Cooperative Baptists,

Come this summer, CBF will mark the 30th anniversary of our founding.

In this anniversary year, we are facing both incredible opportunities and significant challenges. Our Toward Bold Faithfulness process was launched almost a year ago to discover the greatest gifts and most urgent needs of our Fellowship, churches and communities and then to respond with bold, faithful action.

At the CBF Governing Board meeting earlier this month, the Collaborative Response Team that is guiding the second stage of Toward Bold Faithfulness provided an initial report on its work.

In that same meeting, our Governing Board considered a budget proposal that I presented in collaboration with the Governing Board’s finance committee. As we promised when we asked the Fellowship to adopt a budget in 2019 that required us to draw $1.5 million in reserve funds to operate, we proposed a budget this year that will enable us to operate within our financial capacity while also making sure that we are investing in the priorities that most clearly emerged in the discovery phase of Toward Bold Faithfulness.

As you likely have read elsewhere, the Governing Board unanimously adopted the budget proposal while also authorizing the next steps in the work of the Collaborative Response Team.

We came away from that meeting with a profound hope for the present and future of our Fellowship most generously defined, not only the work of CBF Global but also the vital ministries of our state and regional organizations, field personnel, partner ministries, chaplains, pastoral counselors, church starters and others who comprise this community which exists to support congregations, help congregations thrive and draw congregations into deeper mission in communities and all around the world. In these months, we are taking steps that position our Fellowship for a future of thriving and bold faithfulness.

At the same time, these weeks have brought profound grief. To develop that budget proposal, we had to reorganize, refocus and reduce our staff at CBF Global. All told, 10 positions from all levels of our staff were eliminated in the budget that was approved. This was exceptionally difficult, because the people affected are incredibly gifted and have served our Fellowship with deep commitment and excellence.  Last week, I met with all CBF Global employees individually to share the impact of the new budget on each of them and their work. Those whose employment with us is ending were given space to share the news personally.

Today, we are releasing the CBF Global budget for the fiscal year that began on Thursday, October 1. It is available on our website at www.cbf.net/budget. You will find not only the budget summary, but also a detailed narrative that explains both the revenue and expenditure projections. As members of our Governing Board and I have said, we believe it is incredibly important to make this kind of detail about our budget and finances available across our Fellowship. The budget narrative makes clear the areas of CBF Global’s ministry that are being strengthened, those that will remain areas of focus and also areas of work that are being changed.

The overall reduction in spending of nearly $1.6 million required not only that we both reduce staff but also that we reconsider bodies of work. Those decisions were guided by what our Toward Bold Faithfulness discovery process revealed were most urgent and most powerful, and what CBF Global is most uniquely equipped to do within the larger CBF community. As you review that information, please let us know if you have questions.

Today, I ask you to pray for the growth, strength and faithfulness of our Fellowship’s shared ministry. I ask you to pray for the staff of CBF Global, particularly our colleagues whose service on our staff is ending as they seek new opportunities. And, I want you to know that in this incredibly complicated time in the life of our nation and the life of the Church, we are praying for you and your congregation, and we are committed to focusing our efforts on providing the kind of community in which you and your congregation can receive support, encouragement and opportunities to thrive.

In Christ,

Paul Baxley
Executive Coordinator

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Download CBF’s fiscal year 2021 budget, reflecting the most powerful and most urgent priorities of CBF Global.

Download the budget narrative, including the budget spreadsheet and pie-chart graphic.