation of ministers to lending strong leadership in the early days of our CBF family, Randall left an indelible mark on countless pastors, their churches and an entire movement.” Randall and his wife, Lou, worked with CBFNC in 2008 to establish the Randall and Lou Lolley Endowment for Theological Education to fulfill their dreams of supporting men and women preparing for ministry. Below, some of the previous Lolley Fund scholarship recipients share about the impact Randall has had on their lives and ministry. “I first met Randall Lolley in 2012 when I reached out for an interview with him for a class project. From our first conversation at Panera Bread, I felt so encouraged and affirmed by him as a woman in ministry and as a child of God. The friendship we shared over the last decade is something I will always cherish. Thanks be to God for Rev. Dr. Randall Lolley.” –Amy McClure, 2012 Scholar
“It was the flagship honor of my Duke experience to be named to the first class of Lolley Scholars and it continues to be a joy to participate in the selection of future scholars year after year. The Lolley legacy is defined by public advocacy that is steeped in religious liberty and academic freedom. My vocation has taken me to avenues of congregational service as a pastor, higher education leadership as a professor and public policy service as a health care advocate. Through each part of my journey, I seek to model the courageous advocacy that was reflected in Randall Lolley’s life. I am grateful to CBFNC for continuing to honor his legacy through the Lolley Fund.” –Andrew Barnhill, 2012 Scholar “It would be an understatement to say that the Lolley Fund has been instrumental in allowing me to live out my ministerial calling. As I continue my studies at Duke University, learning more and more about the foundations of sound theology, I am inspired by Randall’s principled resistance to hostile theology. I cherish the role I have as a piece of Randall Lolley’s legacy. It is both a privilege and a joy.” –Luke Perrin, 2019 Scholar
Missions in a COVID World, continued from page 3 Local Church Outreach The examples listed above describe some of the collective mission efforts of our fellowship since the start of the pandemic. There are countless additional stories of congregations who have served their communities faithfully, even sacrificially, in spite of the challenges they have faced. FBC Mount Olive provides a moving, inspiring example of one such effort (see p. 7) but we know there are many more. Emile Bruner, the great Swiss theologian, said, “The church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning.” I’ve heard some (thankfully not many) leaders say that their church has been so disrupted by the pandemic they don’t
have the luxury to do much beyond offer worship services and pastoral care for their members. They say they will resume missional engagement when church life returns to a more normal state. While I’m sympathetic to their struggle, I don’t see churches returning to “normal,” if normal means exactly the way things were before the pandemic (and let’s admit, they weren’t always great even then). I pray our churches would adopt a “new normal” with mission at the center. Otherwise, we may starve the church of the essential oxygen needed to burn brightly for the world to see. Summer 2022 | 5
COLLEGE Missions Campbell Student Perspective By Ainsley Blasius Campbell University Student
Cooperative Baptist Student Fellowship at Campbell University was able to join BSF Western Carolina with CBSF University of North Carolina Ashville on a mission trip to Charleston, South Carolina over spring break. We worked with Metanoia, an organization focused on asset-based community development, for five days in the North Charleston area. We were able to create a park for the community by cleaning up the area of debris, building a fence and spreading mulch over the area. We also had the opportunity to partner with Water Mission and help them prep for their Walk for Water fundraiser. The team there worked on cleaning tents, loading trailers full of buckets and creating gift bags for donors. Three members from Campbell went on the trip and it meant a lot for a portion of our group to go. As the newest CBSF group in North Carolina, it was nice to meet students and leaders from other universities who value the Cooperative Baptist expression of faith. Our group was able to make so many new connections with other college students. For me, it was an amazing experience, because it was my first mission trip and changed the way I think about serving others. Working with Metanoia helped me better understand that missions are more about seeing the value in a person rather than just doing an act of service for them. This experience created a deeper sense of connection for the group as a whole and individuals who attended, myself included. 6 | The Gathering
Experience UNC Asheville Student Perspective
By Zachary McClure UNC Asheville Student
This year during spring break, Baptist Student Fellowship from both Western Carolina and the University of North Carolina Asheville, along with CBSF at Campbell University, were involved with a local mission in Charleston, South Carolina. Our collective group of college students volunteered our time to assist a community development organization called Metanoia. We worked in a neighborhood, located in North Charleston, where we created a park for the local community. The park was built upon the site of a condemned building that was previously removed. Our job was to clean up the remaining debris, build a perimeter fence and create walking paths and sitting areas within the park. During the last two days of the trip, we were given the option to involve ourselves in another organization called Water Mission, and aid them in setting up a fundraiser. Students were able to help carry buckets, clean tents and prepare gift bags for potential donors. This trip was one of my biggest highlights of my freshman year of college. It was an amazing experience to be able to meet new people from different schools and to collaborate with them to help restore a community. The best part of the trip was talking to other students that share the same faith as myself and gaining a better understanding of how children of God can come together and do the Lord’s work. This trip inspired all of the students to engage in missions and helped us create friendships that will last far into the future.
FBC Mount Olive
Launches
A
By Bryan King Lay Leader First Baptist Mount Olive
Dennis Atwood Pastor First Baptist Mount Olive
s vacationers head south on U.S. Highway 117 in North Carolina, many often make a pitstop in the small town of Mount Olive. Best known for the Mt. Olive Pickle Company that shares its namesake, the town rings in every New Year with its famous “Pickle Drop.” It’s also home to other successful enterprises such as Highway 55 Burgers and Shakes, Southern Bank and Trust, and the University of Mount Olive. Despite these success stories, the town is also known for something else: its poverty.
In 2018, USA Today highlighted the town as having the highest poverty rate in the state and one of the highest in the nation. While statistics have somewhat improved since then, the 2020 Census states that nearly 25% of all Mount Olive residents still live in poverty compared with the state average of 14%. Of that quarter, 60% are either children or seniors. In the Book of Jeremiah, God instructs his people to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Pastor Dennis Atwood and the congregation here at the First Baptist Church of Mount Olive took those words to heart last year. In December 2021, the church approved a $100,000 grant-based program to fund any church member or nonprofit organization with a feasible proposal for reducing the structural causes of poverty in the Town of Mount Olive. Named the “Gratitude Project,” the program was approved in recognition and thanksgiving of how God has blessed our church with good financial stewardship over the years. Our mission is to “be the presence of Christ in the world fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission” and we believe God is calling First Baptist to live out this mission by investing in people who can live out their faith and make positive social change. The Gratitude Project provides that investment so that more people can “be the presence of Christ” in the Town of Mount Olive. The grants are available to individual members of First Baptist Church as well as existing nonprofit organizations. Upon review of initial applications, select applicants will be asked to complete a more detailed application and present their proposal to the Gratitude Project committee. Final award decisions will be announced by the committee on a rolling basis until the funds have been exhausted.
To maximize the chances of reducing poverty, the committee is focused on supporting those ventures addressing healthcare, education, housing, digital connectivity, financial health, access to capital, job creation and workforce development. The committee has identified these issues as the primary structural causes of poverty. In determining awards, the committee will consider such criteria as a project’s potential to help the applicant live out their faith, the ability to use First Baptist members’ strengths and expertise, as well as the potential to build human dignity and economic empowerment. But perhaps the most important requirement for eligibility is that the project’s scope must be limited to poverty within the town limits of Mount Olive. It’s also important to point out that the Gratitude Project is different from traditional church benevolence initiatives such as giveaways or one-time events. By contrast, this program targets sustainable and relational impacts within our community. If selected, grant recipients will receive (1) funding over the course of one year based on the scope of their project, (2) access to the expertise and resources of First Baptist members, and (3) spiritual support and mentoring. Our hope moving forward is that the Gratitude Project can be a model for other churches to utilize their assets and transform the discipleship of their members through innovative funding of passions directed toward the most impoverished segments of their communities. For more information on the Gratitude Project, visit www.fbcmountolive.org/gratitude. Summer 2022 | 7
Embracing
NEIGHBORS
Through Grants
for Field Personnel
By Mary Kaylor CBFNC Associate Coordinator
For 20 years, CBFNC has provided support in various ways to CBF field personnel and their ministry projects both stateside and internationally. While CBF’s Offering for Global Missions supports the long-term presence of field personnel, they are required to raise money for their ministry projects. To help cover field personnel project costs, CBFNC offers the Global Partnership Grant. These grants seek to network CBF field personnel & congregations and communities to build long-term relationships and combine assets to further the Kingdom of God. The funds awarded field personnel are used toward specific projects in their areas of ministry. Get to know more about the field personnel and projects CBFNC has recently awarded a Global Partnership Grant. Hannah Turner coordinates programs and events for Welcome House Raleigh to help immigrants and refugees adjust to their new lives in the United States.
8 | The Gathering
HANNAH TURNER Raleigh, NC Hannah serves alongside Marc & Kim Wyatt (CBF Field Personnel) under CBF’s Global Service Corps (GSC) program, a two-year mission apprenticeship that provides graduates and post-career individuals the opportunity to serve alongside career field personnel. Hannah serves as the Welcome House Raleigh Ministry Assistant Coordinator. Welcome House Raleigh provides hospitality ministry to vulnerable neighbors in the Raleigh area. “This thoughtful contribution is helping with the continuation of my GSC placement and presence in engaging the refugee and immigrant community in Raleigh, North Carolina with Welcome House,” says Hannah. “It has strengthened English language learning work in refugee concentrated communities, as well as the Welcome House Raleigh mission, giving better access to resources and opportunities to students through cultivating connection. Building relationships continues to be the most transformational part for me through my missional journey.”
KAREN
North Africa Karen serves in North Africa with migrants and refugees. Commissioned in 2018, she partners with the local church as they respond to the needs of vulnerable sub-Saharan migrants and refugees through humanitarian assistance and development projects. The church Karen serves collaborates with another church to run an ecumenical seminary. With her awarded grant funds Karen will be able to assist a ministry colleague and volunteer in her migrant and refugee work in his studies at the seminary. Upon learning about these funds, Karen’s colleague said, “I’m writing you to give thanks to God, who has been working through your ministry so that I can finish my bachelor’s degree in Theology. Sincerely, before this possibility, I was in a very difficult situation and I thought it would be impossible to finish my university studies. But today, with your support, I have hope again. For this reason, I’ll be forever grateful.” Completing his theological education will not only allow this colleague to better serve those he is currently working with but also provide him with a foundation for a sustainable future.
NELL GREEN Rock Hill, SC
After 26 years of service with CBF in Miami, Brussels and Houston, Nell, commissioned in 1994, works to help facilitate a culture where mission flourishes by engaging CBF field personnel, ministry partners and churches to strengthen the Offering for Global Missions. She also continues her work with refugees with her husband Butch through their non-profit organizations The Off Ramp and Threads by Nomad. Having recently relocated to the Charlotte-metro area, The Off Ramp began a collaborative relationship with Make Welcome Sewing, a non-profit sewing school established in 2012 to help refugee women in Charlotte. The funds provided by CBFNC will help provide women graduating from the sewing program a new sewing machine. This will allow these women to take on contract sewing work in order to provide for their families. “The right to dignity and meaningful work is essential to the health and wellbeing of those coming to us after traumatic leave-takings from their host countries,” says Nell Green. “The Off Ramp and Threads by Nomad seek the economic empowerment and cultural acclimation of those who have been displaced or are in danger of displacement. We believe in partnership. When we became aware of Make Welcome Sewing in Charlotte, it did not make sense to duplicate what they were doing but rather support it. We began working together on a variety of projects. Yet the possibility of having the resources to get started on her own after graduation was not a possibility for many of the women in the program. Providing a good, new machine with basic start up supplies enables them to begin building a self-sustaining income.”
Refugee women in the Charlotte area learn to sew in order to find work thanks to Nell Green’s ministry.
Summer 2022 | 9
RICK & LITA SAMPLE Fremont, CA Commissioned in 2022, the Samples serve with the international and refugee community in the San Francisco Bay area. During the summer of 2021, many Afghan refugees began arriving in the Bay area as well as Sacramento, San Diego, Bakersfield and Fresno. And many, many more are anticipated to arrive in the area throughout this year. Often the men, women and children arrive, having fled their home country, feeling hopeless and uncertain of what their futures hold. The Samples will be using their funding to provide emergency supplies for these families including food, housing, transportation, personal care items, school supplies for children, and clothing for entire families. The funds will also help connect these Afghan refugees with San Francisco’s only Afghan Christian church that can minister to these people in their own language. Upon learning they would receive grant funds Rick said, “Thank you CBFNC for helping to make it possible for us to serve hundreds of Afghan refugees in so many ways. Our presence as CBF field personnel in the San Francisco Bay Area serving Afghan refugee families is so important and is making a huge difference for Christ in the lives of many Afghans.”
The Samples organize fun, communitybuilding events for refugee families in the San Francisco Bay area. 10 | The Gathering
MATT & MICHELLE NORMAN Barcelona, Spain Matt & Michelle were commissioned in 2011 and serve in the Catalonia region of Barcelona. This area is less than one percent Protestant and most of the population is at least two generations removed from Church. It is here that the Normans engage in ministry with local churches to connect with their secular community as well as welcoming immigrants and refugees. The Normans will use their grant funds for Espai Sopem, “A Place for Dinner” in Catalan, a project formed in collaboration with Pastor Nelson Araujo and city officials of Villanova. Espai Sopem utilizes unused school lunches (in Spain school lunches are prepared from scratch and consist of three courses) to prepare meals for those experiencing food insecurity. “We love this project because it was birthed in a conversation between Matt and a local pastor. Following the conversation, the two of them met with town hall and the town provided the initial resources for the project. It is a beautiful picture of a successful partnership,” says Michelle. Due to COVID, Espai Sopem has increased the number of people served and increased service to three nights a week. Currently meals are being provided to-go but the Normans and others hope to return to sit-down dining for guests by the end of this year.
The Normans’ ministry provides meals to those experiencing food insecurity in Barcelona, Spain.
Learn more about these Field Personnel and their overall missions at cbf.net/field-personnel. Summer 2022 | 11
Encourager Church Spotlight: Oakmont Baptist Jimmie Hughes Director of Missions, Oakmont Baptist, Greenville
O
Greenville
akmont Baptist Church has a history of missional engagement. Members were led to Ukraine for Oakmont’s first international medical mission trip in September 1996. Oakmonters have traveled to many states and several countries to be God’s hands and feet and to live out the church’s core value of: being missional by using our church resources as a hub of ministry in our community and world to be the loving presence of Christ in meeting the physical, relational and spiritual needs of people. Jimmie Hughes, Jenny Jenkins, Ellen Sechrest and Pam Strickland celebrate as Oakmont becomes In 2008, Oakmont members an Encourager Church for Jenny’s ministry in Haiti. Eric and Julie Maas were called to serve as CBF Field Personnel in care and helping to set up mobile medical clinics, supportBelize. For 10 years, Oakmont served as their Encourager ing the local schools, and hosting construction teams to Church, supported them financially and sent 17 mission build homes, a mission team house and storage shed, and teams to help until the Maas family returned to the States new construction on a medical clinic soon. in 2018. During this period, Oakmont’s missional engageWe decided to become an “official” Encourager Church ment exploded largely due to our Encourager Church this year when Jenny visited us on March 26-27. Members relationship with the Maas family. Oakmonters rediscovof our Mission Team welcomed her Saturday evening at ered the importance of our vision statement, “Connecting a local barbeque restaurant, since she enjoys soaking up Lives with Christ as the Center Through Reaching, Growing local flavor when visiting churches. and Going,” in a personal way. We were honored that Rev. Ellen Sechrest, manager of Oakmont’s Mission Team sought another missionary Global Missions Engagement for the Cooperative Baptist to support and encourage through missional engageFellowship, was able to join us and present Oakmont with ment, prayer, materials and financial resources. The Team a plaque signifying our Encourager Church relationship prayed for a ministry that needed the types of gifts and with Jenny. talents that Oakmonters possessed. Oakmont had many We have a bulletin board in a high-traffic area to members who were experienced in serving on medical remind Oakmonters about Jenny’s work and Bible bookteams, educational and backyard-Bible School-type teams marks with specific prayer requests from her. We plan to with children, and construction teams. have her prayer requests and updates from her work in our Jenny Jenkins in Grand Goave, Haiti fit the bill perfectly! weekly newsletter, so that we can pray for her regularly. And, as a bonus, she has ties to eastern North Carolina, When it is safe to do so, we plan to send teams to assist having lived in Elizabeth City for 20 years. Oakmont has with her medical, educational and construction needs. been supporting Jenny financially and by sending care We are grateful for this opportunity to support Jenny packages, and emails for over two years. as she serves as God’s hands and feet in Haiti and to partJenny has served in Haiti for 12 years providing medical ner with her in service. 12 | The Gathering
Encourager Church Spotlight:
First Baptist Church on Fifth
by Joy Gambill Missions Committee Chair, First Baptist on Fifth, Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem
O
n February 27, 2022, First Baptist Church on Fifth in WinstonSalem, signed an Encourager Church Covenant with Missy Ward Angalla, who serves as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in Kampala, Uganda. Missy and her husband Francis serve as the co-directors of Amani Sasa Ministries. Missy and the team at Amani Sasa minister among vulnerable and at risk urban refugees from more than six different countries. Their team seeks to love their refugee neighbors by offering them safety, wholeness and empowerment so that they can live into their God-given purpose. Their services include emergency food, medical and housing services, counseling and in depth trauma rehabilitation and empowerment programs. Last year, this ministry served more than 800 people, mostly women and children. While this was our church’s first plunge into a formal CBF Encourager Church agreement, it was not our first experience supporting CBF Field Personnel. For five years, our church was blessed to First Baptist on Fifth in Winston-Salem celebrates its support Lauren and David Bass, CBF field personnel, as they launched covenant as a new Encourager Church. their ministry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Shortly after we began supporting the Basses, the CBF funding model changed to the Encourager Church model with all funds designated for programming. This new model opened the possibility for our church to explore supporting other ministries in other places around the world. In April 2021, the Missions Committee at First Baptist Church on Fifth met through Zoom with Ellen Sechrest from CBF Global to talk about entering into our first official Encourager Church agreement. Ellen asked several key questions, including what was important for our church. We said that we wanted CBF Field Personnel who aligned with our church priorities, including “cultivating the well-being of children” and “mitigating poverty in our community.” We also wanted the money to go to the Field Personnel who needed the money the most. After our informative conversation, Ellen sent links for us to read about Field Personnel who fit our profile, but she also said, “Missy Ward Angalla needs the money the most at this time.” Our committee took our time to prayerfully consider this decision, but when we gathered back together, Missy was at the top of the list for all of us. We at First on Fifth are so excited about the opportunity to be a small part of Missy’s ministry to refugees in Uganda. As we begin this relationship with Missy, our church is in the beginning stages of ministering to refugees in Missy Ward Angalla, CBF field personnel serving the Winston-Salem area by becoming a Good Neighbor Team through World in Uganda and Emily Hull McGee, pastor, share Relief. It is our hope that sometime in the future we will be able to send a team about this new covenant relationship. from our church to Uganda to see and experience how God is using Missy and Francis to minister to refugees in that area of the world. We pray that our church will be inspired by Amani Sasa Ministries and that we will become a church who seeks to love our refugee neighbors by offering them safety, wholeness and empowerment so that they can live into their God-given purpose. Summer 2022 | 13
Continues to
E X PA N D
S
ince CBFNC launched the Welcome House Community Network (WHCN) ministry in 2020, the ministry has grown beyond the Raleigh-area, creating 30 expressions of Welcome House ministries across North Carolina. Because of this growth, two Welcome House Managers have joined the team to coordinate hospitality ministry in other regions: Linda Jones in the Triad and Paula McCosh in the Sandhills. For founders Kim and Marc Wyatt, the addition of Jones and McCosh is the natural next step for the expanding ministry. But for Jones and McCosh, it’s a personal venture that reflects their life journeys. “Refugees and other cultures always have been a passion of mine. I’m sure it came from my mom, who was well-read and well-traveled,” Jones said. She recalls a decades-old memory, when her church in Dayton, OH, resettled a Cambodian family. “We delivered Christmas presents on a Friday night,” she remembered. “They lived in an old home, but when a Mercedes drove by, the mother said, ‘We had a car like that.’” Those words drove home the vulnerability of life and the reality that surface appearances do not reveal refugees’ stories. Jones is no stranger to this work. She was previously the missions coordinator for CBFNC and also helped CBF Global with its Encourager Church and Latino Network programs before she retired. So, late last summer, she quickly agreed when Marc Wyatt asked her to help find housing in Winston-Salem for Afghan refugees employed at a chicken-processing plant in North Wilkesboro. That evolved into collaboration with both Welcome House and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, as well as churches as Jones recruits congregations to help provide hospitality and housing. “The rewards are great,” Jones said. “Just think about the relationships you form, the love you have for each other.” That love, particularly for Afghan refugees settling near Fort Bragg, comes easily to McCosh, associate 14 | The Gathering
From Left: Linda Jones (Triad) and Paula McCosh (Sandhills)
pastor of family ministries at Mount Pisgah Baptist in Fayetteville. “My husband is alive today because of the Afghan refugees we are supporting,” she said. He is a CBF-endorsed chaplain with the U.S. Army Reserves. He served two tours of duty in Iraq By Marv Knox Contributing Writer and and three tours in Afghanistan, priFounder of Fellowship marily working with Special Forces. Southwest “I am helping three families whose members served the U.S. Special Forces community in Afghanistan,” she explained. “I know their loyalty and commitment—at huge risk to their lives and to their own families—ensured my husband and his soldiers were safe.” McCosh is working with Lafayette and Snyder Memorial Baptist churches, which are operating multiple homes that provide both short- and long-term housing for Afghan refugees. She also builds off her military relationships to collaborate with Fort Bragg families and she’s coordinating interfaith response to refugees. The addition of Jones and McCosh to Welcome House reflects a natural progression beyond metropolitan centers and refugees. “The needs are greater, so the work is expanding,” Marc Wyatt said. He adds, “There are many more possibilities for housing needs in rural parts of the state than where refugees traditionally are resettled. About half the churches in our network are serving other kinds of vulnerable people. We’re interested in seeing how housing develops for all kinds of people in other parts of the state.” “We want to impress upon the fellowship, that if they have a church that has an unused parsonage, a missionary residence, other properties not currently used as housing or members involved in real estate, we want to speak to them,” adds Wyatt. “It’s a call to stewardship to show God’s love through affordable housing.” To get involved, contact the Wyatts at wyatt@cbf.net and 910.632.4774.
WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD for the lives and ministries of these long-tenured pastors who recently retired from CBFNC churches.
“Well done, good and faithful servant!” –Matt. 25:23
JACK GLASGOW retired at the end of January after 34 years at Zebulon Baptist in Zebulon.
GREG ROGERS retired at the end of January after 35 years at Oakmont Baptist in Greenville.
JOE YELTON retired at the end of January after 25 years at Hominy Baptist in Candler.
MINISTERS ON THE MOVE Our encouragement and support go to the following ministers who have recently moved: Paul Batson to Jersey Baptist, Lexington as Pastor Cody Carpenter to First Baptist, Mount Airy as Associate Pastor for Families Meagan Vizard Greene to First Baptist, Erwin as Co-Pastor Barrett Owen to First Baptist, Wilmington as Pastor When you make a move or know of someone who has changed places of ministry, please send us an email: seth.hix@cbfnc.org. For assistance to search committees and ministers seeking vocational discernment, visit the Equip Ministers and Churches page on our website (cbfnc.org) or call us at 336.759.3456.
CBFNC HONORARY & MEMORIAL GIFTS | January 2022 – March 2022 Jennifer and Seth Asbill in honor of Wanda Kidd and Jesse Croom Beth and Steve Baxley in honor of Wanda Kidd Ed Beddingfield in honor of Wanda Kidd Susan Burnette in celebration of Family Christmas Gifts Charlotte B. Cook in honor of Wanda Kidd Jim and Deb Cross in honor of Chris Aho Jim Culbreth in honor of Cindy Combs The Deer Family in honor of Amanda Atkin Patricia Dunn in honor of Wanda Kidd F. Sue Fitzgerald in honor of Wanda Kidd Susan Fouts in honor of Wanda Kidd Kim and Larry Hovis in honor of Lauren Hovis Gerald Hutchinson in honor of Wanda Kidd Sandra W. Jarrell in honor of Wanda Kidd Rebecca and Larry Keesler in honor of Wanda Kidd Shirley and Dean Kool in honor of Wanda Kidd Rebecca and Jeff Mathis in honor of Wanda Kidd Carolyn and Eric Matthews in honor of Wanda Kidd Jane and Jim McCoy in honor of Wanda Kidd Lisa and Kenneth Rust in honor of Marc & Kim Wyatt Miller Sigmon in honor of Tom Davis Amanda Gail Smith in honor of Wanda Kidd Charles and Carolyn Warford in honor of Wanda Kidd
Christa Warise in honor of Wanda Kidd Belle Allen in memory of Randall Lolley Helen Bunton in memory of Randall Lolley The Deer Family in memory of Fleming Atkin Tom Graves in memory of Randall Lolley Tommy and Pat Hardin in memory of Sarah Ayia Azure Awuni Brenda Hipp in memory of Dennis Hipp and Hank Greer Jo Ann and Don Horton in memory of Randall Lolley Barbara Huggins in memory of Kay Huggins Wilma M. McNiel in memory of Mary Lib Causey Laurie and Steve Mills in memory of Randall Lolley Brian Murphy in memory of Dr. William Randall Lolley Mike and Bobbie Queen in memory of Daniel Hudgins Leslie and Gregory Rogers in memory of Daniel Hudgins Jamie and Jamie Rorrer in memory of Daniel Hudgins Patrick Simpson in memory of Betsy Purcell David B. Smith in memory of Roy Smith David Straw in memory of Randall Lolley Pam and Jim Thomason in memory of Randall Lolley John Vestal in memory of Cindy Vestal Laura Anne Vick, Jennifer Catellani, Carolyn Durham and Elizabeth Kirkman in memory of Randall Lolley Carol Wright in memory of Randall Lolley Summer 2022 | 15
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