By Grayson Hester Mary likes to ride her bike. A lot. It’s part of living in the Netherlands, where she and her husband, Keith Holmes, have served as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel for decades. Americans tend to drive; Dutch find it easier to walk, or bike, or take the bus. And while biking, Mary … Continue reading
Category Archives: refugees
Ukraine Response: Moldova pastor helps meet needs of Roma families
Mary van Rheenen, who serves as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in The Netherlands alongside her husband Keith Holmes, has strong partnerships with Christians in Moldova, which borders Ukraine. Below is a recent update from their blog CBF Romany Ministries: From Pastor Petru Ciochina in Moldova: Forty-four Roma were accommodated in the church building … Continue reading
Updates from CBF’s Ukraine Response Efforts – March 15
By Aaron Weaver Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel are working to provide relief to Ukrainians. Below are several updates from the week of March 14 (read March 8 update here): Gennady and Mina Podgaisky — Kyiv, Ukraine (currently in North Carolina) The Podgaiskys continue to work with their networks to provide friends and neighbors with evacuation … Continue reading
CBF’s Baxley on Russian bombing of Village of Hope in Kyiv
Today our Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family grieves the news that the property of Village of Hope in Kyiv, Ukraine, was bombed by the Russian military. For nearly 20 years, our Fellowship family has joined with Gennady and Mina Podgaisky and partners in Ukraine to establish and grow this beautiful ministry. We are heartbroken to know of this devastating damage in a senseless act of violence. Continue reading
Updates from CBF’s Ukraine Response Efforts – March 8
By Aaron Weaver Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel are working to provide relief to Ukrainians. Below are several updates from the week of March 8: Gennady and Mina Podgaisky — Kyiv, Ukraine (currently in North Carolina) The Podgaiskys are working through their networks to provide friends and neighbors with evacuation information and connecting Ukrainians to … Continue reading
Support Ukrainian refugees across Europe through CBF Ukraine Relief Fund
As the situation on the ground in Ukraine continues to change rapidly, Cooperative Baptists and CBF partner churches have responded with compassion and love through prayer and gifts to CBF’s Ukraine Relief Fund. Even as you have begun giving generously, several of our field personnel in Europe are already responding with grace, sacrifice and … Continue reading
CBF Establishes Ukraine Relief Fund
Today, I invite all Cooperative Baptists to prayerfully consider making a financial contribution toward a relief fund we have established in response to the crisis in Ukraine following the Russian invasion last week. My hope is that we will tangibly extend our genuine support to the people of Ukraine through the generous sharing of our … Continue reading
How One North Carolina Church Creates Community for Refugees
By Jennifer Colosimo Sitting just off the main boulevard heading into Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church has always had two things: a large military population in their congregation and the harbored connections to the military community that come with it and a heart for missions. They founded Operation Inasmuch in … Continue reading
And now for the rest of the story.
By Karen Morrow “And now for the rest of the story,” was the way Paul Harvey would begin telling about a recent event. All events have a back story that often is left untold. Refugee stories are no different. We often see the story that is unfolding here in the U.S. when there is often … Continue reading
“Cultivate Abundance” is growing more than food, and doing it together, to sow a friendlier future
By Jennifer Colosimo In the southeastern U.S., the tiny town of Immokalee, Florida, is home to a growing population of migrant workers who make up a large part of the local workforce. They’re predominantly farmworkers who help grow millions of tons of food for exportation every year. Ironically, for these residents, the place they call … Continue reading