The Gathering CBFNC Newsletter - January–February 2016

The Gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina

January/February 2016 • Vol. 21 Issue 1 Bringing Baptists of North Carolina Together for Christ-Centered Ministry

articulating identity Pictured, the lunch bunch at First, Boone.

Read more about collegiate ministry on pg 8.

self-differentiated Probably no thinker, other than perhaps Jesus, had more influence over clergy leaders in the latter decades of the twentieth century than Ed Friedman. Friedman was a family therapist and rabbi who adapted family systems theory to organizations, especially congregations. Central to Friedman’s thought is the concept of the self-differentiated leader.

The self-differentiated leader is clear about his or her identity, values, principles, and capacities, and is able to articulate them to others, even those who view life differently. The self-differentiated leader maintains a healthy sense of self, remains connected to others, and refuses (most of the time) to get caught up in the anxiety and reactivity of others.

In short, the self-differentiated leader knows who he or she is and lives out of that strong sense of self in community, not in isolation. In his seminal work, Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue, Friedman makes the following simple yet profound statement: “A self is more attractive than a no-self” (p. 86).

While Friedman’s work focused on individual family members and individual congregational leaders, I believe his theory applies to congregations themselves.

In the November/December 2014 issue of The Gathering, I wrote about an established yet growing congregation that had become so clear about its identity with prospective members. I noted, “Sometimes, that means people don’t join. But those who do are a good fit, and it makes their church even stronger. As a result of clearly articulating their identity, they are a healthier church experiencing healthier growth.”

That church, I believe, is a selfdifferentiated church. Ironically, churches that resist the temptation to “be all things to all people” are most healthy. Here are examples of ways some CBFNC partner congregations exhibit self-differentiation.

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church

by Larry Hovis, CBFNC Executive Coordinator

Missions Some churches are known by their devotion to missions, or to a signature missional expression. Snyder Memorial, Fayetteville, is a good example. In 1995, the church launched its first Operation Inasmuch hands-on community missions day. That idea soon gained traction and many other churches followed suit.

Operation Inasmuch has become a household name among churches far and wide.

Snyder remains its standard bearer.

Ministry Focus While most churches minister to a broad range of people, some churches have found strength while ministering to a target population. Examples include teenagers, young families, or persons with special needs. I had a conversation recently with Thomas Bounds, pastor of Pfafftown, Pfafftown. He explained that the church employes a minister with youth and children, and cares deeply about young families, but they are learning to celebrate the fact that they are composed primarily of senior adults, and are focusing on ministry with that population.

Beliefs Some congregations are very clear about what they believe. Zebulon, Zebulon, is a good example. Their core values are detailed on their website under the headings: We value Christian Worship; We Value Christian Ministry; and We Value Christian Fellowship. Read more in the upcoming March/April issue of The Gathering.

Baptist Identity First, Asheville, has been proactive in re-claiming the term, “Baptist.” Because the Baptist label has been misappropriated by some, and therefore misunderstood by others, the church takes great care to communicate what being Baptist means to them.

Sometimes, our middle name—Baptist—confuses people, because many people expect a Baptist church to be harsh and condemning, to use high-pressure and hardsell tactics, and to treat women as second-class citizens. We’re not that kind of church.

To us, being Baptist means freedom. At First Baptist Church of Asheville, we celebrate your freedom to be and become all that God made you to be.

CBF Indentity Most CBFNC partner congregations have multiple Baptist alignments. An increasing number of congregations are finding that they benefit from emphasizing their primary partnership with CBF at both the state and global levels. This identity is so important to them that they advertise it on their church sign. Examples include Mt. Adar, Mebane (a rural church); Temple, Durham (a suburban church); and First, Raleigh (an urban church). Greenwood Forest, Cary, proclaims on their recorded church office telephone greeting that they are a CBF-affiliated congregation.

Who are you as a congregation? What are your core values, principles, and beliefs? What do you have the capacity to do better than any other church in your community? What makes you special? What is your story and how can you tell it better to others? Self-differentiation is critical not only to the health of families and leaders, but also to congregations.

beloved Join us at our 2016 Gathering

community: clarifying identity and covenant March 18, 2016 Hayes Barton, Raleigh Dan Day, worship leader

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Col. 3:12-14 NRSV The Gathering – January/February 2016

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healthy ministry, healthy church

by Linda Jones, CBFNC Missions Coordinator The purpose of a ministry or a mission trip is to empower people to be all that God created them to be: people made in God’s image with gifts and abilities, capable of making decisions, managing their resources, and able to bring about change in the world. Our CBFNC churches are involved in a multitude of ministries and mission trips. It feels so good to help, but could our helping be doing more harm than good? Are we taking away jobs or their dignity or their ability to make decisions for themselves? While they might be materially poor, we are often unaware that our actions reveal a God-complex of superiority and the belief that we have achieved our own wealth by our own efforts. We often decide for them what they really need.

We suffer from a poverty of being. We must embrace mutual brokenness.

In the book, When Helping Hurts, the story is told of a church delivering toys for Christmas.

The church members notice that there were no men in the apartments when they delivered the toys. They said, “The residents are all unwed mothers who keep having Robert Lupton, Toxic Charity babies. They don’t deserve our help.”

In reality, the men were embarrassed and ran out the back door, experiencing a deep sense of shame and inadequacy, which made it even more difficult for them to apply for jobs. We all need a sense of dignity.

As a church assesses its ministry projects and missions, some questions to be asked are, “Are we doing the work that they can do themselves?” “Are we taking charge because we can do it quickly and efficiently?” “Are they letting us take charge because they lack confidence, don’t care as much as we do about the project, or think they will receive more resources?” Empowering

people to be what God created them to be involves looking at this as a highly relational learning process where those we are ministering with (not ministering to) are involved in the project planning and action. We can also ask, “Are our church participants experiencing spiritual growth leading to a stronger connection to missions and meaningful ministry?”

“Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a methodology for the sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and potentials. It involves assessing the resources, skills, and experience available in a community; organizing the community around issues that move its members into action; and then determining and taking appropriate action.” (Kretzmann, John and McKnight, John. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets) Reading the community is essential to good missions. What is important to that community? What are its stories, core rituals, and institutions? What about the community’s environment, pace of life, and laws? How does the community approach justice and the well-being of its people?

Essential to the process is discovering the individual capabilities and passions of the people (“What are you good at doing?”), as well as unearthing what has worked well in the past and what their dreams are for the future. Using the assets of the community and the assets of individuals to address the needs and working together to accomplish change is good missiology.

Through good missions and ministry, the local church will find its identity as a church that cares for others and has more compassion for the poor, the outcasts, and the “others.” Church members involved in local ministry and mission trips will learn team-building, flexibility, and leadership skills. Life-giving relationships will be experienced by all. A church with good missiology will be one that encourages cross-cultural relationships and is comfortable with diversity.

It will be a healthy church experiencing God’s amazing power to spiritually transform us into the people of God bringing “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Contrary to popular belief,

most mission trips and service projects do not: empower those being served,

engender healthy cross-cultural

relationships, improve quality of life, relieve poverty, change the lives of participants or increase support for long-term missions work.

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healthy church, healthy ministry

by Kim and Marc Wyatt, CBF Field Personnel

We began our current field assignment and partnership with CBFNC in the Research Triangle as Advocates for Internationals last fall. It is a blessing to be home. You might not know it, but Kim is from Durham. Somehow we didn’t imagine our ministry being here, in Kim’s hometown area. We are serving the same people groups we have been on mission with since beginning our work in 1996. The only differences are that we understand the language, love the food, and can watch ACC sports on any given day of the week now.

Among the many peoples leaving their ancestral homelands to visit, study, work, and live here in North Carolina are refugees. The 1951 Refugee Convention spells out that a refugee is someone who, “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

Our country is among the most humanitarian, welcoming 70,000 refugees from around the world every year. These victims of persecution wait their turn in UN Refugee Camps or places outside their home country, oftentimes for many years, until they have been vetted safe for relocation by host countries. It is a long, slow, and humbling journey.

Here in North Carolina, approximately 2,500 refugees are welcomed and resettled annually.

Those numbers will increase over the next two years as the U.S. and the world struggle to bring order and solutions to what is happening in places like Syria. In Syria, we are watching the worst humanitarian crisis unfold since World War II. Prayerfully we will not repeat the inhuman treatments of that terrible time when innocent people who survived brutal events back home were subjected to prejudice and suspicion as refugees.

Last night as we unpacked the events of our day, we recounted ministry encounters with 14 area congregations. That was some kind of record, we thought. God’s people are a caring people. Yes, it isn’t every day that we have that many churches involved with us in ministry to refugees, but it surely is connected to the response of Cooperative Baptists to the terrible things they are hearing and seeing on TV. continued on page 6

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Consider some of the ways our churches are welcoming and responding to the needs of refugees arriving in North Carolina: First, Lumberton: The Children’s Music Camp dedicated their Mission Offering to aid refugees in the Triangle. Along with their gifts, they made thank you cards for us to share with two refugee resettlement agencies. When we presented the cards, the grateful case workers were deeply touched. Now the children’s sacred crayoned cards are nicely displayed at the desk of each refugee worker. And then, not to be out done, the youth made 50 “Congratulations on getting your first job in the U.S.” gift bags for us to share with refugees when they get that all-too-important first job and step toward self-sufficiency. We’ve given out 30 gift bags to date.

Oxford, Oxford: This church built 15 bunk beds for 30 refugees to have a place to sleep. Two of the bunks are at Welcome House. Because of their example, other churches are now building bunk beds too.

Peace Haven, Winston-Salem: They held a Mosaic Worship with their Congolese refugee friends recently. Their discovery of thousands of refugees living only minutes from their church has opened a whole new sense of being on mission. You haven’t worshipped like they do at Peace Haven until you’ve sung songs of praise in Swahili, danced traditional African worship style with Congolese children, or known the joy of sharing a covered dish meal with friends who ate banana pudding or broccoli casserole for the first time.

A coalition of triangle churches have rallied to support the opening of Welcome House, a four bedroom, four bath apartment two blocks from NCSU in Raleigh. The reception home wraps arriving refugees with love and support while they wait up to six weeks for a long-term affordable place to live. We have hosted 17 guests since opening in late October. Each of these refugee friends now lives in their own apartment in the Raleigh area – apartments fully furnished by volunteers from our coalition.

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Greystone, Raleigh: This church, one of our supporter churches, has fully furnished four apartments, even down to culturally appropriate foods in the refrigerator among many other acts of kindness as part of their “Pay It Forward” Mission Campaign for refugees this year.

St. John’s, Raleigh: St. John’s, another partner with us in Raleigh, hosted a family of nine Afghans to their Harvest Festival on October 31st. It was perhaps the first time in many years that these survivors of war had the opportunity to relax and play for a few hours with the loving members of the church. Even mom and dad joined in, had their faces painted with a pumpkin design, bobbed for apples, jumped in the jumpy castle and ate hot dogs (no pork), popcorn, and candy like their children. At one point in the day, they asked to see the inside of the church. I watched as they approached the front doors to the sanctuary, removed their shoes, and walked humbly into the House of Prayer for All Nations.

Loraine, a member of Temple, Durham, has become housemates with Marthe, a newcomer from Burundi after learning Asylum Seekers receive no government resources when they petition to stay in the U.S. Ms. Loraine, a faithful member of her church mission committee, told us that she wanted Marthe to call her Loraine but that this was culturally hard for her new friend who saw it as disrespectful. Marthe asked her elder host if she could call her Grandmother instead. Loraine went on to tell us she is never letting Marthe go.

There are too many beautiful experiences we have shared this year to list in this story, but let’s get together over a glass of sweet tea or ask us to share with your church and we will try.

While presidents, prime ministers, and governors are seeking ways to fend off terror in their part of the world, we say bombs and fences are not the solution. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10. We say the hope of the world is in joining God’s work of bringing all people to a place in their lives when they reach out and find him although he is not far from any one of them or us, as Paul states in Acts 17:24-27. For those fleeing violence, persecution, and war around the world, we say help them rebuild their broken lives, welcome them into your life, and in so doing many when reaching for your hand will touch the incarnate Christ in you.

We are grateful to be serving alongside Linda Jones, the CBFNC Mission Council, and CBF churches in North Carolina. Join us as we welcome the nations. The mission field today just might be your hometown too. E-mail us at wyatt@cbf.net if you have questions or if you’d like us to speak at your church.

conversations PART ONE

by Rev. K. Seth Hix, Wake Forest University Divinity student and CBFNC intern

This summer, I had the unique privilege of interviewing 91 church leaders (clergy and laity) representing 73 local CBFNC congregations scattered across the state. I spoke with leaders from some of our largest and smallest churches. I heard about congregations employing a wide range of methods for ministry, worship, and missions. I spoke with congregations in densely populated urban areas, county-seat towns, neighborhoods, and rural settings. The deliberately designed open-ended questions led to many fascinating conversations, as diverse as our churches themselves!

I was continually amazed at how folks savored the opportunity to discuss the deep relationships and meaningful ministries in their church.

I also heard consistently that all congregations, no matter how healthy, wrestle with what it means to be God’s Church in the 21st century.

Here are some themes that emerged from my research. When asked about where energy exists within local congregations, the most common responses centered on Local Community Ministries. It is invigorating to hear how congregations are striving to creatively embody Christ’s presence in their communities. Many of these community ministries began as lay-led initiatives and often involve working with churches of other denominations. Three sub-categories surfaced: Ongoing Ministries: weekly/monthly efforts, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, etc.

Service Projects: one-day or short-term missions, youth raking leaves, building wheel chair ramps, etc.

School Partnerships: helping local schools with weekend backpack programs, tutoring, mentoring, etc.

More than 80% of church leaders identified people in the pews as their greatest asset. When asked, “What does your church do well?”, it was no surprise that missions and worship were among the leading responses. But the lack of responses regarding programing and discipleship/spiritual formation (especially among laity) was striking. Another major revelation for me was

that the highest number of laity responses revolved around how well our local congregations take care and support one another.

This category affirmed for me that the bonds of shared service in Christ’s Kingdom are, indeed, strong. What a powerful reminder of the importance of Jesus’ command to love one another, even amidst the important work of Missions and Worship.

While I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the church ministry highlight reels, we also talked about substantial struggles facing local congregations. Five categories materialized out of this portion of my conversations. The greatest challenges facing CBFNC congregations were: aging membership, lack of commitment, cultural change, reaching community, and reorganization.

Based on my conversations, I assert that the lines dividing these categories are quite blurry. It would be impractical, and possibly counter-productive, to evaluate any one of these categories without simultaneously considering the others.

For instance, lack of commitment and cultural change seem intrinsically intertwined. Young (or new) people often participate in church differently than those who have been rooted in a local church’s particular way of being or doing church. And this tension often becomes more palpable amidst an aging membership. The frustration in finding volunteers to fill leadership roles often leads to the discouraging claim, “People just aren’t as committed as they used to be!” While I heard this exasperated sentiment many times, perhaps it is a bit too easy and unfair. The truth is that judging commitment level based on outdated societal norms and antiquated organizational structures won’t alleviate anyone’s frustration.

Instead, churches must recognize that the rules of engagement have fundamentally changed.

Fortunately, CBFNC is full of congregations who are embracing innovative structures and developing new criteria to measure success. This approach leads churches away from hurtful conflict and toward vibrant collaboration. There is truly no limit to what the Church can achieve when God’s people work together to discover fresh ways to live out its faith.

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identity: cbfnc and young adults

by Wanda Kidd, CBFNC Collegiate Engagement Coordinator Identifying with the CBFNC is rarely achieved solely by are exploring a call to ministry. It was so gratifying to see that publicity or branding. Identity is best achieved by shared not only did many of the young attendees know the leaders of experiences and common goals. Many young adults are jaded the retreat, but they also brought friends with them to the event and exhausted by requests to join various groups and causes. because they identified with CBF and CBFNC as their faith TED Talks, YouTube videos, tweets, and media challenges try partners. That is a sacred trust we take very seriously. to engage them in someone else’s ideas and dreams. It is a very There is a trend in CBF life to avoid talking to young people crowded information highway that is hyper-focused on young about the CBF movement’s identity, but that needs to change. adults, so the CBFNC question is, “How do we reach out to them Young adults regularly ask, “Who is CBF and why should I be a and invite them into something that is life-giving and authentic?” part of this group?” They want to belong to something that has The question is bigger than, “How do we get young people to import and gives their life value. We at CBFNC need to boldly come to our church?” share our story of “who we are” and not “who we are not,” with We know that young adults stand at the crossroads of many all who will join us. life choices and callings. Standing with them while they make Many of us have found young Baptists hungry to belong to a those choices is not just a worthy endeavor for CBFNC, it is group that is a Christ-serving community. CBFNC strives to be imperative in shaping and empowering them to have a vital and that body, and we yearn to provide them with a place to serve and growing relationship with Christ. For that to happen, we need to grow in Christ. Engage the young adults in your workplace, your be present and clear about who we are and why it is important congregation, and your family with the gospel of Christ, and then for college students and young adults to join us in following and invite them to join our CBFNC family. We will all be richer for it. serving Christ.

CBFNC identifies with young adults in many ways. We provide a campus presence at several Another area of leadership and identity that CBFNC offers students is our state universities through Cooperative Baptist annual Mid-Winter Retreat. For eight years, this student-led retreat has Student Fellowships (CBSFs). We partner with provided a place for students to gather and relate with other students across historically Baptist chaplains for community and NC who are identifying and serving with CBFNC. This year’s retreat is mission opportunities. We provide funds for the January 30-31, 2016, at Camp Caraway. Guy Sayles is speaking during “College Sessions” at the Global CBF General a time of reflection, worship, and challenge. This retreat is open to any Assemblies, and we have pastors and CBFNC student over 18. Please consider inviting your college students to gather coordinators who faithfully build relationships with us this year. It provides a place to deepen some conversations with with college and seminary students. your college students and launch opportunities for further discussions in Recently, CBFNC partnered with Baptist the future. The cost is $49 per student.

Women in Ministry at Hayes Barton, Raleigh, to have a conversation with young women who 8 • The Gathering – January/February 2016

clarifying identity during the interim

by Jack Causey, CBFNC Ministerial Transitions Coordinator “Tell me about your church.”

I often ask that when I am invited to work with a church in their search for a pastor. The responses I usually receive are positive, but also very general with few specifics about their church. Yet, if a church is to accomplish its mission, it is extremely important for its members to have a clear understanding of their identity. This includes things like identifying its core values, its sense of mission, its vision for the future, and who it partners with to accomplish its mission. One of the best times to clarify a church’s identity is when it is in an interim.

CBFNC offers facilitators to churches in transition to help them to clarify their identity as they search for their next pastor. Three churches that have recently benefited from having a CBFNC facilitator are the First Baptist Churches of High Point, Lenoir, and Mount Airy.

Todd Pardue, co-chair of the pastor search committee of First, Lenoir, says, “We were cautioned not to rush into our search. In retrospect, this decision to be deliberate, to heal, to reflect, to find, and confirm our identity was the best advice we could have received from our facilitator.”

Taking time to establish a healthy search process, instead of just immediately seeking resumes from prospective ministers, “made our efforts more focused and less daunting” says Todd.

With all three churches, the process of clarifying their identity included congregational meetings to listen to the thoughts and respect the ideas of the church members. As David Jones, chair of the pastor search committee of First, Mount Airy, says, “Our CBFNC facilitator was able to lead and direct our congregational meetings in a manner where people felt safe and comfortable to express their thoughts and feelings. During these sessions, the congregation was able to identity its core values, strengths, and opportunities, as well as its vision” that were vital parts of clarifying their identity.

These sessions were so valuable that David says that while some members of the church had serious concerns about them, they “left the meetings expressing their joy and excitement about how productive they were, and saying that the church should to this more often.”

About their congregational meetings, Debbie Edwards, who served as chair of the pastor search committee of First, High Point, said their facilitator “prepared a summary document of our congregational discussions which proved invaluable during the search process. We remained focused on finding a minister who was highly relational, an inspirational preacher and missional.”

While today’s pastor search process is no less daunting than in years past, each of the three chairs would say that the process was highly successful since they have now called the minister that they felt the Spirit led them to call. Todd concludes, saying, “CBFNC made the task easier for the First Baptist Church of Lenoir.”

Should your church be interested in having a facilitator to clarify its identity, please contact me at jcausey@cbfnc.org.

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October 2015 Contributions Undesignated - $105,267 Designated - $182,222

CBFNC Financial Report:

November 2015 Contributions Undesignated - $80,483 Designated - $149,842 April 2015 - March 2016 Monthly Undesignated Goal: $117,447

CBFNC Honorary and Memorial Gifts Will Watson, Winston-Salem; Carolina Flood Assistance in honor of Finleigh and Mandi Watson Margaret Chestnutt, Winston-Salem; Theological Education Scholarship Fund in honor of Dr. and Mrs. David Hughes Kenneth and Lisa Rust, Lumberton; Mission & Ministry Offering in honor of the CBFNC staff

Visit our website,

www.cbfnc.org Donate to CBFNC today!

to find a listing of our staff and leadership

www.cbfnc.org/give

Choose a particular ministry, our Mission & Ministry Offering, or undesignated.

Ministers on the Move

Compiled by Jack Causey, Ministerial Resources Coordinator

Our encouragement and support go to the following ministers who have recently moved: Nelson Granade has been called to First Baptist Church in Statesville as Pastor Take a look at CBFNC’s blog,

Thoughts from across our state ... at cbfnc.wordpress.com.

Would you like to contribute?

E-mail smitchell@cbfnc.org.

Coordinator Visits

October - November 2015

Chadbourn, Chadbourn

Heritage, Wake Forest

Esperanza Viva Iglesia Bautista, High Point

Hester, Oxford

First, Black Mountain First, Burlington First, Gastonia First, Greensboro First, High Point First, Hillsborough First, Huntersville

HillSong, Chapel Hill Loray, Gastonia Oakmont, Greenville Piney Grove, Mount Airy Temple, Durham The Memorial, Greenville Triangle, Raleigh

First, Lenoir

Viewmont, Hickory

First, Mocksville

Wake Forest, Wake Forest

First, Morganton

Yates, Durham

First, Sylva

Zebulon, Zebulon

Hayes Barton, Raleigh

Zion, Shelby

CBFNC ministry coordinators are available to visit your church to speak, preach, teach, consult, lead and minister in ways appropriate to your context. Contact the CBFNC office for more information.

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New Bessemer Baptist Church in McLeansville has called Aaron Coyle-Carr as Pastor Chris Jernigan is now serving Meherrin Baptist Church in Murfreesboro as Minister of Music Michael Morgan has been called to Edenton Baptist Church in Edenton as Director of Music Ellen Humphries has been called to join the staff of Boiling Springs Baptist Church in Boiling Springs as Preschool and Children’s Minister Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh has called Ward Page to serve as Minister to Students Penny Jordan is now serving First Baptist Church in Goldsboro as Children’s Ministry Director Sharon Speller is serving Zebulon Baptist Church in Zebulon as Minister to Children Zebulon Baptist Church has also called Lauren Glasgow as Youth Minister Assistant Sandy Cross Baptist Church in Hobbsville has called Gary Nistler as Pastor Ryan Clore has been called to First Baptist Church in Whiteville as Pastor When you make a move or know of someone who has changed places of ministry, let us know by e-mailing us at cbfnc@cbfnc.org.

For assistance to search committees and ministers seeking vocational discernment, visit our reference and referral page on our website at www.cbfnc.org or call (336) 759-3456 or (888) 822-1944.

shaping identity, sustaining community

by Ka’thy Gore Chappell, CBFNC Leadership Development Coordinator

Corinne Causby and Jaime Fitzgerald have been named the 2015-2016 CBF Vestal Scholars. CBFNC is always encouraged and inspired by the two Vestal Scholars who are chosen annually from the CBF Consortium of Theological Schools by a selection team named

by CBF from the current cohort of CBF Leadership Scholars. This year, we are particularly excited as both of these students are pursuing a Master of Divinity at CBFNC partner divinity schools, and were selected based on their application and representation as ministry leaders in conjunction with the mission and ministry of CBF. As you read about Corinne and Jaime, reflect upon and celebrate their individual stories. Note the significant relationships and variety of experiences that have shaped each and will sustain our community as we move forward in fellowship.

Corinne Causby

Jaime Fitzgerald

To learn more about the Vestal Scholarship or to make a gift to the Daniel and Earlene Vestal Leadership Scholar Endowment, contact the CBF Foundation at (800) 352.8741, e-mail info@cbff.org, or visit www.cbf.net/yb-get-support/.

n

Each has been shaped by their home churches and respective families.

n

Each demonstrates a deep commitment and ongoing relationship with Christ.

n

Each identifies with CBF, and shows significant leadership potential within the present and future of the fellowship.

n

Each demonstrates a commitment to congregational ministry, and is currently involved with a CBF church and/or divinity student campus leadership.

Corinne Causby is a second-year divinity student at Wake Forest School of Divinity where she is pursuing a Master of Divinity. She is a native of Winston-Salem where she lives with her husband, Forrest, and their three children. Corinne is an active member of Knollwood, Winston-Salem. She currently serves as an intern at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem where she enjoys learning fresh perspectives on worship, polity, and community that she hopes to one day integrate into practice as a congregational minister.

Jaime Fitzgerald is a second-year divinity student at GardnerWebb School of Divinity where she is pursuing a Master of Divinity in Christian Education. She currently serves in ministry with young people at First, Shelby; CBF Field Personnel, Cecilia Beck; and Sunday supply preaching. Jaime is from Madison Heights, Virginia.

Her career and ministry goals include service as CBF Field Personnel, work with CBF Global, and pastor of a local congregation.

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Upcoming Events ~ JANUARY/FEBRUARY EDITION Christian Coaching Exploration Conference Call January 14, 2016 10am ET – 11am ET Call (605) 562-3140 access 832011# Regional Impacting Tomorrow Central NC Teaching Congregation January 16, 2016 Neill’s Creek, Angier Building Blocks of Christian Coaching (501) January 25-26, 2016 CBFNC offices, Winston-Salem Stewardship Conference January 28, 2016 First, Shelby Youth Ski Retreat January 29-31, 2016 Winterplace Ski Resort, WV

Collegiate Mid-Winter Retreat January 30-31, 2016 Caraway, Sophia

Children’s Choir Festival March 12, 2016 First, Southern Pines

Regional Impacting Tomorrow Churches Teaching Churches February 6, 2016 First, Mocksville

CBFNC 2016 Gathering March 18, 2016 Hayes Barton, Raleigh

Conversations and Connections for Youth Ministers February 8, 2016 New Hope, Raleigh February 16, 2016 First, Marion ChurchWorks February 22-24, 2016 First, Asheville Youth Choir Festival March 4-5, 2016 Knollwood, Winston-Salem

Establishing a Dynamic Coaching Relationship (502) April 4-5, 2016 CBFNC offices, Winston-Salem Regional Impacting Tomorrow Western NC Teaching Congregation April 16, 2016 First, Waynesville Leading Through Challenges April 19, 2016 Mount Pisgah, Fayetteville CBF Global’s General Assembly June 20-24, 2016 Koury Conv. Center, Greensboro