I’ve been living in North Africa and serving as CBF field personnel for just over two years. After my commissioning in 2018, I moved abroad to start the work ahead of me—serving as a pastor with the national Protestant church in ministry to sub-Saharan migrants and refugees. My new context is complex—as the only authorized Protestant … Continue reading
By Caleb Mynatt In Memphis, Second Baptist Church’s Pumpkin Patch Ministry has been a church fundraising tradition for 17 years. Loved by church and community members alike, the pumpkin patch offers a family-friendly fall experience right in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. That’s why there was a great deal of disappointment when the pandemic seemed … Continue reading
By Carson Foushee Waiting. It began early in 2020 as our family anticipated our return to Tokyo in March after five months of sharing with CBF congregations around the Southeast. Just as we prepared to leave, reports of COVID-19 cases emerged in Asia and then in nations across the globe. Discussions with CBF and Japan Baptist Convention (JBC) leadership led us … Continue reading
By Caleb Mynatt Moving to a new place is hard. Integrating into a new culture is harder. Doing both at the same time feels almost impossible; but it’s what thousands of international immigrants and refugees do every year in the United States. For some, it’s exciting. For some, it’s frightening. For others, cultural insecurity and … Continue reading
By Jennifer Colosimo In the midst of the global pandemic, many things were pushed aside to make room for front-line priorities. We’ve had to weather the effects of the pandemic, in certain cases, hoping to come out the same on the other side. But for CBF’s front-line workers in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, the … Continue reading
By Holly Strother-Waller I watched Emma’s body come up out of the Jacuzzi-looking portable baptismal. The pandemic forced the church to get creative for our baptisms throughout the last year. Water splashed on to Worship center floor as she got out of the pool of water to get dried off. The water continued to ripple … Continue reading
The following is a reflection from CBF field personnel Karen Morrow, who serves among immigrants and refugees in Ft. Worth, Texas. Learn more about and support her ministry at http://www.cbf.net/morrow. One of the greatest joys I have in working with refugee families is being a part of the celebration as they welcome a new life … Continue reading
By Layne Smith When will we be able to gather safely in person with friends, colleagues, coworkers, and extended family members? So many of us are “Zoomed” out. We dread looking at the screen with everyone in a little box. We long to regain some sense of normalcy in our lives. We miss the touch, … Continue reading
By Paul Baxley One year ago today, a large number of congregations in and beyond the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship worshipped for the first time virtually as the coronavirus pandemic began to redefine all aspects of life in the United States the week prior. A week or 10 days earlier, many congregations started to realize that … Continue reading
By Andy Hale We’ve officially been under the various degrees of pandemic mandates for over a year. My wife and I were flying home from DC when everything began to shut down. We had just wrapped up CBF’s Advocacy in Action conference. Many strains were felt from this pandemic, from dramatic changes to work to … Continue reading