2003 November

CBF NOVEMBER 2003

fellowship!

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

INSIDE

PASSPORT Camp Transforms Lives of Teens

Hispanic Partnership Gains Momentum

Chaplains Bring Compassion to Prisoners

Angolan Trip Reveals IPDs Suffering

Leadership Scholars Pursue Ministry Call

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Kentucky Church Partners with Thailand Hill Tribe They wanted to buy a pig.

For members of Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., it was a natural step to take in their relationship with the Palaung, a Thailand hill tribe also known as the Rock people. Former refugees from Burma, the Palaung survive without benefit of citizenship and struggle to provide for their basic needs. The Palaung were a forgotten

Crescent Hill adopted the Palaung in 1998 through Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Adopt-a-People/ People Partnerships. It’s a commitment embraced by the entire church. Children at Crescent Hill took the lead collecting money to purchase pigs for the Palaung, who raise and sell the animals to augment an existence reliant upon sparse crops.

“It caught the imagination and generosity of our church,” explains Bill Johnson, minister of education.

The children not only collected more than enough money, they revealed a newly awakened passion for global missions throughout Crescent Hill. “It was very moving to see the children get involved, and really to lead the church,” Johnson says.

Crescent Hill became aware of the needs of the Palaung through Ellen and Rick Burnette, CBF global missions field personnel in Thailand. Crescent Hill was “very much committed to CBF’s philosophy of focusing [continues p. 2]

Sharon White photo

people – but not any longer.

After forging ties with Palaung villagers, some Crescent Hill volunteers consider them to be as “precious as members of our own family.”

Online Newsletter You can access the “fellowship!” newsletter online in a PDF format. Go to Newsstand/fellowship! newsletter at www.cbfonline.org.

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

[continues p. 3]

Get Involved FELLOWSHIP INDIVIDUALS and churches

can partner in Ellen and Rick Burnette’s ministry among the Palaung by financially supporting the following projects: • Upland Holistic Development Project (UHDP) Ministry Center (project number 80056). Funds will be used to cover ministry center utilities, equipment, maintenance and site development.

• UHDP Office and Legal (project number 80051). Funds will be used for UHDP office and legal expenses.

• UHDP Staff Support (project number 80055). Funds will be used for project staff support and work-related travel

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Marianne Taylor photo Sharon White photo

GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES 2

effort on those people no one else is attending,” Johnson says.

In addition to sending money and continuing to support the Burnettes and Palaung with prayer, Crescent Hill sent out a “scouting pair” to Thailand to see the needs of the hill tribe people. Two groups on missions trips followed to help meet the surveyed needs.

Because the Burnettes were in the United States at the time, the first group that went in June 2001 stayed in the city of Chiang Mai and worked with another hill tribe, the Karen, painting a youth hostel. “That broadened our sense of ministry and cooperation beyond what Rick and Ellen are doing,” Johnson says. A few months after their return, the Karen youth hostel’s water system collapsed, and Crescent Hill was eager to help. Through a Thai food buffet fundraiser with food donations from a local Thai restaurant, the church raised the money needed. “What was a few thousand dollars to us, to them was a lifesaver,” Johnson emphasizes.

Describing the missions team’s visit in November 2002, “they came ready to work,” says Rick Burnette, who leads the Upland Holistic Development Project (UHDP) in Northern Thailand. UHDP is a Christian rural development project that equips marginalized, upland farmers in sustainable agriculture in 12 hill tribe villages, mostly the Palaung. Rather than working directly in Palaung villages, the Crescent Hill team plugged into work at the UHDP Ministry Center.

Rick is careful to preserve the Palaung’s sense of independence. “We don’t want to give them the impression that they’re helpless,” he says. “Crescent Hill understood that.”

On a visit to a Palaung village, team member Steve Clark met a couple who proudly showed him their family garden

Top: Palaung villagers of all ages greet the volunteers who visited their homes. Above: Bill Johnson (left) and Steven Cole (right) set up a handcrank corn sheller they found buried in a shed. Before this, the UHDP staff shelled corn by hand.

expenses for one year, and for staff professional development.

• Rural Development (project number 80052). Funds will be used to implement development demonstration projects at the ministry center and extension projects in hill tribe villages, including sustainable upland farming, gardening for nutrition, small-scale livestock production, agroforestry, water and sanitation, and social justice and relief. Funds will also be used to support short- and long-term ministry center trainees and to produce educational publications and multi-media presentations related to sustainable development.

To fund projects, make check payable to CBF, marked with project names and

numbers, and send to CBF, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392.

Palaung Resources The following resources provide information about the Palaung and how Fellowship global missions field personnel are reaching out to them: • Individual UPG Flier - The Palaung People (formerly the Rock People). (free, plus shipping) • Individual UPG Video: The Rock People. ($6.95, plus shipping) Order from the CBF Resource Link at (888) 801-4223 or the CBF e-Store at

www.cbfonline.org.

Marianne Taylor photo

Rick Burnette (center) explains crop layering for small plots to the Crescent Hill missions team.

that maximizes the space used. “They told Rick that they actually grow more than they can eat, so they end up giving some of the food to their neighbors.”

The team’s willingness to work alongside UHDP staff and to tackle whatever task was at hand, from laying cement blocks to shelling corn, dissolved the barriers of culture and language. When the Crescent Hill group delivered handmade receiving blankets to new mothers, Johnson says, “It was a very moving, powerful thing. When you give a parent a gift for their newborn child, you don’t need a common language.”

Clark agrees, “That was probably the best part of the trip for me – to be able to express our appreciation and care for each other even without being able to do so verbally.”

“We ventured out in faith to adopt this group; we didn’t have a reason not to,” Johnson says. “Rather than being paralyzed because there are so many needs, we chose this place to focus.” Crescent Hill plans to return to Thailand in 2004. f!

For more information about the Palaung or Adopt-A-People/People Partnerships, contact Tom Ogburn, CBF associate coordinator for partnership missions, at (800) 782-2451 or togburn@cbfnet.org. Or go to www.adoptapeople.net.

By contributing writer Tiffany Schmieder, Atlanta

E A C H Y E A R , the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship distributes promotional resources designed to help tell the global missions story while promoting missions giving.

“Now available to churches is a new resource, the CBF Speakers Bureau, which we believe brings the resources and stories to life,” says bureau facilitator, Terry Walton. “The bureau consists of staff, field personnel and missions volunteers who have a passion for missions and convey that passion with each presentation.”

Kezia Paul, CBF program director for volunteer missions and member of the speakers bureau, shares: “It is a real joy for me to connect with our churches, not only to have the opportunity to tell my story, but to hear their story, as well.

“I’ve seen a great deal of creativity in the manner in which churches are promoting missions giving,” she adds.

Kezia Paul Paul reports that in some settings, the church leadership integrated resources into the service or meeting, such as litanies found in the Offering for Global Missions Leader Guide, segments from promotional videos and prayer guides. “It not only supported the story I was there to tell, but it also enhanced the stories conveyed through these resources.” f!

Churches interested in securing a missions speaker may contact CBF Communications and Marketing at (770) 220-1630 or e-mail the request to OGM@cbfnet.org. This service is a year-long effort and is not limited to missions emphasis seasons.

Christmas: An International Holiday EDITOR'S NOTE: The

following missions journal is from Mike Hutchinson, who serves with his wife, Lynn, as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions field personnel in Paris. The Hutchinsons minister in neighborhoods among the international immigrant population, mostly from Muslim countries.

N A S S I M WA S B U S Y with his art project (making

decorations for the Christmas tree that would be put up for their party) when he said, “Christmas is an American holiday.”

I replied, “No, in reality it is a Palestinian holiday.”

Of course, he was surprised by this as some of his family members were heavily into Palestinian issues, and this was not what he had heard at home.

I continued, “Nassim, what is Christmas? It is not Santas, and buying toys, and getting drunk, or parties.

Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of Issa [Jesus].”

Nassim had never heard this most simple fact. “And do you know where he was born?” I asked. “He was born in Bethlehem, and Bethlehem is a city in Palestine. It is a city under President Arafat’s control. So, since Issa was born in a Palestinian town; it is a Palestinian holiday at its heart.”

Nassim replied, “Ça claque” (which means literally ‘that bangs’ … or nifty neato).

We got us one claquing God here. f!

The Fellowship’s December 2003 missions education curriculum focuses on the Fellowship’s ministries and outreach in Paris. (Annual subscription: adult and youth, $20; children and preschool, $80. Shipping will be charged.) To order, contact the CBF Resource Link at (888) 801-4223. www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

Speakers Bureau Helps Fellowship Tell the Missions Story

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GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

PASSPORT Kenya Camp Transforms Lives of Teens WHEN CHRISTIAN TEEN-AGERS

from North America and Kenya visited the Baptist Children’s

Centre Orphanage in Nairobi, the true spirit of cultural exchange occurred.

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It was nothing short of miraculous.

“School was out on break, so the community had been invited to attend the day camp at the center,” explains Melissa Browning, who serves with her husband, Wes, as CBF Global Service Corps field personnel in Kenya. “We expected 50 kids to attend, and since there were 60 campers, we felt prepared.”

But the unexpected happened. As the teen-age campers arrived at the center, children came running to greet their buses – all ages, all sizes. The crowd continued to grow until it reached 200, making the lunches planned for 50 a predicament. As PASSPORT camp staff advised the campers of the lack of food, they answered with one voice.

“Before they could finish whispering the word into the students’ ears, they each replied, ‘Give my lunch to the kids,’” Browning recalls.

While campers led children in games, crafts and Bible stories, adults divided sack lunches into smaller portions.

Browning says the room grew silent as someone asked, “What should we do with the extra food?” All the lunches had been provided, with four huge bags to spare.

“It was the miracle of the loaves and fishes, happening all over again in a poor slum outside Nairobi,” Browning explains. “As we gave away our own lunches, we had enough for everyone to eat.”

PASSPORT photos

Just five minutes after meeting, Kenyan and North American teen-agers already speak the common language of laughter.

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That evening, the campers shared their feelings about the events of the day. A young man from Kenya, whose father pastors one of the larger churches in Nairobi, stood up and thanked the PASSPORT group for coming and sharing the experience in the slum. He said the event helped open his eyes to circumstances in his own country.

“PASSPORT Kenya was more than we imagined … and I had high hopes!” says Colleen Burroughs, executive vicepresident for Passport Inc., a non-profit youth camping organization and CBF partner with summer camps mostly in the southeastern United States.

“It [the camp] wasn’t put together for the intention of going to Kenya to do missions,” Burroughs says. “The idea was for American teen-agers to experience Christian Kenyan teen-agers – to experience the family of God on the other side of the world and see what we could learn from one another.”

The summer trip to Kenya was several years in the making, a joint project between Passport Inc. and Africa Exchange – a non-profit organization under the CBF ministry of global missions field personnel Melody and Sam Harrell. Representatives from North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and Kentucky – a total of 43 teens and adults – participated in the first PASSPORT camp to Kenya.

the community at large,” English says.

Libby Scott, a 16year-old camper from Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., says the trip had tremendous impact.

Ryan Chandler leads a game among children at the Baptist Children’s “It was a worthwhile, Centre in Nairobi. life-changing event.

We really did change while we were there.”

Scott adds that the Kenyans had a “strong faith and were very passionate about it,” causing her to take a long look at her own faith.

“It made me ask, ‘What more can I do?’” f!

PASSPORT plans another Kenya trip in 2005. For more information, go to www.passportcamps.org or call (800) 769-0210.

For more information about Africa Exchange, go to www.africaexchange.org, e-mail info@africaexchange.org, or write Africa Exchange, 4511 Eno Cemetery Road, Cedar Grove, NC 27231.

By staff writer Jo Upton

Yearlong Resources

Seasonal Resources

Leader Guide. Contains stories of how CBF field personnel and partners are being the presence of Christ.

Everyone … Everywhere Bulletin Insert.

This 5” x 8” insert shows how CBF field personnel are working alongside others to take the gospel to everyone … everywhere.

Everyone … Everywhere Video. Designed to be used in five-minute segments.

Speakers Bureau. Contains lists of speakers who will share with churches or groups (see page 3 for more information).

Offering for Global Missions Resources THE FALL EMPHASIS of the 2003-04 Offering for Global Missions highlights the ministry of CBF global missions field personnel serving the most neglected in Kenya, Northern Thailand and Albania.

Based on Acts 1:8, this year’s offering theme is “Everyone … Everywhere, Being the Presence of Christ.” Use the contribution envelope provided in this issue to enable the Offering for Global Missions to meet its $6.1 million goal. Please mark your check “Offering for Global Missions.”

The following free resources are available to help you take the gospel to “Everyone … Everywhere.”

CD-ROM. Includes PDFs of the offering print resources, a five-minute missions challenge from CBF Global Missions cocoordinators, promotional videos and art and photos of subjects featured in the offering promotion.

Offering Picture Pak. Includes images of CBF field personnel featured in offering promotional materials.

Missions Advocate Guide. Notebook offers general information about the Fellowship and CBF global missions, with specifics about the 2003-04 offering.

Offering Envelopes. For pew racks and mailing.

Everyone … Everywhere Poster. Filled with images of people touched by CBF missions efforts. One side of the poster is in Spanish, the other in English.

Prayer Resources Praying Psalm 23. A yearlong guide to pray for specific needs of CBF field personnel and the people they serve among.

Partners in Prayer Calendar. Lists the names and birthdays of all CBF field personnel and their children.

To order, contact the CBF Resource Link at (888) 801-4223 or the CBF e-Store at www.cbfonline.org. Shipping charged.

For more information, click on the “Offering for Global Missions” button at www.cbfonline.org.

“You will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”

(Acts 1:8 CEV) www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

“One goal of Africa Exchange is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and resources between Africa and other parts of the world,” Sam says. “The idea in this case was to provide PASSPORT campers with a cross-cultural learning and serving experience in the context of a peer-to-peer exchange.”

In preparation for the camp, Sam visited local Baptist churches in Nairobi, offering teens the opportunity to spend a week with their American counterparts. More than 30 Kenyan teens, from middle- to upper-income families, responded to the invitation.

“This was an amazing cross-cultural experience where the kids really got to know each other,” says Melissa Browning. She and Wes have worked with the Harrells for nearly a year. As GSC personnel, the Brownings will serve in their missions assignment for two years.

Patti English, associate pastor at Fredericksburg Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, Va., accompanied 12 people from the church, and agrees that the day at the orphanage “was phenomenal.” She feels the Kenyan trip made a permanent change in everyone.

“Our young people have come back and interacted differently with their families and peers – at church and

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“ W E H AV E B E E N B O M B A R D E D B Y C A L L S from all over,” says Bernie Moraga, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Hispanic network. “Churches wanting to start new work among Hispanics – it’s amazing. I didn’t have those sorts of requests before the partnership.”

Moraga is referring to the partnership between the Fellowship and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas – representing 1,100 Hispanic Baptist churches – to start 400 Hispanic churches in the United States during the next eight years and, in partnership with the Hispanic Baptist Theological School, to train 400 new Hispanic Baptist pastors and church leaders.

Moraga believes every church can do something. “I need to know churches that are willing to partner with us,” he explains. Moraga looks for those churches that want to be financially involved, provide a scholarship to help a student go into the ministry, or help plant a Hispanic church start.

When asked about the partnership’s future, Moraga speaks candidly. “I hope we are going to look for qualified people who will provide leadership,” he says. “So far, the people we have on the advisory board are very qualified.

“If you look at CBF, there are so many qualified leaders,” Moraga emphasizes. If they each take one person “‘under their wing’ for a few weeks or months, I believe they will make a difference in eternity,” he adds.

Nelson Rodriguez is one of the board members that Moraga describes. A member of both the Texas and national CBF Coordinating Councils, Rodriguez shares Moraga’s enthusiasm for the partnership.

“I think this has been a ‘wake-up’ call for everyone,” Rodriguez says. “By coordinating efforts with their Hispanic counterparts, there is a ministry opportunity for CBF churches right here in our own backyards.”

Rodriguez sees the significance of the partnership from a C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P

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larger perspective. “The Hispanic stand to go with CBF is a monumental event – they are saying, ‘We are with you.’”

Rodriguez continues: “I think this next step is crucial.

Now that the ceremonies are over, it’s going to be up to CBF churches to say, ‘We want to partner with the Hispanic churches and do the work of the Lord.’”

Jimmy Garcia, director of Hispanic work for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is excited that churches seem to be looking beyond physical borders. “Sometimes we feel like Texas is the only place we can do direct missions work,” he says of the churches in his state. “This partnership opens doors for churches – we aren’t limited by the border of Texas. I hope every Hispanic church in Texas will see this as a vision beyond comprehension.”

“The initiative is really beginning to take off in South Carolina, Missouri and Maryland – in that order,” says Bill Bruster, coordinator for CBF networking. He adds that Virginia is involved in an initiative to work among Hispanics. Greg and Sue Smith have been appointed by CBF of Virginia to spearhead a new missions outreach to Hispanics in the state.

Bruster says the initiative is moving in the right direction but reminds everyone that the partnership goal of starting 400 new churches won’t just happen. “We have to be intentional about it,” he concludes. f!

By staff writer Jo Upton For more information about the Hispanic partnership, contact Bernie Moraga at (505) 247-4781 or Bill Bruster at (214) 282-2146 or bbruster@cbfnet.org.

Bernie Moraga (left) helps lead worship in a bi-cultural setting during the 2003 General Assembly.

Mark Sandlin photo

NETWORKING/BUILDING COMMUNITY 6

CBF Hispanic Partnership Moves in the Right Direction

BUILDING COMMUNITY

Chaplains Bring Compassion to Federal Prisoners

New Endorsements THE FELLOWSHIP now has endorsed 334 chaplains and pastoral counselors. The following individuals were endorsed recently:

Hospice Chaplains: Carolyn Hicks, Hospice of Cleveland County, Shelby, N.C. Hospital Chaplains: J. Chad Collins, Self Regional Healthcare Center, Greenwood, S.C.; James P. Gilbert, Department

of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Navy Reserve, Alexandria, La.; Debbie D. Harned, Baptist Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.; Martha J. Harper, Baptist Health System, Jackson, Miss.; Stephanie Kaye Harris, CPE resident, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, Tenn.; George M. Hemingway Jr., contract chaplain, Department of Veterans Affairs, Gainesville, Fla.; E. Clay Polson, part-time chaplain, Hillcrest Baptist

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CBF staff photo

P R I S O N S O F T E N F E E L L I K E places beyond hope. But they aren’t beyond the reach of God’s love.

“People tend to think that everyone in prison is beyond redemption socially or spiritually, that anyone who comes to chapel or asks spiritual questions is just playing games to get out of their cells or improve their chance of parole,” notes Susan Barnett, a chaplain at a medium security federal men’s prison in Florence, Colo. “Certainly there are plenty of hard cases – in September, an inmate threatened to kill me – but prisons are fertile mission fields where people are ready to hear the gospel.”

That “how can we hear unless we are told” environment is a prime motivator for Barnett, one of three women chaplains in the Federal Bureau of Prisons endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, along with Donna Manning of Seagoville, Texas, and Pamela Rains in Beaumont, Texas. “A chaplain brings a sense of humanity and compassion into a hard and sterile setting,” Barnett explains. “There are chances to minister in the midst of crisis as prisoners deal with bad news such as the death of family members or being served with divorce papers.”

Women chaplains also have the opportunity to provide positive female role models, “something most men haven’t seen a lot of,” Barnett says. She urges Christians to volunteer for prison ministry, “because they appreciate that you are choosing to be there with them because you love God and love them.”

The Church should support correctional chaplains in their call “to be the incarnational presence of Christ among people with as much need of that presence as anyone,” notes George Pickle, CBF’s associate coordinator for

The Council on Endorsement includes (front, l-r): Randy Wright, Robert Randolph, Elizabeth Thompson, (back, l-r) Herbert Strange, Zelma Pattillo, Vicki Hollon, Troy Petty and Milton Snyder.

chaplaincy and pastoral counseling. “They lovingly care for inmates in their relationship to God and society while accepting them as men and women Jesus loved and died for.”

Barnett first got involved in prison ministry by volunteering while she was a seminary student.

“I didn’t have any history with correctional facilities – hadn’t had any family or friends imprisoned,” she explains. “But I realized, for me, being lost was like being in prison. I wasn’t saved until I was 21 and until then I was lost and had no real purpose in life. I related to how the prisoners felt.”

Plus, Barnett adds, “I like to remind people that correctional chaplains are doing a ministry specifically commended by Jesus by visiting those in prison.” f!

For more information about CBF chaplaincy and pastoral counseling, contact George Pickle at (770) 220-1617 or gpickle@cbfnet.org.

By contributing writer Craig Bird, San Antonio, Texas Medical Center, Waco, Texas; Judith P. Powell, Columbus County Hospital, Whiteville, N.C.; Douglas A. Wigginton, Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria, La. Military Chaplains: Matthew S. Brown II, U.S. Air Force Reserve, Mechanicsville, Va.; Christopher William Carson, U.S. Army, Fayetteville, N.C.; Sandra P. Fambrough, U.S. Navy, Shelby, N.C.; Randall Lee Ridenour, U.S. Army Reserve,

Shawnee, Okla.; Jorge A. Zayasbazan, Wisconsin Army National Guard, Kenosha, Wis. Pastoral Counselors: Laurel M. Link, CareNet Inc., North Carolina Baptist Hospitals, Winston-Salem, N.C. Corrections Chaplains: Susan Eileen Barnett, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Florence, Colo.; Mary Frances Thompson, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, Columbia, S.C.

www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

Angolan Trip Reveals Suffering of Internally Displaced Persons The words of a desperate Angolan mother haunted a group of volunteers listening to her story.

The woman, whose age was impossible to determine because of the ravages of malnutrition and

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“Look at this child. He has no food, he has no water, and he has nowhere to sleep that is safe.

“Tell me, how can this child live?”

Seeing and listening to the mother and child proved to be the most difficult and touching moment of her trip to Angola, said volunteer Lynn Smith.

“The child was about one year old, with sunken eyes, a large belly and brittle, thin, coppery hair,” she said.

As an Angolan interpreter relayed the mother’s words, he broke down and sobbed. Smith recalled it as a horrifying moment, with everyone realizing the child would probably not live. Through the translator, the volunteers assured the people they would tell their story, working to get help for them and their children.

The mother’s story is just one of hundreds that could be told of IDPs (internally displaced persons) living in camps.

“Going to the camps was almost the last thing we did, and that’s a good thing,” said Smith, a registered nurse and moderator-elect for the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship. “As bad as things are in the rest of the country, you had to be prepared to go to the camps.”

Smith spent 10 days with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship volunteers in Angola this summer, providing medical care and ministry outreach to the cities of Luanda, Soya and Cabinda. Working in conjunction with local churches, the team ministered in the three cities during regular worship services by preaching, singing and speaking to Angolan Christians.

Team members Volunteer Beth Riddick (left) and Antonio Afonso included Dr. Scott Lopes (center) of the Christian Council of Angola Christie of Charleston, talk with youth and children in Luanda, Angola.

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

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Lonnie Turner photos

poverty, motioned to the child she carried on her back.

More than 2,000 people attend a church in Cabinda, Angola, where the CBF volunteer team participates in worship.

S.C., who provided medical ministry. Carolyn Staley of McLean, Va., worked with literacy education and music among women, while Shemeka Gill and Amanda Shearer of Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., provided youth and children’s education ministry. CBF Student.Go summer missionary Beth Riddick of Farmville, N.C., worked with youth groups, dialoguing with various church leaders concerning children’s ministry.

Fran and Lonnie Turner, CBF global missions field personnel and coordinators for HIV/AIDS and public policy in Cape Town, South Africa, coordinated the missions project.

“The most striking experiences we had were at the IDPs camps,” Smith said. “The children are malnourished and infested with parasites. There are no schools, no jobs, no transportation and no real access to health care.”

During 27 years of civil war, many families fled Angola, seeking refuge in the Congo and surrounding areas. Now that the war has ended, these people are forced to return to their homeland, but are unable to go back to their farms and personal properties due to large numbers of land mines throughout the countryside. The government has settled more than 5 million IDPs in camps near the border, in dwellings made from mud-adobe bricks with plastic roofs.

HIV/AIDS Ministry Embodies Compassion ANGOLA, LIKE MANY nations, struggles to deal with issues related to HIV/AIDS and the impact the disease has on its people.

World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 serves as an educational opportunity for individuals and churches to learn more about how to minister to those with HIV/AIDS. According to Wayne Smith, when Christians get involved with HIV or AIDS

patients, it makes a difference.

“It’s a simple issue of compassion,” says Smith, director of Samaritan Ministry of Central Baptist Church of Bearden in Knoxville, Tenn.

Samaritan Ministry receives support from the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the national Fellowship.

“I think the first thing a church or an individual can do is become educated,” Smith says. “Identify an organization in the community that is already working with these patients. Then volunteer to answer the phone or run

GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

This is where they will remain until the area is considered safe – but no one has any idea how long that might be.

Daily life has become a struggle for these people. The only water source is the river nearly a mile away, where clothes are washed and baths taken, with no provision for sanitation. Small quantities of fish from the river and the leaves and roots of plants grown in the camps serve as their primary food sources, bringing little relief from the constant hunger.

While in Angola, Fellowship volunteers visited two IDPs camps – one in Zongolo with 83 families, and another with 228 families in Buco-Ngoio. According to Smith, the people were grateful for the possibility of help.

“When our delegation visited, the people were prepared with their list of needs,” she said. “The men asked for agricultural resources, running water, food aid, beds, transportation, jobs and birth certificates for themselves and their children. The women asked for sewing machines and classes to learn to read and write. The children asked for education, food, uniforms and soccer balls.”

In the short time since their return, the volunteers have honored their commitment to be “the voice for these people” by speaking in churches, presenting specific ways that individuals can help alleviate some of the suffering. Smith also said plans are being made to go back to Angola next year. (For more information on this volunteer opportunity, contact (877) 856-9288 or volunteer@cbfonline.org.)

Smith said those interested in helping should not look at the whole picture – “the discouragement would be overwhelming.” Instead, she advised focusing on an area that “touches your heart,” one way in which you can “make a

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Shemeka Gill (far left) of Georgetown College in Kentucky shares her musical talent with youth in Luanda.

difference,” then get involved.

“The worst thing we could do is go there and say, ‘This is so pitiful,’ then go about our life,” Smith warned. “That would be a betrayal.” f!

Churches and individuals wanting to make a difference in Angola can send donations through the Fellowship’s Angola Project. Make check payable to CBF, marked with project name and project number 80325, and send to CBF, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392.

To read an article by volunteer team member and CBF Leadership Scholar Beth Riddick of Campbell University Divinity School, go to Missions Journal at www.cbfonline.org and click on “From the Voice to the Tears” in the archives.

By staff writer Jo Upton

errands or do whatever you can. You’ll make a difference.

You don’t have to go in there with your Bible in hand. Just go in with compassion and people will notice.”

For churches interested in learning more about AIDS ministries, Smith says the first step could be something as simple as including a bulletin insert about the disease.

Smith says it is also important for church members to hear their pastors talk about HIV from the pulpit.

“Jesus was clear in His life about how He dealt with the

sick and disabled – not with condemnation but with compassion,” Smith says. “The Christian response to HIV needs to be a clear, clean uncluttered message of love.”

Contact Wayne Smith at (865) 450-1000, x 827 or smithmw@usit.net.

For more information about the Fellowship's HIV/AIDS ministry, contact Fran or Lonnie Turner at 76622.637@compuserve.com.

By contributing writer Sue H. Poss, Greenville, S.C.

www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leadership Scholars Pursue Varying Ministry Paths

Courtesy of Brandy Albritton

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T W O D I F F E R E N T W O M E N on two different ministry paths share one important connection – both are 2003-04 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Leadership Scholars. This financial support is given to outstanding students who are planning for ministry in local congregations or in missions.

Katie Brennan is beginning her first year at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Texas, pursuing a dual master of divinity and master of social work degree. “In the social work program at Baylor, I will participate in continual dialogue about what it means to be a Christian in the field of social work,” Brennan says.

As for future plans, she says, “I foresee myself as a co-minister with my future husband working with a youth group or pastoring a Brandy Albritton enjoys the playground with church.

We are also open to 3-year-old Summer Wei at the Central Baptist Church child care center. the possibility of overseas missions. I also desire to use my social work skills as a counselor perhaps in a hospital with children and families or with the elderly.”

After attending the 2003 General Assembly last summer, she says, “I became even more impressed with CBF. I feel like CBF is doing the work of God in fresh ways.”

“Being a Leadership Scholar is such a blessing,” Brennan adds. “I do not know how I would afford tuition if I did not have this scholarship since my fiance and I are both full-time students.”

On the other side of the U.S., Brandy Albritton shares a similar story. Her husband is in graduate school and teaches on an assistantship. “Both of our positions are only parttime,” she explains. “There is no way that I could continue as a full-time seminary student without the assistance of the leadership scholarship.”

This fall, she began her second year at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky while also juggling her duties as the children’s ministry intern at Lexington’s Central Baptist Church.

Through her work experience and theological studies, Albritton became interested in working on social justice issues, especially those involving children. “I hope to go to Africa this summer to work with AIDS orphans and I think that my ministry after seminary will be something similar

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

www.cbfonline.org

that addresses the needs of children specifically,” she says.

“I am absolutely convinced that the CBF has the right idea where missions is concerned,” Albritton adds. “Our global missionaries are not only planting churches, but also addressing the physical, emotional and social needs of ‘the least of these’ as Christ would have us do. It is my honor to be part of such an organization.” f!

For information about leadership scholarships, contact CBF’s partner schools, or go to Classroom at www.cbfonline.org.

Or contact Terry Hamrick at (770) 220-1600 or thamrick@cbfnet.org.

By contributing writer Amy Walker, Atlanta

Leadership Scholars Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: Brandy Albritton, Bern Kiser, Gary Price Jr. Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond: Bryn Bagby, Vanessa Ellison, Daniel Glaze, Martha Ann Hensley, Christine Kellett, Michael Kellett, Renee Kenley, Stuart Lamkin, Suzanne Stovall Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University: David Ivey, Mandy Nethercut, Aliou Niang

Logsdon School of Theology, Hardin-Simmons University: Brian Edwards, Walt Henson, Danyel Rogers, Mark Rogers, Marnie Sellers McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University: Mark Basehore, Patrick DeVane, Laura Domke, Ron Handlon, Linda Davis-Mitchum, Daniel Nance (spring 2004), Andrew Smith, Julie Whidden, Angela Yarber

Campbell University Divinity School: Amanda Blackwell, Emily Bowman, Rich Catlett, Beth Cockman, Mary Hollings, Jerry Layton, Beth Riddick, Michael Sowers, Rod Walls

George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University: Stephen Bills, Katie Brennan, Kelly Burkhart, Stephanie Ann Glenn, Robert Rueda, JoAnn Sharkey, Ross Shelton, Kyle Steinhauser, Cindy Wallace

Candler School of Theology, Emory University: Jeff Davis, Sarah Doeppner, Mary Catherine Foster, Jeremy Lewis

Wake Forest Divinity School: Bill Ballard, Margaret Deans, Seth Hickman, Ray Howell IV, Chris Towles

Central Baptist Theological Seminary: Travis Daniel, Cynthia Jarrold (spring 2004), Dawna Payne, Emily Uy

M. Christopher White School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University: Jill Awuni, Carita Brown, Cody Davidson, Rendell Hipps, Johnny Lewis, Shirley Luckadoo, Lee Norris, Richard Park, Carol Seeley

Duke Divinity School: Derek Carter, Amy Grizzle, Michael Lea, Logan Dunn, Sina Stith

LEADERSHIP PROFILES

Hamrick Leads Fellowship to Discover, Develop, Nurture Leaders T E R R Y H A M R I C K , Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Class Notes: News from Partner Schools Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The Congregational Health Ministry Consortium, which includes the seminary, received a $489,000 grant from the Richmond Memorial Foundation. The seminary will serve as the fiscal agent for the consortium, which has been organized

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Stanley Leary photo

coordinator for leadership development, has been active in the Fellowship since its inception.

While minister of Christian education at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, Hamrick volunteered extensively with the Fellowship, organizing the General Assembly Leadership Institute in Fort Worth during the mid-1990s. When the Fellowship began searching for a coordinator for church resources, Hamrick’s experience made him the ideal choice.

Hamrick’s responsibilities have been refocused as a result of the Fellowship’s strategic planning process, bringing him to his present position. Leadership development covers three primary areas: collegiate ministry – Getting Personal helping churches aid college Terry Hamrick, “handyman students as they discover their extraordinaire,” has added a vocational calling; theologiroom to his home, installed cal education – partnering ceramic floors, built cabinets with schools as they develop and closets, and replaced congregational leaders; and roofing. congregational leadership – Family has always been the educating and supporting key grounding element in ministers and leaders.

Hamrick’s life. He has been Hamrick’s innovative married to Judith S. Orr since ideas include a more holistic 1973, and they have two approach to ministry. “I see grown sons, John and Steven. this as an opportunity to discover leaders, develop leaders and then continue to nurture these same leaders as they minister to others,” he says.

After learning of the Lilly Endowment Grant program “Sustaining Pastoral Excellence,” Hamrick coordinated the grant writing process for the Fellowship.

North Carolina native Terry Hamrick admits to being a “college basketball nut.”

“CBF received one of the 47 grants awarded, amounting to nearly $2 million,” Hamrick says. The grant is being used for the Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence to address specific leadership needs and provide tools to minister to congregations.

Hamrick says of the 77 CBF leadership scholars from partner schools: “Part of the joy of my work is getting to know these folk. This is a significant program and a significant investment in the lives of these future leaders.”

The Missional Church Initiative, started more than two years ago, also holds a special place in Hamrick’s plans.

“Churches are facing unprecedented cultural change,” he says. “The initiative will provide resources to assist churches and church leaders as they do the hard work of discerning God’s mission for them.” f!

Contact Terry Hamrick at (770) 220-1600 or thamrick@cbfnet.org.

By staff writer Jo Upton

to sustain the supply of parish nurses and existing congregational health programs.

Baptist Studies Program, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University.

D. Newell Williams has been named president of Brite Divinity School. Williams was a professor at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

Central Baptist Theological Seminary.

Seminary president Thomas E. Clifton

announced his retirement in late August.

He will officially retire on Dec. 31. Clifton is the seminary’s ninth president.

International Baptist Theological Seminary. Now in its 55th year, IBTS in Prague, Czech Republic, welcomed 43 new students from 22 countries this fall bringing its enrollment to 111, the highest since the seminary was founded.

www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

AS WE JOURNEY

Missional Living THE CHURCH IS THE MYSTICAL BODY

of Christ. We are the continuing presence of Jesus in

the world, advancing His redemptive mission. In culture, in government, in causes for justice and in religious movements, God is active and present. But it is in and through the church that the 12

living Christ dwells. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, endowed with gifts, empowered for witness and created to bear fruit that makes us look and act like Christ.

As Christ’s Body, we are to engage in the same mission that consumed Him. What does this mean for our lives?

It means first that we will live cross-culturally. We are “in” this world but not “of” this world. There is a foreign quality to our existence when it comes to the values that surround us. This should not be interpreted in a petty way that suggests Christians don’t drink, dance or go to movies. Rather it should be interpreted in a profound way that suggests Christians don’t succumb to commercialism, competitiveness and crass materialism. We simply refuse the militarism and triumphalism of the world. We Vestal reject the violence and racism pervasive in our ethos.

Several years ago, Loren Mead in his book, “The Once and Future Church”said that we in North America have moved away from a Christendom paradigm. The ”mission field” is not “over yonder” in some remote place; we are living in the middle of it. We can’t pretend that 2,000 years 0f Christian history has not shaped our culture, but neither can we assume that the culture in which we live represents Christian values. To live cross-culturally will be difficult for some of us, and perhaps we can learn from career missionaries who have lived this way for a number of years.

Missional living begins when I allow my life to be shaped by Jesus and not by the popular media, peer pressure or pundits. Missional living begins when I embrace the ethic of a crucified, resurrected Jesus and not one of civil religion or consumer church.

Cross-cultural living, however, becomes missional only if it leads to living incarnationally. This means I must become immersed in personal relationships, not judging or condemning, but identifying with others. I learn their language (both spoken and heart language). I listen to them – both when I agree and disagree. And most of all, I love them – both unconditionally and sacrificially.

Also, the idea of incarnational living is linked to the concept of servanthood. This is how the mission of Jesus was C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P

www.cbfonline.org

accomplished. He became a servant to all. He did not aspire to greatness or glory, but to service. If we are to live missionally, we will aspire to a simple life of self-giving. We will seek ways to meet one another’s needs.

Finally, missional living means living transformationally.

We seek our own transformation, the transformation of others and the transformation of the world. Joel Vestal, president of ServLife International, wrote the following words in a recent newsletter.

We sold Elise’s car yesterday! There is a nice ‘rush’ or sense of accomplishment when you close a financial deal. … Recently a dear lady asked me how I ‘close the deal’ in evangelism, as if evangelism were like a sales presentation. I deliver the ‘goods’ in a nice presentation and it is closed when someone ‘says the prayer.’ … Don’t misunderstand, I do believe in people praying a prayer of confession and salvation, but something has been missed when we forget to realize that people are on a process and a journey of faith in Christ. We simply can’t ‘close the deal’ in one moment and then forget the rest of the journey of formation, transformation into His likeness.

Gardening is a much better metaphor for evangelism (as it came from Jesus) as opposed to business/ sales.

Missional living means that we long for the day and pray for the day when God will “gather up all things in Christ, things in Heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10).

Missional living means we take seriously the truth that “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself … and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV). Missional living means we ourselves experience the transforming reality of Jesus Christ and we seek to be instruments of that reality. f!

By CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal

FELLOWSHIP FARE

Fellowship Roundup News from CBF’s states, regions and national offices GEORGIA T H E F O L L O W I N G CBF-related

Georgia churches have recently called pastors: First Baptist Church, Columbus, Jimmy Elder; First Baptist Church, Dalton, Bill Wilson; First Baptist Church, Griffin, Craig Sherouse; First Baptist Church, Union Point, Leonard Ezell; and Sardis Baptist Church, Hartwell, Tommy Kennedy.

Baptist Women in Ministry of Georgia awarded 2003 scholarships to Christian Garcia-Alfonso of the Candler School of Theology and to Liz Pearson of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Jenny B. Britt was named the 2003 Distinguished Church Woman of the Year.

NATIONAL THE FELLOWSHIP APPROVED sending

$10,000 in emergency relief funds to Monrovia, Liberia, through Baptist World Aid – the assistance arm of the Baptist World Alliance. Half of the $10,000 is designated for ministry to internally displaced persons that have sought shelter at the Baptist Seminary in Monrovia while the other half is designated for general food relief such as the purchase and transport of rice. Liberian Baptists in exile plan to mobilize and collect food supplies, medication and toiletries. To contribute to the Fellowship’s effort to address the need in Liberia, send your financial gift to CBF, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392. Make your check payable to the Fellowship and indicate the general relief and development fund No. 17000 on the memo line.

The current retreat 2004 will be held at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Feb. 18-21. Formerly known

as the Young Leaders’ Network, current includes the Collegiate Network, the Seminarians Network and the Children’s Ministry Network. George Mason and Diana Garland are among the speakers. For more information, go to www.currentonline.org.

Correction: The Web address to subscribe to EthicsDaily.com e-newsletter was incorrect in the September/October 2003 issue. The correct address is www.ethicsdaily.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA T H E F A L L C O N V O C AT I O N for

South Carolina CBF will be Nov. 10 at St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia. James Dunn, former executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs and professor at Wake Forest University Divinity School, will speak along with Brenda Kneece, executive director of the South Carolina Christian Action Council.

Coming Attractions Feb. 3-4 Marriage Enrichment for Clergy Couples Holiday Inn Airport, Atlanta Leaders: Bo and Gail Prosser Cost: $50 per couple, includes one night hotel fees.

Contact: Jeff or Tonya Vickery, P.O. Box 37, Cullowhee, NC 28723 or vickery@main.nc.us Feb. 18-21 current Retreat Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas Speakers: George Mason, Diana Garland Information: www.currentonline.org Feb. 29-March 3 True Survivor Gathering for Christian Educators Providence Baptist Church, Charleston, S.C. Speaker: Dan Bagby of BTSR Cost: $50 per person, plus lodging Contact: Toni Draper, (770) 220-1654, tdraper@cbfnet.org or Bo Prosser, (770) 2201631, bprosser@cbfnet.org For a complete schedule of events, go to Community/Calendar at www.cbfonline.org.

TENNESSEE THE TENNESSEE

CBF (TCBF) Coordinating Council recognized Ircel Harrison for his five years of leadership as Harrison the coordinator of the organization. TCBF currently relates to almost 70 churches across the state.

The TCBF’s church leadership academy at Ball Camp Baptist Church in August drew 90 participants from 14 churches. The one-day intensive training experience was designed for church leaders, teachers and ministers.

The event was the result of a partnership between Ball Camp, the CBF Resource Center and TCBF. Speakers included Bo Prosser, CBF coordina-

tor for congregational life; Connie Campbell of First Baptist, Chattanooga; David Jennings of Mt. Carmel, Cross Plains; Debbie Lloyd of First Baptist, Newport; Greg Mumpower of The Church at Mountain Home, Knoxville; Jud Reasons of First Baptist, Knoxville; Tammy Abee Blom, TCBF associate coordinator for leadership development; Ircel Harrison, TCBF coordinator; Ann Cannon of Wieuca Road Baptist, Atlanta; and Jill Jenkins and Michael McCullar of Johns Creek Baptist, Alpharetta, Ga. Ed SundayWinters, pastor, and Ron Schumann, minister of discipleship at Ball Camp, hosted the event, aided by a number www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

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FELLOWSHIP FARE 14

of church members. Stephen Foster, minister of music, and the church’s praise ensemble provided pre-session music.

Michael L. Young became TCBF’s first missions coordinator Nov. 1. His primary responsibilities will be to assist churches and Young individuals to fulfill their Great Commission calling and to be a catalyst for Great Commission partnerships. He will also lead in the creation and healthy development of new congregations.

Young, a resident of Tullahoma, most recently served as collegiate ministry specialist at Motlow State Community College and the University of the South.

He also was collegiate minister at Louisiana College, Pineville, for 10 years. A graduate of Louisiana State University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Young is married to Susan. They have three children.

The Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University is the new cosponsor of “Baptist History and Heritage,” the journal of the Baptist History and Heritage Society. Pam Durso, associate director of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, serves as the journal’s new editor. She previously taught as assistant professor of church history and Baptist heritage at Campbell University Divinity School.

WASHINGTON, D.C. D I R E C T O R S O F T H E Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs adopted a smaller budget and heard a report on the organization’s work during the group’s annual meeting Sept. 29-30.

The directors of the religious liberty watchdog organization adopted a 2004 budget of $1,063,100 – slightly less than the 2003 budget of $1,068,000.

Executive Director Brent Walker noted the BJC finished 2002 with a C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T F E L L O W S H I P

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sudden upswing in contributions and significant growth in its number of individual donors, but that could not make up for the first eight months of the year. Directors elected new officers for 2003-04: board chairman, Jeffrey Haggray; vice chairman, Ray Swatkowski; second vice chairman, Glen Howie; secretary, Sue Bennett.

(By Robert Marus, ABP)

CBF Launches Pastor Sabbatical Leave Program T H E C O O P E R AT I V E B A P T I S T

Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence is launching a funded sabbatical program for ministers. The sabbaticals will begin in March 2004.

Applications can be obtained from the Fellowship’s Atlanta Resource Center and must be returned by Jan. 15, 2004, in order to be considered.

Funded by a $1.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the Initiative for Ministerial Excellence is designed to deliver practical help to congregational leaders across the country. The initiative has a threepronged approach: peer learning networks, funded sabbaticals and ministry residencies for seminary graduates.

“The sabbatical program is first an educational effort,” said Terry Hamrick, the Fellowship’s coordinator for leadership development. “We want to help congregational leaders understand the importance of caring for their ministers. This program is designed to benefit both the pastor and the congregation.”

A pilot program, the sabbatical leave program features a limited number of stipends for pastors to take a churchapproved sabbatical. Pastors must have been in their current ministry setting for at least seven years. The goal of the program is to create a model for congregations on how to care for their pastors.

To access an online application, go to www.cbfonline.org/community/ime.

For more information on the initiative, contact Hamrick at (770) 220-1600 or thamrick@cbfnet.org.

CBF-funded Missions Database Unveiled G O R D O N - C O N W E L L Theological

Seminary professor Todd M. Johnson introduced the World Christian Database, a user-friendly, searchable database, Oct. 9 on the seminary’s campus in South Hamilton, Mass.

Funded initially by the Fellowship as a tool to help identify areas of greatest need in the world, the World Christian Database is an online version of what currently exists in print in the World Christian Encyclopedia.

This new tool was created by Johnson, director of the newly established Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell, in coordination with Breuer & Co., a Boston-based data management firm.

The database will be maintained, updated and expanded as a part of the ongoing work of the center.

“This is truly a landmark achievement in facilitating the spreading of the gospel around the world,” said Daniel Vestal, the Fellowship’s national coordinator. “As we seek to be the presence of Christ in the world to the most neglected, we now have better tools to assess who the most neglected are and where they are located.”

The database will also have a subscriber-based service called Multi-Objective Decision Analysis (MODA) that allows for in-depth research, such as selecting, designing and managing a wide variety of questions and queries about people groups, countries, cities and other geographic designations. Such a tool has not previously existed.

“The World Christian Database

CBF, Global Women Announce Partnership

and the needs of women globally.

The two organizations will work together to provide encouragement to women who are called to missions while expanding woman-to-woman ministry opportunities.

“Global Women is excited about partnering with CBF on issues related to international women’s concerns,” said Global Women’s Coordinator Suzanah Raffield. “We must let the needs of the world determine our mission action, and right now the needs of the world require a specialized ministry for women.”

Founded in December 2001, Global Women is an ecumenical organization designed to minister to unreached women around the world while growing the number of women missionaries and facilitating women’s leadership in missions philosophy and strategy. f!

(News articles by Lance Wallace, CBF Communications)

Vol. 13, No. 7 CBF COORDINATOR • Daniel Vestal EDITOR • Ben McDade MANAGING EDITOR • Lisa M. Jones PHONE • (770) 220-1600 FAX • (770) 220-1685 E-MAIL • fellowship@cbfnet.org WEB SITE • www.cbfonline.org

fellowship! is published 8 times a year in Jan./Feb., Mar., April/May, June/July, Aug., Sept./Oct., Nov., Dec.

by The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc., 3001 Mercer University Dr., Atlanta, GA 30341-4115.

Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

USPS #015-625 POSTMASTER:

Send address changes to “fellowship!”

Newsletter, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 450329, Atlanta, GA 31145-0329

T H E F E L L O W S H I P A N D Global

Women have announced a partnership on issues related to women in missions

Make Plans for 2004 General Assembly WITH THE THEME “Being the Presence of

Christ: Today … Tomorrow … Together,” participants will gather at the 2004 General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala., June 24-26.

Hotel reservations can be made online at www.cbfonline.org/community/ga2004 or by filling out the form in the September/ October 2003 issue of “fellowship!”

Accommodations are available at the following locations: • Sheraton Birmingham (host hotel): rate: $100; across street from convention center • The Tutwiler Hotel: rate: $100 single, $109 double, two blocks from the convention center • Crown Plaza – The Redmont Hotel: rate:

$95 single/double, three blocks from convention center • Radisson Hotel Birmingham: rate: $89 single/double, 1.5 miles from convention center All requests for room reservations must be made in writing or by the Internet.

Contact S Stewart & Associates at (770) 619-9671 for more information.

Delta Airlines is offering special rates for those traveling to Birmingham for the 2004 General Assembly. By purchasing your ticket 60 days or more prior to your departure date, you can receive an additional 5 percent bonus discount. Call Delta Meeting Network at (800) 241-6760 for details.

Refer to file number 199515A to obtain the discount.

FELLOWSHIP FARE

provides us with a relevant, userfriendly tool for sorting through Christian and secular research data for identifying the most neglected in all parts of the world and in all segments of society,” Barbara Baldridge, CBF global missions co-coordinator, said. “Congregations will be able to discover who the most neglected are in their own communities. Missions agencies will be able to discover who the most neglected are globally, using the criteria they choose as relevant and meaningful.

“Funding that global missions had received from an anonymous donor had been set aside for implementing new strategies of ministry among people with the greatest needs and fewest resources,” Baldridge added.

“Those funds made it possible for the World Christian Database to become a reality this year.”

The 2004 General Assembly Steering Committee includes: Bill Wilson, chair, First Baptist Church, Dalton, Ga.; Barbara Baldridge, CBF Global Missions representative, Atlanta; Valerie Burton, simultaneous worship coordinator, AlabamaCBF/IME, Hoover, Ala.; Michele Deriso, CBF staff, Atlanta; Mart Gray, attendance/promotion, AlabamaCBF, Elba, Ala.; Cynthia Holmes, CBF moderator, Clayton, Mo.; Tim Mann, music and worship, Shades Crest Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala.; Ben McDade, CBF media relations and events promotion, Atlanta; Kym Mitchell, local arrangements coordinator, WMU, Birmingham, Ala.; Bo Prosser, CBF workshops coordinator, Atlanta; Bob Setzer ex-officio, First Baptist Church, Macon, Ga.; Susan Stewart, meeting space/Resource Fair consultant, Alpharetta, Ga.

www.cbfonline.org NOVEMBER 2003

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GLOBAL MISSIONS & MINISTRIES

10 Reasons to Give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was written

by Ana D’Amico, who serves with her husband, David, as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions field personnel in New York City. The D’Amicos serve among the diplomatic community at the United Nations.

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A F R I E N D C A L L E D and asked: “Why should I give to Global Missions through CBF?” Here are my answers:

Because a hungry child in Asia will be grateful; a sick child in Africa will be grateful; a homeless child in Harlem, N.Y., will be grateful; and a child in an orphanage in Europe will be grateful.

Because you, through the missions field personnel you support, will be speaking many languages, reading the Bible and telling about Jesus in all the continents of the planet.

Field personnel photo

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Because you will offer hope to the ones who have no hope. Have you ever thought of what it is like to live without hope?

Because you can be sure that your money will be used responsibly by men and women missions field personnel who are serving as equals, offering their talents to God.

4 5 6

Because the person that will be most blessed by giving is you.

Because you and your church want to focus on what’s important.

P. O. Box 450329 Atlanta, GA 31145-0329 Address Service Requested

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Because if you give at the holidays, you will find more profound joy than in receiving presents, and you will avoid post-holiday depression.

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Because as you give, your heart will welcome the poor, the most neglected, the lonely in your own community, and you will be changed.

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Because if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, He is expecting you to give not just your money, but also yourself.

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Because you will be sending a hug to the whole planet.