The following is a press release from CBF Texas and a letter of support from CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) of Texas is pleased to announce that Reverend Ellen Di Giosia will begin her tenure as Coordinator on February 26, 2024. Ellen brings to this role valuable pastoral experience in both Texas and Tennessee. She has strong ties to Baptist life in the state, with a Master of Divinity from Baylor’s Truett Seminary and a track record of encouraging fellow ministers in their calling. Reverend Di Giosia was a founding member of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry and has worked closely with CBF Global. She is a gifted collaborator and compassionate pastoral leader.
“Ellen is an insightful, collaborative, and visionary leader with a pastor’s heart for local churches and God’s mission in the world. I look forward to Reverend Di Giosia’s leadership as she guides CBF Texas’ mission and ministry partnerships in the days ahead!”
-Dr. Matt Walton, Chair of Search Committee, CBF Texas Governing Board
“Ellen is remarkably gifted for this position of leadership. Her experiences as a pastor and preacher alongside prior involvement within and beyond the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship prepare her well for this new ministry. It is essential that CBF live more fully toward God’s calling that we become an even more beautiful expression of Baptist Christianity. Ellen’s call to this role is an important step toward this vision.”
-Dr. Paul Baxley, Executive Coordinator of CBF Global
CBF Texas’ vision
CBF Texas is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, and educational purposes, specifically to bring together Christian churches whose members profess their faith as Baptists and who desire to call out God’s gifts in each person in order that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be spread throughout the world in glad obedience to the Great Commission.
Contact CBF Texas
Reverend Ellen Di Giosia Coordinator, CBF
info@cbftexas.net
Below is a letter of support from CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley:
Today, the CBF Texas Governing Board has announced that they have unanimously approved the enthusiastic recommendation of the Coordinator Search Committee that Rev. Ellen Di Giosia be called to be the next coordinator of CBF Texas. I congratulate the search committee on this remarkable selection following an incredibly thorough search process. I want you to know that I am incredibly grateful that Ellen has agreed to accept this important calling and look forward to working with her and many of you to find the most faithful and transforming ways to serve the needs of congregations and their leaders so that we all flourish in faithfulness to Christ and participation in God’s mission in our communities and around the world.
Ellen Di Giosia is remarkably gifted for this position of leadership. Her experiences as a pastor and preacher alongside her prior involvement in leadership within and beyond the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship prepare her well for this new ministry. Within our Fellowship, she served as chair of our Ministries Council, as project manager for the production of the Equally Called resource that CBF developed in partnership with Baptist Women in Ministry, where she has also held leadership positions. I know that she has a deep desire to come to know congregations, ministers and lay leaders from across the CBF community in Texas, so I hope that as she begins her new work you will welcome her not only into your congregations but into your lives and ministries. As opportunities allow, my colleagues at CBF Global and I look forward to being with Ellen as she travels Texas and comes to know you more fully.
In this moment of significant change and challenge for congregations, denominations and the larger cultures of which we are a part, it is essential that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship live more fully toward God’s calling that we become an even more beautiful and faithful expression of Baptist Christianity. We are being invited to seek stronger relationships with and among congregations and their leaders so that we can all be equipped for bold faithfulness so that by God’s grace we participate together in God’s transformation of the world through Jesus Christ. To this end, our Fellowship needs to serve congregations with excellence and discover the unique gifts each of our congregations have been given.
Ellen’s call to the role of coordinator of CBF Texas is an important step toward this vision. I am eager to see the steps she and the elected leaders of CBF Texas will take together in the days ahead. I promise to pray for each of them and participate actively alongside them in the growth of the CBF community in Texas. I hope you will do the same!
In Christ,
Paul A. Baxley
CBF Executive Coordinator