Being Formed TOGETHER
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
This article is the sixth in a series on CBFNC’s organizational values. In this issue we focus on SPIRITUAL FORMATION: We draw upon the breadth and depth of the whole Christian tradition to undergird our common life and ministry. Our life together is shaped through the practice of prayer and other spiritual disciplines.
Like most CBFers of my generation, I was raised in the Southern Baptist culture. My faith was formed at the peak of the “program church” era. Besides family and school, my life was shaped by the rhythms of the church’s schedule and programs.
We attended church at least three times per week. Sunday morning was for Sunday School and morning worship. Sunday night was for Training Union (later Church Training and Discipleship Training) and evening worship. Evening worship was more casual than morning worship, and often the youth choir sang. Wednesday night was for fellowship dinner, RAs and GAs, and graded choirs.
The annual calendar included Vacation Bible School, complete with a processional of flags and Bible, stand-up/ sit-down chords and a film strip that included a different missionary story each day. Once I entered the seventh grade, I was eligible to go to camp at Caswell or Ridgecrest each summer.
In seminary, there were folks majoring in Religious Education (later Christian Education). Though I focused on pastoral ministry, I took Bruce Powers’ class, “The Ministry of Christian Education,” with his book, “The Christian Education Handbook” as a primary text. When I arrived at my first pastorate, a small, rural church in the mountains of Virginia, I discovered that many of the programs I had grown up with were missing. I wondered how in the world disciples could be formed without them!
About that time, Baptists were beginning to discover the concept of “spiritual formation.” This concept came not through the Baptist Sunday School Board, but through the larger Christian tradition. It dates back centuries before the birth of Baptists in the 17th century and had been largely preserved through the Roman Catholic Church. When the Cooperative Baptist movement was born, many Baptists found that spiritual formation quenched a thirst we didn’t even know we had.
By Larry Hovis CBFNC Executive Coordinator
What is spiritual formation?
Robert Mulholland, one of the early Protestant scholars on this topic, defined spiritual formation, in a Christian context, as “the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.” As 2 Corinthians 3:18 explains, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Spiritual formation is not a program but a lifelong process. It may involve church programs, to be sure, but it is deeper, broader and by necessity requires more than “going to church” even three times per week!
Spiritual formation may be aided by programs, books and studies, but involves daily practices, deep relationships and intentional processes. Here are some avenues many have found helpful in cultivating spiritual formation:
• Spiritual Practices or Disciplines: Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and others have taught the importance of spiritual disciplines, which some call spiritual practices. These include traditional activities such as Bible study and prayer, but also silence, solitude, journaling, confession and many more. Foster’s classic book, “Celebration of Discipline,” identifies 12 disciplines, and even that list is not exhaustive.
• Retreats: For many Christians, spiritual retreats (alone or with others) have become a significant influence on their spiritual formation. Withdrawing from the regular routine of life for a day, a weekend or a week, and focusing on the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life, can be more transformative than a year of Sunday School.
• Spiritual Direction: Many clergy and laity are being trained and certified as spiritual directors. They are not counselors or therapists, but work with individuals and small groups to help them pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and to guide them in the process of spiritual formation.
• Mission Action and Reflection: The best mission trips not only follow a healthy missiology and avoid the trap of “when helping hurts,” but they also encourage participants to prepare spiritually, participate thoughtfully, look for the work of the Spirit in the lives of those whom they serve, and reflect on the experience when they
See “Spiritual Formation” on page 4.
return home. When approached properly, these experiences can be greatly transformative in the spiritual life of the participant.
I sometimes miss the rhythms of my childhood church experience with frequent church attendance and robust programs. I give thanks for the church teachers and leaders who poured their lives into mine.
News & Notes
But I’m also grateful that we Baptists, especially we CBFers, have discovered value in the larger Christian tradition and its focus on spiritual formation in every aspect of life. And I’m grateful we can journey together along the path toward greater Christlikeness not only for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of our neighbors and the world.
Welcome New Staff Member
CBFNC recently added a new staff member to our team. Amy Lee Gallaher was named as our new programs support manager and began in August. She also serves as the minister of missional engagement at Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She continues to work in dual ministry roles serving the local church and CBFNC.
In her new role with CBFNC, Amy’s focus is on strengthening relationships with ministers and churches through planning and coordinating logistics for Annual Gathering in collaboration with staff and volunteer leaders. She will also provide collaborative support to the Helping Churches Thrive initiative, including managing logistics for retreats and workshop events, in addition to assisting in resourcing ministers and churches through the initiative.
Four Global Impact Volunteers Named in NC
Our state is fortunate to have four Global Impact Volunteers (GIVers) serving here. GIVers are a new CBF Global Missions volunteer designation and our four North Carolinians were recognized at CBF’s General Assembly in June. These volunteers serve alongside field personnel, CBF Global Missions staff as well as Engagement Partners. The GIVers serving in North Carolina are:
Barbara Best
Welcome House Raleigh Advocate for Refugee Children’s Literacy
Sue Bullock Volunteer with Food Distribution in Conetoe
Shirley High Volunteer with Food Distribution in Conetoe and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC
Linda Jones
Welcome Network Advocate for Refugees of the Triad
Ardmore Baptist Receives Mission Excellence Award
In June, Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem was one of three churches honored with the Mission Excellence Award at the CBF General Assembly in Greensboro. The church was honored for its work in turning a home it owns into a Welcome House to provide short-term housing for immigrants and for becoming an Encourager Church for CBF Field Personnel Janée Angel. Through that partnership, the church has traveled to Belgium multiple times to offer a children’s camp, women’s encouragement week and cultural exchange, prayer retreats and more to support ongoing ministry with immigrants. Congratulations to Ardmore Baptist!
Amy Lee Gallaher
Legacy Giving Reflects Life Priorities
As we celebrate CBFNC’s 30 years of “bringing Baptists of North Carolina together for Christ-centered ministry,” I have enjoyed working on a committee that has been discussing ways we can celebrate our fellowship with an emphasis on legacy giving. The conversation has stimulated deeper reflection for my wife and me as we consider updating our will in a way that takes seriously our legacy as a reflection of the priorities of our lives.
Of course, caring for our family will be primary for us. We also have become convinced that our estate planning should continue our lifelong practice of tithing. Supporting ministry that matters deeply to us through tithing our estate is an opportunity to support the work of God in the world and remind our children and grandchildren one more time of our commitment to the Lord and the church.
Our conversation about legacy giving has given us clarity about where we would like our tithe to be shared. Zebulon Baptist Church is at the top of our list. We also want to include CBFNC along with CBF Global Missions to receive a final gift from us. And there are other ministries we want to consider. Every Christian who is serious about legacy giving can prayerfully determine where they would like to see their gifts go to make a difference in the world even after their earthly lives have ended.
I recently shared the idea of legacy giving with the senior adults at Westwood Baptist Church where I serve as interim pastor. I emphasized giving to support God’s
By Jack Glasgow Retired Minister
work as being one final opportunity to give witness to your faith. We talked practically about the 10% tithe being a great starting point for making plans for legacy giving. Looking at simple examples of sharing 90% of one’s estate with family, friends or other causes and sharing 10% to support the work of Christian ministry, it was clear that tithing one’s estate would not significantly impact the bottom line of the gifts left to heirs. Whether the estate is large or small, the tithe of the estate to God will not diminish greatly the financial blessing you want to bestow on your loved ones. Those who were present seemed truly energized about considering their legacy giving.
Jesus was clear about the close relationship of treasures and our hearts. Barbara and I will make estate plans that certainly make it clear to our beloved family how much we have treasured them. I am also delighted to let those same plans be one last opportunity to give witness to our love for the Lord, for the church and for the ministries of the kingdom of God on earth. Our estate tithe is a final testimony to the God of whom we sing, “All my life You have been faithful. All my life You have been so, so good! With every breath that I am able, oh I will sing of the goodness of God.” Legacy giving enables me to celebrate that my testimony to God’s goodness may endure even after I have taken my last breath here on earth. I like that!
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE WEALTHY to leave a lasting legacy. A few simple, smart steps now will allow you to help sustain Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina’s values in the future. A planned gift to CBFNC may be done two ways:
INCLUDE CBFNC IN YOUR WILL. Making a gift as part of your estate plan allows you to make a larger gift than might be possible in your lifetime. You will enjoy peace of mind that you have made provision for an organization whose mission you believe in, and planned gifts lessen the burden of estate taxes on your family. You remain in control of your assets and have the flexibility to modify your bequest if circumstances change.
A bequest may be made several ways:
• Gift of a specific dollar amount or asset.
• Gift of a percentage of your estate.
• Gift from the balance of your estate.
INCLUDE CBFNC AS A BENEFICIARY OF YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN OR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY. Naming CBFNC as a charitable beneficiary of your IRA, Roth IRA, 403(b), or 401(k) maximizes your charitable impact and may lower estate taxes for your heirs.
A Spiritual Formation Pilgrimage: Reflections on the Isle of Iona
“The tiny Isle of Iona, barely three miles long by one mile wide, has had an influence out of all proportion to its size to the establishment of Christianity in Scotland, England and throughout mainland Europe.”
This past May, my husband David and I had the opportunity to visit the tiny island of Iona, Scotland for a short but memorable visit. Traveling to Iona is not for the faint of heart! Suffice it to say, one does not accidentally go there. Following a flight to Glasgow, Scotland, we boarded a train which took us through beautiful scenery to Oban, a quaint seaside town. At Oban, we got on the ferry and traveled to the Island of Mull, where we boarded a bus taking us to Fionnphort. Here we boarded our final ferry for a five-minute ride over to the Isle of Iona.
This little island in the Hebrides was the birthplace of
By Joani Hughes Spiritual Director
there are many other places to visit. Iona is a “walking island.” It is home to MANY sheep. We had the good fortune of being there in lambing season and we enjoyed their lively exuberance!
The hike to Columba’s Bay (the place on the island where St. Columba landed when he sailed from Ireland to Scotland) was strenuous at points but well worth it. The hike passes through a golf course which is sometimes shared with cows and sheep.
There is a very limited number of hotels and restaurants on the island. Our accommodations were simple but
Christianity for Scotland in the 6th century. Since then it has been a place of pilgrimage to which thousands come from the four corners of the earth every year.
Today, visitors go to the Abbey, which was originally built in the 13th century and restored around the turn of the 20th century. The Abbey is now the spiritual home of the Iona Ecumenical Community. Services are held there throughout the week for visitors to the island.
We attended two of these services and found them to be deeply meaningful. Also present on the island are the ruins of a Benedictine Nunnery. John Philip Newell, author of “The Rebirthing of God,” writes that the Nunnery, which is open, without a roof, speaks to him of the “cathedral of earth, sea and sky.”
While the Abbey and the Nunnery are two of the more well-known and frequently visited places on the island,
comfortable. We had good food and rested well, but unlike other places we have visited, we had far more interest in experiencing the spiritual and natural elements of Iona.
George MacLeod, who founded the modern Abbey, spoke of Iona as a thin place. “It is a place in which we sometimes see briefly through the veil that separates heaven and earth. At times that veil can seem as thin as gossamer. Iona is not a place to cling to, or escape to, but to cherish as a place in which our seeing is renewed, so that when we return to the demanding and conflicted places of our lives and our world, we do so with open eyes that have been refreshed.”
As the ferry took us back to Fionnphort, we both knew that we would love to return someday and connect with the gifts of creation and spiritual environment of this splendid “thin place!”
Scenes from the Isle of Iona in Scotland, considered by many as the birthplace of Christianity.
THRIVE HELPING CHURCHES
CBFNC has selected churches from across our fellowship for the first Shared Learning Cohort of the new Helping Churches Thrive initiative.
Shared Learning Cohort churches will journey through a nine-month process of exploration, empowerment and experimentation in an opening retreat, monthly calls with notable authors and practitioners, church-wide workshops, a creative ministry endeavor funded by a grant, and a closing celebration retreat.
The churches selected for this first Shared Learning Cohort are:
Edenton Baptist, Edenton
First Baptist, Valdese
Embrace Church, High Point
First Baptist, Monroe
First Baptist, Rutherfordton
First Baptist, Waynesville
First Baptist, Wadesboro
Iglesia Morning Light, Clemmons
First Baptist, Smithfield
LaFayette Baptist, Fayetteville
Why Spiritual Formation?
Spiritual formation is the process of being shaped according to the image of Christ by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the world.” (Marjorie Thompson, “Exploring the Way,” p. 12) Spiritual formation is foundational to connecting our heart, mind, body and soul to the heartbeat of God, helping us to remember who we are created to be in God. It is a lifestyle of loving others and the world; a lifelong process that draws us closer into intimacy with God.
Spiritual formation is experiential; not informational. It is heart knowledge; not head knowledge. We certainly need to study and learn scripture. Yet, facts and figures do not always engage our hearts. While information within the Bible is pertinent to Christian life, experiencing God leads to a transformed life in Christ, where we learn to live and love with open hearts and minds. The heart knowledge of spiritual formation keeps us grounded in God’s love, God’s presence and God’s grace. Our neighbors and the world need spiritually engaged followers and pollinators of Christ’s inclusive love.
We look to scripture as the foundation for spiritual formation, of being formed into the likeness of Christ, for the sake of God’s beloved world. Paul writes in Galatians 4:19–20, “…I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,” and in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And all of us… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Spiritual practices engage us in our journey with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and are foundational to providing guideposts along the way. Spiritual practices encourage us to be awake, aware and available to God’s movement in our lives. They encourage our spiritual formation by keeping us focused on listening for God’s still small voice to call us forth into action and to be of service to others and the world.
By Rebecca
Spiritual practices are essential as we become involved in the world around us. With the help of the Spirit, we seek God’s wisdom and guidance so that our actions reflect the love of Christ. This leads to a life of contemplative action and prayerful action, where our activities are guided by our spiritual life. Pursuing the Spirit’s guidance enables us to use our energy in the way God wills for each of us, as we seek “what is mine to do?” The Spirit leads and guides each of us distinctively. As we seek to be Jesus’ hands and feet, we use our spiritual practices to keep us grounded and in tune with the Spirit’s movement. Our
We are spiritual beings animated with the breath of God, and it is in this intimate relationship of the Spirit’s indwelling where we find abundant life.
spirituality spills over into our daily life, informed through our time spent in communion with God.
Spiritual practices intentionally create methods for us to experience and encounter God in new ways, which allow opportunities that enrich and enliven our very being in God. Just as we practice doing something in which we wish to get better, spiritual practices are meant to be lifelong practices. They become habits which, in turn, keep our lives attuned to God’s permeating presence.
We are spiritual beings animated with the breath of God, and it is in this intimate relationship of the Spirit’s
Husband Maynard Minister & Founder of Stacking Stones Ministry
“
Walking a labyrinth is a common spiritual practice.
indwelling where we find abundant life. Augustine of Hippo’s words remind us, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
We are called and commanded to seek God with all our heart, soul, body and mind. Pursuing this way of life is essential to our growth and transformation into the likeness of Christ. Extrovert or introvert, God invites us into this lifelong process. Some of us may find it natural to plunge into a contemplative prayer practice, while others of us are challenged by silence. Yet we are called to “be” as well as “do.”
How to begin?
Start simply and be willing to experiment with different practices until you settle on that which resonates within you. Be creative and open to trying new practices. Here are a few to explore: breath prayer; lectio divina; journaling; daily examen; walking the labyrinth; stacking stones; coloring mandalas; drumming; retreats. Spiritual practices may involve silence, art, music, reading and/or moving our body.
As we pursue the process of spiritual formation through spiritual practices, remember to “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., “Hearts on Fire”)
Spiritual Practice: Centering Prayer
• Select a meaningful sacred word, which is used to focus during the prayer.
• Set aside 10 – 20 minutes for uninterrupted silence.
• Begin by acknowledging God’s presence in the silence.
• Sit in silence; when your mind begins to wander, gently return to the silence by returning to, and repeating, your sacred word. It is normal to have a wandering mind!
• When your time is up, end with the Lord’s Prayer or a simple prayer of thanks for God’s presence with you.
Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer
A prayer for anytime and anywhere to practice the presence of God.
• Consider your favorite name for God, Jesus or Spirit.
• Reflect for a moment on what it is you need, desire or seek from God, putting it in a short phrase.
• Put these two together: inhaling on the first part and exhaling on the second part.
• Examples:
• Loving God, give me peace
• Heal me, Jesus
• Be still, and know I am God
• Spirit, calm my anger
• Wisdom, I need guidance
• Repeat your breath prayer until it fills you with inner peace, allowing your breath to infuse you with God’s loving presence.
• Feel free to change your breath prayer as often as you need.
• Use your breath prayer to “pray without ceasing.”
From “Sunday School” to “Faith Formation”
In his book, “An Invitation to a Journey,” M. Robert Mulholland Jr. defines spiritual formation as “the process of being shaped in the image of Christ for the sake of the world.” I really like this definition because it emphasizes the inward-to-outward dynamic of discipleship. Discipleship is something that happens within us, through prayer, studying scripture and contemplation. Over time, our spiritual practices craft our imagination and moral character into the likeness of Christ.
Concurrently, discipleship also happens around and beyond us in our corporate worship, hands-on service projects and missional engagement. Further, Mulholland’s definition also identifies spiritual formation as a process; a lifelong commitment to deepening faith over the course of a lifetime. Disciples never graduate or reach the pinnacle. We’re always a work in progress. We serve a God who longs to be in a lifelong relationship with us far beyond
our baptism or summer camp glory days. Therefore, every local church shares a similar goal: to create an environment where disciples can grow and mature at any age.
So how does one become spiritually formed?
For evangelical Protestants, one of the tried-and-true conduits of spiritual growth over the years has been “Sunday School.” For generations, the faithful have gathered in ageappropriate classrooms for Bible study, prayer and spiritual friendship on Sunday mornings.
This model was in its prime during the 1970s and 1980s when denominational publishing houses were producing myriads of booklets, posters, resource kits and varying iterations of curricula series, which were all designed to feed this burgeoning literature market. One lingering critique of this model is that it creates disciples from the neck up, meaning it focuses too much on education instead of on formation. Sunday School emphasizes facts, dates and the acquisition of information over the development of the whole person: body, mind and soul. In this way, Sunday School needs to evolve.
It’s 2024. The days of booming Sunday School rosters and bulk orders of quarterly curricula are no more. At least this is true in my ministry context. In general, I’ve observed that Sunday School is becoming less and less a
By Blake Kendrick Minister for Adult Discipleship at Providence Baptist, Charlotte
A children’s class meets during Providence Baptist, Charlotte’s newly renamed Faith Formation hour on Sunday mornings.
priority for families with full schedules and limited availability on Sunday mornings.
This has been especially true in the post-COVID context. Other models have emerged, including small groups that meet in church members’ homes, coffee house discussion groups, Zoom-powered book clubs and pub theology meet ups, just to name a few. Yet one truth remains constant: God’s people are longing for community, spiritual depth and meaningful relationships.
The nomenclature of “Sunday School” can feel one dimensional and archaic in today’s marketplace of ideas. But I find myself still committed, still hopeful, still energized by families gathering on Sunday mornings to deepen their faith.
That is why, in recent months, my church has aptly renamed “Sunday School.” We now refer to this hour just prior to worship as “Faith Formation.” Yes, it still looks and
feels like Sunday School. Yes, it still involves varying curricula and age-appropriate classrooms. But it also emphasizes shared pastoral care, learning spiritual practices and finding authentic ways to be engaged in local missions. In changing the name, we hope to change the aim, which is to develop disciples who are formed in mind, body and spirit, rather than merely informed, passive class participants.
WORKSHOP RETREATS
DEEPENING THE SPIRITUAL SOURCES: A RETREAT FOR CLERGY
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center Stoneville
January 26-28
MISSION RIFT: LEADING THROUGH CONFLICT
with David Woolverton Catholic Conference Center Hickory
March 16-18
TRAUMA INFORMED PASTORAL CARE
with Karen McClintock
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center Stoneville
May 18-20
The new Faith Formation hour offers classes for all age levels.
College Students Find Value in Ancient Spiritual Practice
Last fall, the start of the school year proved to be a wild time for our Cooperative Baptist Student Fellowship students at App State. Most of them were taking heavy class loads, working jobs and trying to balance mandatory extracurricular activities. Yet for many of them, Thursday night Bible study remained a priority. We would meet together, talk about our week’s highs and lows, dive into scripture, pray and then go on with our evenings.
When our young adults were asked how they were doing, the consensus was that they were exhausted. There was not enough time in the day and the fatigue was eating at them.
Now, the fatigue is still largely present. We certainly haven’t found a cure for that particular ailment among the hustle and bustle of college life. What we did find is value in an ancient restorative spiritual practice known as contemplative prayer or silent meditation.
Contemplative prayer, for us, is the act of sitting in silence. We generally sit up straight, place our feet on the floor to ground us, and place the palms of our hands on our knees. If there is something in our lives that we feel we need to release, we sit with our palms down; if there is something we need to receive, we sit with our palms facing up.
For just a couple minutes, we do what we can to empty out our minds and attempt to sit in silence and in stillness. In doing so, we are hoping both to make room for the Holy Spirit to have its way with us and to claim a few moments of rest. We call ourselves out of this time
together with the trinitarian chimes of the Tibetan singing bowl.
By Tierney
The first day I told our young people we were going to attempt sitting in complete silence together, the look I received was speculative. “Yeah. This might feel a bit awkward, and that’s okay because sometimes life is awkward. Acknowledge that, and let it go,” I said.
To begin, we tried simply to focus on our breathing for two minutes. Some picked a word or a phrase to center their minds, because focusing on silence was hard to do when the heater kicked on and there was a dog barking down the street. However imperfect our first few attempts, it quickly became a practice students looked forward to at the end of our meetings.
Making sure we have time to sit quietly together, in community, has become a priority. Over the course of the school year, we went from a two minute contemplative practice to two minutes and 30 seconds, and we earned every bit of that extra 30 seconds. It took work.
Sitting still is not easy to do. Silencing your mind takes practice. Doing all of that in community takes an extra dose of discipline. However, our young people have said time and time again that they felt something restful and restorative during that time. Today, that is invaluable. We are incredibly grateful such a small thing has made such a large impact on our chosen life together.
Boss CBFNC Campus Minister, Appalachian State University
Campus ministry introduces young adults to a variety of spiritual practices.
NEncourager Churches Form Meaningful Partnerships with CBF Field Personnel Church Resource Corner
umerous CBF North Carolina congregations have embraced the “Encourager Church” model to support Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in our state and across the world. I am happy to say that North Carolina Cooperative Baptist churches lead the way with the number of Encourager Churches across the whole of the CBF! At the same time, I believe we can do more to ensure that every congregation in CBFNC knows about this missions model and gives it serious consideration.
The Encourager Church model of missionary support goes hand-in-hand with the support churches give to all field personnel through the Offering for Global Missions (OGM). The OGM supports the presence of CBF field personnel. That is, the money through this offering provides salaries, housing, insurance, retirement and the other essential financial pieces that enable individuals, couples and families to serve in the mission field across the globe and right here in North Carolina.
Encourager Churches take the support of field personnel a step further; they add prayer support, ministry support, short-term engagement support and specific financial support for the actual work of the field personnel.
While that sounds like a lot, it can be captured in two words: presence and program. The Offering for Global Missions supports the presence of field personnel. The Encourager Church supports the ministry program of a specific individual/couple/family in a specific place. That is the beauty and greatness of this model. It invites congregations into a meaningful partnership with field personnel for
a period of three to five years. It enables congregations to engage in a specific place in the world with partners who know the place. It allows congregations to send members on meaningful shortterm mission trips not once but hopefully multiple times.
And, it strengthens field personnel by providing needed financial support for their mission and ministry.
By
The Encourager Church model of support is a “win-win.” It is a win for the congregation as it engages missions more meaningfully, locally and across the world. It is a win for the field personnel as they are supported to do all that God has called them to do.
I can testify to the impact that becoming an Encourager Church has on a congregation. I have been involved in two Encourager Church partnerships; one internationally in Lebanon and the other locally in Durham. Both have enriched my understanding and participation in missions. Both have forged relationships with field personnel I cherish. Both have helped the local church see and do more.
In the coming months, the CBFNC Missions Engagement Team intends to relay stories of Encourager Churches across our state. You can learn more about becoming an Encourager Church at cbf.net/encourager-church or contact Ellen Sechrest, CBF’s director of Mission Engagement, at (esechrest@cbf.net).
Encourager Churches in North Carolina
Westwood, Cary
First Baptist, Wilson
First Baptist, Elkin
First Baptist, Elon
First Baptist, Statesville Oakmont, Greenville Forest Hill, Raleigh Ardmore, Winston-Salem
First Baptist, Asheville Snyder, Fayetteville Hominy, Candler
First Baptist, Marion Calvary, Mars Hill Temple, Durham Greystone, Raleigh Hayes Barton, Raleigh
First Baptist, New Bern
First Baptist, Benson
First on Fifth, Winston-Salem
Providence, Charlotte Ridge Road, Raleigh
Oxford, Oxford Mt. Pisgah, Fayetteville St. John’s, Raleigh
Randy Carter Senior Pastor, Temple Baptist, Durham, Member of CBFNC Missions Engagement Team
CBFNC HONORARY & MEMORIAL GIFTS
May – July 2024
Heather Falmen and Keith Zirbel in honor of Scott Falmen and Paul Fox
Marion and Don Horton in honor of Larry and Kim Hovis
Tabitha Davis Lindsay in honor of Kim New Wyatt
Lynn and David Odom in honor of Administrative Staff Support
Brian Stallings in honor of Lounell Stallings
The Welcome Table in honor of Chris Hensley
Linda and Christopher White in honor of Mari Wiles
Phillip Campbell in memory of Columbus and Helen Turner
Your generosity honors the work of our ministries to equip churches and their leaders; engage students and young adults; and embrace vulnerable members of our communities through missions.
A gift to CBFNC today ensures that this community, this family committed to cooperation in the context of “free and faithful” Baptist values, remains for future generations.
MINISTERS ON THE MOVE
Our encouragement and support go to the following ministers who have recently moved:
Avery Browning to Neill’s Creek Baptist, Angier as Children’s Minister
Matt Carr to First Baptist, Washington as Senior Pastor
Richard Childress to Franklinton Baptist, Franklinton as Senior Pastor
Craig Gaither to Enfield Baptist, Enfield as Pastor
Libby Grammer to Lakeside Baptist, Rocky Mount as Senior Pastor
Alexandria McNeely to First Baptist, Marion as Director of Music
Elizabeth Million to Winter Park Baptist, Wilmington as Minister of Students and Young Adults
When you make a move or know someone who has changed places of ministry, please email transitions@cbfnc.org. For assistance with transitions, visit cbfnc.org/transitions or call us at
SCAN
THE QR CODE TO GIVE ONLINE
Bringing Baptists of North Carolina Together for Christ-Centered Ministry
2640 Reynolda Road Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Return Service Requested www.cbfnc.org
OCTOBER
Autumn Readers and Writers Retreat
— Retiro de lectores y escritores de otoño
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center
Stoneville
October 9–11
Regional Gathering
— Encuentro Regional
Masonboro Baptist, Wilmington
October 24
Fall Youth Beach Retreat — Retiro de otoño en la playa para jóvenes
Fort Caswell, Oak Island
October 25–27
Compelling Preaching Conference
Partnering with General Baptist State Convention of NC
— Conferencia de predicación convincente
Durham
October 28–29
NOVEMBER
Helping Churches Thrive: Creative Workshop Retreat — Ayudando a las iglesias a prosperar: Retiro de taller creativo Catholic Conference Center, Hickory November 14–15
Regional Gathering — Encuentro Regional
St. John’s Baptist, Charlotte November 21
JANUARY 2025
Deepening the Spiritual Sources: A retreat for Clergy — Profundizando en las fuentes espirituales: un retiro para el clero
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center
Stoneville
January 26–28, 2025
Youth Ski Retreat
— Retiro de esquí para jóvenes
Winterplace Resort, WV
January 31–February 2, 2025
MARCH 2025
Mission Rift: Leading Through Conflict Retreat
— Mission Rift: Liderar a través de la retirada del conflicto Catholic Conference Center, Hickory March 16–18, 2025
CBFNC Annual Gathering — Reunión anual de CBFNC
Pritchard Church at South End, Charlotte March 27–28, 2025 Events are constantly being added to our website.
