By Elket Rodríguez COVID-19 not only tests the limits of medical care, economic endurance and society’s willpower, but also congregations’ ability to meet burgeoning needs all around them. Three pastors from Texas’ Rio Grande Valley experience the pandemic’s stress on their churches and communities every day. Ivan De León of Iglesia Vino Nuevo—New Wine Church—in … Continue reading
June 17, 2020 By Aaron Weaver DECATUR, Ga.— A Baylor University law professor and lay leader deeply involved in CBF is the nominee to become the next Moderator-Elect for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship at the upcoming virtual General Assembly, June 25-26. The CBF Nominating Committee has selected Patricia Wilson to serve as Moderator-Elect in 2020-2021. … Continue reading
By Elket Rodríguez The pastors on the front lines of Fellowship Southwest’s Immigrant Relief Ministry do not labor alone. Their strongest allies—their spouses—support, encourage and fortify them as they fight hunger, deprivation, exploitation, injustice and vulnerability all along the U.S.-Mexico border. These women’s tenacity, commitment and passion is unparalleled. They willingly sacrifice most of their … Continue reading
By Blake Tommey In recent years, immigration has become a central and often divisive issue in American public life. Central American migrants, weary of violence and coercion in their home countries, have brought this pressing issue to our nation’s doorstep. To confront this challenge, people of faith across the United States, including Cooperative Baptists, have traveled hundreds … Continue reading
WORTH, Texas—Texas Baptist Women in Ministry will offer Ministry EDGE Bible Studies for women of all ages, including high school students, beginning May 15. Tia Kim, a veteran minister, will teach the online studies on the Zoom video conferencing platform. The new Ministry EDGE (Every Day Godliness and Excellence) project is an answer to prayer, … Continue reading
By Marv Knox Compassion and concern, faith and fear, respect and resolve crackled across the country as pastors who comprise Fellowship Southwest’s ministry to asylum seekers talked on the phone March 25. They spent almost two hours telling each other about their work with refugees on the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as their concerns for … Continue reading
By Marv Knox NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO—Lorenzo Ortiz, a Texas pastor who operates three immigrant shelters in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, stayed behind when the U.S. and Mexican governments closed the border to all “nonessential” travel at midnight Saturday, March 21. Mutual concern about the transmission of COVID-19 led U.S. and Mexican policymakers to shut down border … Continue reading
March 4, 2020 By Carrie Harris KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Two Cooperative Baptists were honored March 3 at ChurchWorks, CBF’s annual conference for CBF Clergy and CBF Networks, held at Central Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Churchworks is a three-day event for practitioners of education and spiritual formation in the congregational setting. Charles Qualls, Senior Pastor of Franklin … Continue reading
By Marv Knox An intriguing and disconcerting message popped up on my telephone screen late last week. “I just got out from the meeting in Juarez … talking about the MPP changes,” wrote Rosalio Sosa, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Tierra de Oro in El Paso and leader of Fellowship Southwest’s efforts to minister to asylum … Continue reading
By Marv Knox BROWNSVILLE, Texas—Construction of an immigrant respite center at Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville is moving forward, thanks to a Christmas miracle of generosity. IB West Brownsville ministers to refugees who pass through Matamoros, Mexico, as they seek asylum in the United States. The U.S. immigration policy requires asylum seekers to “wait in place” … Continue reading