According to the Associated Press, more than 18,000 people are still buried beneath debris in Mianyang, a city near the quake’s epicenter. Bill and Michelle Cayard, CBF representatives in China, had just started a partnership with a church laity training center in Mianyang and also have connections with pastors in Dujiangyan, another city severely damaged. CBF has given $5,000 toward meeting immediate needs for water, food and tents in Jiangyou, where the city’s only church was destroyed.

"That was the only registered church building in a city of over 100,000," said Michelle Cayard.  "The pastor there urgently requested tents as people are sleeping outside without shelter and it has been raining now for almost 24 hours."

"Though this is a small effort, it encourages those facing such a difficult time and provides a witness to the community," Cayard said. "After immediate needs are met, we will work with local partners to identify longer term needs."

Churches or individuals wishing to respond can make financial contributions through CBF with 100 percent of donations going directly to response efforts.

In nearby Myanmar, the Fellowship sent $5,000 in an initial response to the May 3 cyclone that has killed thousands and left even more homeless. One of CBF’s field personnel serving in nearby Thailand is scheduled to travel to Myanmar this week to assess the situation and meet with local Baptist partners.

There are more than 1 million Baptists in Myanmar, primarily in the southern region that was hardest hit. Local Christians report thousands of houses and nearly 200 churches were damaged or destroyed. The Myanmar Baptist Convention has requested $2.25 million for distribution of supplies including rice, blankets, mosquito nets and medicine.

CBF will partner with Baptist World Aid, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, International Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA, Virginia Baptist Mission Board and others to assist. Because Myanmar has issued limited visas to relief workers, there are currently no opportunities to serve in Myanmar.

In southern Chile, where volcanic activity has forced thousands to evacuate, the Fellowship contributed $5,000 to be used by area Baptist churches helping evacuees with food, clothing and spiritual support.

Financial contributions can be made to the Fellowship to support disaster relief efforts in Myanmar, China and Chile. Give online at www.thefellowship.info/give or by mail at P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392. Make checks payable to CBF and "Cyclone Response #17023," "China #17024" or "Chile #17000" in the memo line. One hundred percent of donations go directly to rebuilding and restoration efforts.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will commission 18 new field personnel at its General Assembly June 18 in Memphis, Tenn. These field personnel are the first to apply through the Fellowship’s new online cohort process.

The 10-week cohorts allow candidates to learn about CBF Global Missions and hear first-person testimonials from current field personnel and staff through online discussion, video and audio streams. The cohorts are the first step in the candidate application process, which also includes personal interviews, an exploratory conference and orientation.

"I appreciate the intentionality of the online cohort process," said Lindsay, who will be commissioned in June. "As a candidate, I was given the opportunity to view relevant issues through a theological lens, to interact with other candidates on issues of faith and missiology, and was challenged to weigh the cost of culturally inappropriate methods of mission throughout history. In the end, I discovered that my time participating in the online cohort meant that I was partnering with an organization that did more than just send [field personnel]. They valued free discussion, diverse perspectives, and theological education alongside my call to serve."

Candidates have several opportunities during the year to participate in the cohorts. The cohorts are divided into 10 sessions, which lead candidates through a process of self discernment and reflection on how God is calling them. Topics include introduction to CBF missiology and mission strategy; reflection on childhood, adolescent and adult experiences; personal religious history and identification with CBF; and missional church discussion.

"The ability to combine technology with our written reflection process has been transformational," said Matt Norman, the Fellowship’s selection manager. "These cohorts allow candidates a condensed time of self-reflection and missional discernment that helps inform and empower the unique way they will continue to serve God in the world. Reading and interacting with each other weekly adds a dimension of community building and peer interaction that is essential during times of discernment. Now that we have made this transition, I cannot imagine a candidate process otherwise."

The commissioning service will be held Wednesday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Memphis, Tenn. New CBF field personnel and their places of service are as follows:

• Carita, Southeast Asia
• Lindsay, Southeast Asia
• Brittany Phillips, China
• Matthew and Melanie Storie, Alabama
• Elaine Childs, Croatia
• Leah Crowley, Florida
• Cynthia Levesque, China
• Eric and Julie Maas, Belize
• Gene Murdock, India
• Karen and Kenny Sherin, Missouri
• Dan and Jolene Tucker, Mexico
• Dee Donalson, Ethiopia
• Christopher and Jessica Rose, Peru

For more information on the General Assembly or to register, go to www.thefellowship.info/assembly.

To learn about service opportunities related to CBF field personnel, contact Chris Boltin at cboltin@thefellowship.info. To financially support the ministries of CBF field personnel, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions at www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Leadership from Together for Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative that works in 20 of the poorest U.S. counties, had identified the county as a place where transforming ministry could take place, but they couldn’t find anyone to make a long-term commitment.

Kathleen and Ray Kesner, then Together for Hope (TFH) facilitators in South Dakota, had been learning about the county and building relationships with local leaders. When they shared the ministry need with Ashworth Road Baptist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, members responded. As one of the closest CBF partner churches to Buffalo County, a few members made the seven-hour drive to Crow Creek Indian Reservation, where they met with leaders from the county’s largest reservation.

"They just captured our hearts," said the church’s pastor Tim Deatrick. "We realize the importance of making long-term commitments, and we’re hoping to be invested in the work of Crow Creek for years to come."

In less than a year of ministry, church members have made several trips to Crow Creek to build relationships and learn how they could help. Already they’ve provided funding to help financially-strapped Boys and Girls Clubs stay open and have also donated funds and labor to build a new playground.

"The playground was provided to a community that has been completely overlooked," said church member David Phillips, who along with his wife, Jami, serve as TFH ministry facilitators in South Dakota. "The donation of the playground and, even more, the labor to install it communicates to the people of Crow Creek that they are important to us."

Last September church members traveled again to Crow Creek to deliver new clothes and school supplies for 300 children on the reservation. Local leaders worked to give correct clothing sizes to the church, and the church raised the money and purchased each child a new coat and outfit for school.

"We didn’t go to [local leaders] and say, ‘This is something we want to do,’" Deatrick said. "We asked them, ‘How can we help you be successful? What can we do to help you?’ The coats and clothes were their idea."

Church member Scott Oswald was on that distribution trip and has been touched by the community’s desire to better the reservation.

"They have a sense of community and family and try to overcome such huge obstacles to have a better way of life," he said. "We’re excited about being a small part of [helping them]."

Thus far, more than half of the church’s members have been to Crow Creek. The ministry partnership is making missions accessible for every member who wants to experience missions first-hand, Deatrick said.

"The church is being changed and transformed because individuals are going out and being changed and transformed. That’s what we want," he said. "They can go and have the experience and not just do something but really make an impact."

This summer the church has another trip planned, hoping to take 50 church members – about half of the church – to work with children and teenagers and do construction projects. In August, with financial backing from the congregation, two church members will move to Crow Creek. As law school students who will graduate in May, the church members will be a resource for legal issues and economic development on the reservation.

"We’re excited about what’s going on in the church," Deatrick said. "We really think that what’s happening is a God thing. We’re just hanging on for the ride and looking forward to seeing some other great things happen."

"The most important thing churches like Ashworth Road provide is a sense of worth to the people who live on the reservation," said Jami Phillips. "It has been such a joy to see the Native Americans realize that when these church members look at them, they don’t see an Indian or a Marine or a single mother or an alcoholic. They see a child of God who is worthy of love and compassion because that is the way he sees his children."

To learn more about Together for Hope, visit www.ruralpoverty.net.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Cyclone Nargis hit the country May 3, leaving thousands dead and even more homeless. A government-run radio station in Myanmar said more than 22,000 people have died and more than 41,000 are still missing, according to Associated Press reports.

One of CBF’s field personnel serving in nearby Thailand is scheduled to travel to Myanmar next week to assess the situation and meet with local Baptist partners.

Other CBF partners are also responding, including Baptist World Aid – the disaster relief arm of the Baptist World Alliance – which has contributed $50,000 to relief efforts. The Fellowship anticipates contributing further once appropriate relief channels can be determined.

"Our prayers are with the people of Myanmar in this very difficult time," said Rob Nash, CBF’s Global Missions Coordinator. "We will remain in close touch with our field personnel and partners in the area to do our very best to meet human need."

Financial contributions can be made to the Fellowship to support disaster relief efforts in Myanmar and other countries. Give online at www.thefellowship.info/give or by mail at P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392, with checks payable to CBF and "Cyclone Response #17023" in the memo line. One hundred percent of donations go directly to rebuilding and restoration efforts.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

As part of the agreement, the Fellowship has committed to providing $10,000 a year in funding.

"This partnership with Micah Challenge USA makes clear that CBF, its field personnel, and its congregations are determined to do all that we can to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000," said Rob Nash, the Fellowship’s coordinator of Global Missions. "Our intention is to work with Micah Challenge as advocates for the MDGs on behalf of those around the world who live on $1 a day or less. We also will be working to ensure that political leaders around the world, and particularly in the United States, fulfill the commitments they made when the goals were first framed. I’m grateful for this opportunity to join with other U.S. evangelicals in such a worthy effort."

Micah Challenge USA works with more than 20 organizations to increase awareness of the Millennium Development Goals. The campaign aims to deepen Christian engagement with impoverished and marginalized communities and to influence world leaders to fulfill their promise to achieve the MDGs. Micah Challenge is in 40 countries around the world.

"The CBF’s commitment to partner with Micah Challenge USA reminds us that the impoverished are close to God’s heart," said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Micah Challenge’s interim national coordinator. "Micah Challenge was created to respond to a critical moment in history – when the intention of all of the world leaders to halve poverty by 2015 echoes something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor. This partnership is an example of the kind of collaboration that can lead to transformed hearts and minds."

Through the partnership, resources developed by the Micah Challenge, including prayer materials and presentations related to the MDGs, can be made available to Fellowship partner churches and organizations. The partnership will also allow for collaboration between Micah Challenge staff and Fellowship staff and field personnel.

To learn more about the MDGs, visit www.thefellowship.info/MDG. For more on CBF’s partnership with the Micah Challenge, contact Tom Prevost at tprevost@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

"Such partnerships would be of mutual benefit," said Bernie Moraga, coordinator of CBF’s Hispanic network. "Baptist churches in Latin America are looking for fraternal relationships with more moderate groups, and they see CBF as a place where they can belong. We struggle here to find pastors to work with Hispanics. These Latin American churches want to work with us to reach people from their own countries living here."

The first church outside the United States to partner with CBF is Igelsia Bautista de Metrópolis in Catalina, Puerto Rico. That church of 300 members voted last November to partner with CBF of Florida.

Florida’s associate coordinator Tommy Deal was a member of a delegation that attended the 2007 annual meeting of the Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico. Also at that meeting in Puerto Rico, the Florida delegation met six pastors from the Dominican Republic who expressed an interest in a similar partnership.

"We are open to all possibilities in nearby Spanish-speaking countries," Deal said. "We believe that not only are we geographically positioned for this endeavor; we sense God is moving and directing in all of these opportunities and connections. We want to be faithful to be the presence of Christ and to work with and encourage others as they are the presence in their own homeland."

To develop further the Latin American connection, CBF representatives have planned two trips in May, one to the Dominican Republic and one to Cuba.

A four-member Fellowship delegation, including Deal and Bo Prosser, the Fellowship’s coordinator for congregational life, will meet with representatives from the Oriental Baptist Convention, a group of 300 churches located primarily on the Eastern end of Cuba May 4-8 to explore partnership opportunities.

"These mission churches are mostly house churches but are reaching many of their fellow Cubans for Christ," Deal said. "CBF of Florida has been licensed under guidelines of the U.S. Treasury Department to send mission support funds to this group. We will be able to observe the work that these funds are supporting."

Another group of CBF representatives will go to the Dominican Republic May 17-26. As part of that trip, Prosser and Rick Bennett, the Fellowship’s director of congregational life, will lead a spiritual formations retreat for pastors.

"Part of our missional church work is to make sure that we are helping churches everywhere make an impact in the kingdom," said Prosser. "Cuba has been kept in bondage spiritually. Perhaps, CBF can make a difference in opening up their awareness of Christ. In the Dominican Republic, Rick and I hope that we can model some prayer practices for them that can nourish their souls and perhaps refresh their churches."

Deal will also participate and will be looking for churches willing to partner with Florida churches.

"We tell every church that we are not so much looking for how we can help them, but how they can help us reach their people who live among us in the Sunshine State," he said. "These partnerships show that CBF of Florida and CBF are serious about being demographically and culturally diverse and all-inclusive."

To learn more about partnership opportunities, contact Chris Boltin at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Photo information: Jesus Garcia, pastor of Igelsia Bautista de Metrópolis, leads a prayer at the CBF of Florida Spring Gathering. Amy Morris photo

Hell Kitchen, located on the west side of Manhattan, is one of the city’s most transitional neighborhoods. This is due in part to the location of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the world’s busiest terminal, at the south end of the neighborhood. Approximately 200,000 people move through the terminal each day, including commuters, tourists and people such as Matthew who are following their dreams – or aching to go home.

"Even with all the luxury high rises that are now being built, this neighborhood is still one of the first stops for people coming into the city and into America," said Ronnie Adams, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel. "There are still tenement buildings and lower priced places to live, but many times there are three or four families living in one apartment – that’s the only way people can live economically."

Metro Baptist Church sits in the shadow of the Lincoln Tunnel and just a few blocks from the Port Authority. Originally built by the Polish community in the early 1900s, the building was purchased by Metro Baptist in 1984. The Fellowship has partnered with Metro Baptist since 1995, when Adams began serving alongside the church.

The congregation has been intentional about carefully identifying the needs of the Hell’s Kitchen community and trying not to duplicate services that already exist in the area. For example, two nearby homeless shelters provide meals and shower facilities to people living on the streets, so the church determined there was a need for distributing toiletry kits and clothes. That was how Metro Baptist connected with Matthew – he stopped by one fall afternoon in need of warm clothes.

"The make up of the church is very diverse," said Adams, a native of Dallas, Texas. "On Sunday mornings you’ll have every one from the homeless to wall street lawyers and a lot of people who are trying to make it in the theatre world. What I love about the church is that although there are only about 50 people on Sunday morning, they have a vision and faith for ministry. It’s a pretty amazing story of being faithful to ministry in your area and how God will provide."

In addition to the homeless community, Metro Baptist also reaches out to families living in the surrounding Single Room Occupancy buildings, formerly known as welfare hotels. Many immigrants, who often work in the nearby factories of the clothing district or at one of Manhattan’s more than 12,000 restaurants, live in the neighborhood’s low-income housing. The church provides a weekly food pantry, along with health education, discounted counseling services, English classes and after school programs for youth and children.

These community ministries are facilitated by church members, staff and CBF field personnel, including Amanda Hambrick who ministers to youth at Metro Baptist. Two part-time staffers returned after previous missions experiences – Brice Friske made six trips to Hell’s Kitchen with Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., and Katie Furr spent a summer serving through CBF’s student missions program.

"It’s important for people to be provided a community where it doesn’t matter how much money you make or where you are from, but what matters is that we are all made in God’s image," said Hambrick, a native of Georgetown, Ky. "I think that is one of the most valuable things a church can be in a urban area – a space and a place for authentic relationships."

Each summer, Adams and Hambrick facilitate six weeks of summer camps, which are led by teams from Fellowship partner churches. Church teams also work alongside Metro Baptist throughout the year, providing not only supplies such as clothes and toiletry kits but much needed hands and feet.

"The whole idea here of reaching people for Christ is relational evangelism," Adams said. "It’s a long-term process of letting them see how God is reflected in your life, and through that having an opportunity to share with them about faith and our walk with Christ and why its important to us."

To learn about partnership opportunities with Metro Baptist and the Fellowship in Hell’s Kitchen, please call (800) 352-8741. To financially support the Fellowship’s ministry, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions at www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

ATLANTA – For centuries, the olive tree has been a central part of Middle Eastern cultures. In Christian and Jewish traditions, the olive branch has long been a symbol of peace, as in the biblical story of Noah and flood, the dove returns to the ark with a leaf from the olive tree, giving hope that the world will be well again.

Now, for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship the olive tree represents a new way of embracing the world. Elizabeth, one of CBF’s field personnel in the Middle East, watches as lives are transformed through the simple process of creating crafts from olive wood. In this microenterprise project, individuals with disabilities and others who have been marginalized by their communities are able to work and provide for their families.

"For many, this is their family’s only source of income," said Elizabeth. "The project not only provides employment, but it raises their self-esteem."

In communities where jobs are scarce and many live in poverty, people with disabilities have a difficult time finding employment. The microenterprise model enables those with little money and a good idea.

Many widows provide for themselves and their families through the crafts they make. These women are able to work from home, sewing table runners or tote bags. They then bring the products back into the shop where they are sold, primarily overseas clients. From individual online orders to church sales, the table runners, Christmas ornaments and nativity sets that are created in this project represent a new way of life for the workers who create them.

For Elizabeth, the most important part of this whole project is the relationships. She loves to sit at a table with girls who are creating crafts or to visit the workers in their homes in the evenings. In fact, hospitality is one of the greatest lessons Elizabeth has learned from living in the Middle East.

"The people we work with, they have so little, but when they invite you into their homes, they share everything they have," she said.

When she first began serving in the Middle East 11 years ago, Elizabeth said it took time for her to adjust to the new language and culture and she was often discouraged. With a medical background, Elizabeth’s ministry originally focused on medical missions. She continues to use her medical skills as she visits workers and their families, providing health education and screenings.

To learn more about partnership opportunities, please contact Chris Boltin at (800) 352-8741 or cboltin@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

That’s one reason he traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas – a small city along the border with Mexico – in March for a literacy event in one of the poorest areas in the United States.

"Because of my background, I was eager to go to Eagle Pass and share books and Jesus’ love with needy children and their families," Gilliland said.

Gilliland was one of 10 members of CBF partner Western Hills Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, who traveled to Eagle Pass to serve with Literacy ConneXus, a nonprofit which helps churches throughout Texas come alongside people in reducing poverty. Literacy ConneXus is a partner with Together for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative in 20 of the poorest counties in the United States.

As part of the trip, church members helped at a Family Reading Fair, where several organizations partnered to give 16 local families a bookcase, seven children’s books and two Bibles. The bookcases, constructed by church members, were decorated by children during the fair.

"This new library in our home will encourage us all to read more," said Lucia Martinez, a mother of four children.

"These books will be a foundation for time spent together as a family for reading. Reading together will give us more unity as a family," said Bianca Ramirez.

Called Books for the Border, the small libraries are a family literacy project aimed at increasing literacy of both children and parents, who often struggle to learn English and many times cannot read or write in Spanish or English.

As a Together for Hope (TFH) partner, Literacy ConneXus plans to take Books for the Border to the seven border counties where TFH ministers. Because literacy and poverty rates often correlate, Books for the Border will be an important step toward affecting change and breaking the cycle of economic disparity in these counties along the Texas-Mexico border.

"Long-term effectiveness in reducing poverty must address root causes such as illiteracy," said Tom Prevost, a CBF poverty initiative specialist who works with Together for Hope. "Books for the Border is a vital piece of our coming alongside folks as we try to obey our Lord in serving the least of these."

"The problem is that poverty and other factors limit the access of too many children to the fundamental experience of early literacy," said Lester Meriwether, founder of LiteracyConnexus. "Research indicates that children who are read to at an early age (0-3) develop greater capacity for learning than those who are not. The presence of books in a child’s home makes a significant difference in the development of the child’s capacity to learn."

There are opportunities for churches to become involved with Books for the Border, whether hosting an event, constructing bookcases or donating supplies.

"Our intent is to heighten awareness for those held in poverty throughout our state and that participating churches will return to their own communities with a fresh heart for the poor and illiterate in their own communities and elsewhere," Meriwether said.

For more information, visit www.literacyconnexus.org or www.ruralpoverty.net.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

It’s one of just three Protestant churches in Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province in China and home to approximately 6 million people. The congregation, which started in September, has grown from 30 to 50 members.

"It took the group a while to think about the name for the church," said Michelle Cayard, who along with her husband, Bill, serves as a CBF representative in China. "American holidays have become popular in China, including Thanksgiving, so this same word is the name of the church. Our Chinese Christian friends felt like it was an important concept to convey to non-believers that part of our faith is being thankful for what God provides."

The Cayards, who are from Houston, Texas, worked with local Christians to facilitate the start of the church, which reaches out to the large community of young professionals in Chengdu. The Cayards have helped church members develop a Sunday School program, something that is not common in most Chinese churches. Each Sunday, Thanksgiving Church holds worship and two small group Bible studies – one in English and one in Chinese. The majority of people who attend are under 30 years of age and include seminary students, college professors, recent college graduates and business men and women.

"It has been tremendously rewarding," said Michelle. "We know several folks that are new Christians and that have never attended church regularly before. We can see in them growth and discipleship of attending a church regularly, joining the choir and singing each Sunday and really learning what it means to be part of a body."

Thanksgiving Church is just one of the many the Cayards work with in the Sichuan province. They facilitate leadership training and partnerships between churches in both China and the United States. They also help connect Chinese churches with resources – from a piano to funds for a pastor’s salary to curriculum.

"The number one need in the Chinese Christian church today is leadership training," said Bill. "The church is growing faster than the leadership can keep up with. The Bible colleges are not graduating pastors fast enough, so training for lay leaders and ministers is a great need."

The Cayards encourage churches in the United States to partner with Chinese churches through ministry training. Training is needed in many different areas – church administration, Vacation Bible School, women’s ministry, music ministry, lay leadership and outreach.

For example, Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta is partnering with the Chengdu Thanksgiving Church. Last fall, as the new church prepared for its inaugural worship, the Atlanta congregation prayed weekly for the its beginning. This spring a group from Second Ponce will visit Chengdu to worship at the church and provide music and Sunday School training.

"One of the most important parts of our ministry is connecting congregations in the United States with churches in China," Michelle said. "This can be such a great relationship on both sides. The Chinese Christians receive tremendous encouragement from knowing that brothers and sisters from other countries care about their work and care about their ministries."

To learn about partnership opportunities with the Cayards and churches in China, contact Chris Boltin at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741. To financially support the Cayards’ ministry, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions at www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

"The General Assembly is a premier gathering of Baptists with an exciting mixture of worship, learning and fellowship," said CBF executive coordinator Daniel Vestal.

This year’s worship sessions will include a Thursday evening sermon by Lauran Bethell, a Baptist minister and human rights advocate who spent 13 years ministering among human trafficking victims in Thailand. Bethell is an American Baptist Churches USA global ministry consultant based in Prague, Czech Republic, where she helps mentor and facilitate ministry among exploited and abused women and children around the world.

Also Thursday, Vestal will speak during the afternoon business session as the Assembly prepares for a time of prayer and discernment about CBF’s future ministry priorities.

"After 17 years of growing ministry, we will have important conversations about the shape of our future," Vestal said. "Where would God have us focus our energies, time and resources?"

During the annual global missions field personnel commissioning service, 17 people will be appointed for service in the United States and around the world. The service, set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, will be held at nearby First Baptist Church in Memphis.

Throughout the week of the Assembly, Fellowship Baptists will engage in local ministry projects at local health and community resource centers, a food bank, an animal shelter, centers for at-risk children and others. College students, who have their own event called "The Memphis Sessions," will also do service projects in Memphis and in nearby Helena-West Helena, Ark., where the Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative ministers year-round.

Through keynote speakers, practical ministry workshops and other events, the Fellowship will explore ways to expand its ministry among the world’s most marginalized and neglected people. This includes work toward the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, which the Fellowship’s coordinating council voted to endorse in October.

"The General Assembly is a time when, as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, we renew our commitment to a shared mission," Vestal said.

Further information about these Assembly events and more are available at www.thefellowship.info/assembly. Pre-register online or by calling (800) 352-8741. Hotel discounts are available following pre-registration.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Keith Holmes and Mary van Rheenen, a husband and wife team living in the Netherlands, create Christian films, children’s cartoons, and audio recordings of the Bible in major Romany languages. Through their work as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel, Romany adults and children are learning, many for the first time, about Bible characters such as David, Paul, Luke and Peter.

"Faith takes the long view," said van Rheenen, a native of Fulton, Ill. "We sometimes don’t know the impact our work is having. [But] we establish relationships, see what projects are appropriate, and work with our partners – Wycliffe Bible Translators, our partnering Romany churches and our CBF team members – to make them aware of possibilities."

The Romany people, often referred to as gypsies, have more than 20 different languages and dialects. As a minority, they face discrimination not only socially but by government systems as well. The discrimination extends even into churches. Hoping to stimulate evangelism and discipleship among the Romany people, Holmes and van Rheenen feel called to minister as Paul did.

"Paul asked, ‘How can people believe without hearing?’," said van Rheenen, referring to Romans 10:14. "How can they grow in their faith? Romany Christians grow in their faith by praying, but many have no idea who Cornelius in Acts was. I think they, like us, have a lot to learn from scripture. This is one way they can hear."

One of their recent projects was helping to create versions of the film "Jesus" into two Romany languages – Sinti Romani, spoken in Germany, France, the Netherlands and parts of Italy; and Western Kalderash, spoken in Russia, Western Europe and North America. Holmes also facilitated the creation of a master DVD, which includes the film in five Romany languages, plus Russian, Romanian and French. More than 3,000 copies of the multi-lingual DVD have been distributed in the past year.

"Hundreds were sent to London, Paris, Romania," said Holmes, a native of Baton Rouge, La. "A hundred were sent to Yugoslavia. I took 150 to a church in Germany in February. They had heard of it but not seen it. They were very eager to have it."

Another project involves recording voices for a Sinti Romani version of the 1973 film "Acts," starring Dean Jones as the great physician Luke. The film, narrated by the character of Luke, follows the New International Version of Acts verse by verse. Holmes will soon start work on a children’s video, "David and Saul," creating a version in Kalderash with a church in London.

The recording phase of projects can be tedious, and often only 10 minutes of audio are completed in one day. Text is first spoken by a translator, and then a native speaker repeats it for the recording.

"I play a bit of an acting coach," said Holmes, who is trained as a linguistic anthropologist and certified as a vernacular media specialist. "As I watch the film, I may ask if we can say something a different way to make the intonation match the scene – loud, quiet, angry, excited. And sometimes we have to change the structure or the length of the sentence to match the lip movements."

There are also translation challenges. While recording "Acts," they realized that the Sinti phrase for "he drew some people after him" means "a lot of people were on his back." In instances such as these, the native speaker is able to help the translator rewrite the phrase with more appropriate words.

Holmes and van Rheenen encourage Fellowship Baptists to pray for their ministry and to give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions, which funds their work. While the finished media projects are sold, the sales do not cover the production costs.

To learn about partnership opportunities with Holmes and van Rheenen, contact Chris Boltin at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741. To financially support their work, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions at www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Smith participates in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s residency program, part of the Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence and funded in part by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. The program places recent seminary graduates in a two-year position with a Fellowship partner church, which serves as a teaching congregation.

"Serving as a resident, allows me a safe place to practice ministry, a soft cushion to fall on," said Smith, who will graduate from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, a Fellowship partner, in May. "Just as a doctor completes a residency in order to help heal the human body, it seems so sensible that a minister complete a residency in order to help heal the human soul."

As a resident at Franklin Baptist, Smith is involved in leading a variety of ministries – activities for children and youth, a church-wide Bible study, hospital and home visitation, weddings, funerals and baptisms.

"Being able to walk in the footsteps of more experienced ministers, like those of Franklin Baptist Church, is such a gift because full-time ministry can be a scary and overwhelming task," Smith said. "Being a resident and having teachers to guide me through my first season of ministry has already educated me in ways that I could never fully realize in a seminary class."

Central Baptist of Bearden has also served as a teaching congregation, and Smith is the second resident at Franklin Baptist. Started in 2004, 10 churches have served as teaching congregations, providing a nurturing and learning environment for ministers beginning their careers.

"I have been overwhelmed at the way the church has embraced this ministry," said Franklin Baptist pastor Richard Childress. "FBC truly sees themselves as a teaching congregation. In my opinion, the main focus of the program is to support and develop the next generation of pastoral leaders."

For more information on CBF’s residency program, contact Steve Graham at sgraham@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

"I have been fortunate to sit and really talk with [them] and understand more deeply how difficult it is to leave your life and come here to start with nothing," said Stevenson, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel who lives and serves in Fremont.

As part of her ministry to welcome internationals to the United States, Stevenson works mostly among Afghan women and children, helping with immigration paperwork, the U.S. citizenship process, and English as a Second Language classes. She also works with children on homework and other school projects.

Many of these women have experienced traumatic life events. They’ve seen their homeland slowly destroyed by the Taliban. Some have watched family members and friends killed or kidnapped. Others may have been sexually assaulted or discriminated against because they are female. They’ve seen war, crowded and chaotic refugee camps, and finally the United States – a safer, yet unfamiliar environment.

In places like Fremont, everything is different – the language, buying food, schools and driving. Many times refugees feel isolated because they can’t speak English and have trouble finding community in an area where everyone is a stranger. People who were doctors, lawyers or successful business owners in Afghanistan might become taxi drivers or have no job at all in the United States. Often, they arrive with nothing more than the clothes on their back and maybe a small bag.

"When a refugee family first arrives and they’re just fresh off the airplane, I go and I deliver a meal," Stevenson said. "Inside there are bowls and plates that I can leave there so that they can at least feel welcome into America."

What starts as helping with physical needs often turns into a friendship with Afghan women, who likely wouldn’t find another American friend otherwise. Despite language differences, a relationship forms, fellowship happens and God works. It’s a ministry that not only touches refugees but also people like Stevenson, who said she can’t imagine not being involved.

"When I’m around my Afghan friends and we’re dancing and drinking tea and sharing, I feel so alive," she said. "I would never change that."

Fremont, a suburb of San Francisco, is home to the largest Afghan-American population in the United States. Stevenson has lived there many years but didn’t connect with refugee ministry until a few years ago when CBF field personnel Lita and Rick Sample started attending the same church and asking for people to welcome Afghan refugees.

"God leading me into this ministry was a slow process," said Stevenson, who was commissioned as one of the Fellowship’s field personnel in 2007. "When I realized how much God loves these beautiful Muslim people, it became such a joy to step out and serve in that area."

Wishing the same fulfillment and purpose for other Christians, Stevenson often connects her friends with Afghans. She introduced one friend from church, Mini, to an Afghan woman. Both women have a similar experience – they had both been raised by fathers who had multiple wives.

"The two of them started to share stories and became good friends," Stevenson said. "And through their friendship, Mini was able to share Christ."

Sharing the gospel is such a vital part of Stevenson’s ministry. It’s a message of equality and freedom many Afghan women have never heard. And it’s a message many of them would not hear without field personnel living and serving in Fremont.

"The ministry here is like a small pebble in a pond, but those little ripples end up a huge wave," she said. "Families here talk to families back in Afghanistan. They are hearing all of the amazing things the Christians are doing here. We’re not just saving souls here; it’s global."

And that’s one reason Stevenson is so passionate about Christians across the United States reaching out to refugees and other internationals in their own community.

"My prayer is for others to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, to get out of their box and to join us," she said. "I have a deep concern that more churches realize the mission field is in America, right now, today. Don’t you want to be a part of something so passionate and powerful that God has brought to your doorstep? It’s just exciting. It’s being alive. It’s wonderful."

To learn about partnership opportunities with Stevenson’s ministry, contact Chris Boltin at (800) 352-8741 or cboltin@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

"It is humbling and encouraging that a donor would entrust the Fellowship with this kind of gift," said Vestal. "We are excited to be able to put these new resources to work in fulfilling our vision of being the presence of Christ among the most neglected. Lives will be forever changed because of this gift."

Half of the $1 million gift will be used for a new, micro enterprise initiative coordinated through the CBF Foundation. CBF Foundation is currently conducting due diligence to create a pooled fund that will give CBF and CBF-related churches and ministry organizations a way to invest funds in micro finance banks around the world. Micro finance banks will then loan the money to individual borrowers (usually groups of women) who are starting or expanding businesses to provide income for their families.

For example, an initial loan of $50 - $100 made to a woman in Latin America, Africa, or Asia can allow her to invest in a small business and generate enough income within six months to a year to provide for her family’s basic needs, employ her neighbor, repay the loan and qualify for another one, and experience the dignity of self-sufficiency.

During the last 30 years, micro finance has grown into a stable and sophisticated strategy for permanently lifting families out of poverty and has had more lasting impact to reduce global poverty than nearly any other single strategy.  Last year CBF committed to do its part to make the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for reducing global poverty a reality: at least six of the eight goals depend directly on helping families become economically self-sufficient so that they can address issues like education and health.

"The donor’s visionary investment will help the industrious poor lift themselves out of poverty by providing access to capital to start their own businesses and earn income to support their families and repay the loans," said Don Durham, CBF Foundation president. "Loans to poor people are repaid with amazing reliability, and lending money to poor people has been one of the most reliable strategies globally for helping the poor lift themselves out of poverty. Thanks to this gift, CBF Foundation can provide a way for CBF and other CBF Foundation clients to invest so that their principal does as much good as the proceeds. This provides an exponential increase in the positive impact we are all able to make among the most neglected."

The remaining $500,000 was designated by the donor for a number of ministries, including equipping CBF field personnel with computers, Student.Go summer missions opportunities for undergraduate students, care and wellness program for field personnel among other projects.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

The Fellowship has been working in Pearlington since Katrina heavily damaged the area in August 2005. In partnership with Pearlington Recovery Center, the Fellowship has helped rebuild homes and lives. One of the smallest yet worst hit communities, Pearlington still needs at least 70 houses rebuilt, said Charles Ray, the Fellowship’s disaster response coordinator.

"There are 70 families that want to come back that still own land but can’t find the money to build a house," he said. "Our mission is to help those with the most need and the least resources, and that’s what we’ll do here."

With the National Ministries’ grant, the Fellowship will construct the exterior of up to 10 houses. After the foundation, exterior walls and roof are completed, the new home owner will work with Pearlington Recovery Center to obtain grant money that will finish the house’s interior.

"I’m very pleased that we are able to continue our partnership in response to Pearlington’s need," said Kenneth George, national coordinator for direct human services of National Ministries. "It’s a community that has not received a lot of press attention but has as much of a need as other parts of the Gulf."

"CBF disaster response is grateful for this gift to our continuing efforts to meet human need in Pearlington," said CBF Global Missions coordinator Rob Nash. "This gift represents another step in the ongoing cooperation between American Baptists and Fellowship Baptists that enables us to do far more together than we could ever do separately. People are still reeling from the tragedy of Katrina—and CBF and ABC are still present together with them even almost two and half years after the hurricane."

Many individuals and families still live in temporary travel trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While small, the greater health concern is formaldehyde levels, which have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be higher than typical indoor living conditions.

"We urgently need help in relieving such human suffering by getting people into safer and more permanent housing," said Reid Doster, who works as CBF disaster response coordinator in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Nearly 2,000 Fellowship Baptists have served in Pearlington since 2005, and volunteer labor will be crucial to maximizing the grant’s impact. The time it takes to finish construction depends on weather and the number of Fellowship volunteers available.

"We need people to serve now as much as ever before," Ray said.

Those wishing to help in Pearlington should contact Chris Bolton at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Today, the neighborhood remains racial diverse – African and Caribbean Americans call Crown Heights home, the Hasidic Jewish community is one of the largest in the United States and Hispanic Americans, along with young white couples, are among the fastest growing populations. For a neighborhood known for and scarred by racial tension, peace is still an important message 16 years later.

Greater Restoration Baptist Church began as a Bible study five years after the riots. Currently, more than 30 members, representing countries such as Trinidad, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Panama, attend services each Sunday at the storefront church located along one of Crown Heights’ main arteries.

"We are a small church but a very diverse church, with people from different racial and socio-economic backgrounds," said Ken Bogan, pastor of Greater Restoration. "We are trying to figure out how to be a multi-racial church, and we are really committed to racial reconciliation. It’s important to for us to be a positive witness and provide hope to the Crown Heights community."

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship began partnering with Greater Restoration in 1998 when Ronnie Adams, one of the Fellowship’s field personnel based in New York, met Bogan. That summer, facilitated by Adams, Fellowship partner churches sent teams to Brooklyn to lead summer camps. Now, an average of 12 churches a year travel to Crown Heights to work alongside Greater Restoration in its community ministries.

"This is a small, community-based church that really wants to be the presence of Christ in its community," said Adams, a native of Dallas, Texas. "And they are doing a great job for a church that has limited funds and attendance is less than 100. They show the hospitality of Christ in a wonderful way."

Adams and Taisha Rose, who serves in Brooklyn as one of the Fellowship’s field personnel, are involved in the church’s two primary areas of ministry – peaceful mediation and education.

While racial tensions have eased since 1991, the community is still affected by violence. Recently, Mark, one of the youth leaders at the church’s summer camps and a local high school football player, was shot nine times in the lobby of his apartment building after standing up for his younger sister. The church frequently partners with the Crown Heights Mediation Center, which was founded as a direct result of the 1991 riots. The center provides resources on solving issues without violence and often connects people looking for a church with Greater Restoration.

"The church talks a lot about reconciliation and being peace makers," said Rose, of Stone Mountain, Ga. "They stress that peace starts with us. It’s an important concept to teach – appreciating people for who they are even though they may be different than you, especially when you have such a diverse community."

With neighborhood schools consistently scoring among the lowest in the state, the church places importance on education. In addition to weekly GED classes, Greater Restoration also provides an after school program, which includes an hour of tutoring and opportunities for children to learn to sing, play the guitar, piano and drums.

"One day a few of the students told me that their standardized test was interrupted at school because a police officer came in to search everyone for weapons," said Adams, a native of Dallas. "The students were upset because the timer for the test wasn’t stopped during the search. That was shocking to me. We want to let the children of this area know that they do have a future – they are people of worth now."

To learn about partnership opportunities with Greater Restoration and Fellowship field personnel serving in Brooklyn, contact Chris Boltin at (800) 352-8741 or cboltin@thefellowship.info. To financial support the Fellowship’s ministries in Brooklyn, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions by going to www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.

Nancy Bass, the church’s financial coordinator, said the church ultimately decided to keep its members to new plans with the Church Benefits Board of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship because of the customer service they received.

"We all have very busy jobs and we can’t always do things the very minute something arises," Bass said. "But when we have questions or concerns, Gary Skeen and Victoria Whatley at the Church Benefits Board are always helpful and friendly, and they keep their word. They always get back to us when they say they will."

At the beginning of the year, CBB became autonomous, working directly with partners such as StanCorp Financial Inc. and World Insurance Association Inc. to provide retirement benefits, life insurance, disability and medical insurance for church employees. The changes were initiated to provide more flexibility to members, such as not requiring church employees to participate in the retirement plan in order to receive medical insurance.

Bass says Lumberton currently has nearly 30 employees enrolled with CBB, including ministerial staff, maintenance workers and daycare employees. Bass said the change wasn’t done without careful deliberation by the church.

"We had a meeting that included the church treasurer, the deacon chair and several other members," she said. "Our treasurer is a certified public accountant, and he had some technical questions about the switch and the new plans. Gary took the time to talk to him and answer all of his questions."

In addition to the customer service and relationships developed with CBB staff, Bass said there was another overriding factor in the church’s decision.

"In the meeting, we all agreed that we are a CBF church and we want to invest our benefit money with the organization that shares the same values and beliefs that we do," she said.

For additional information or a free consultation, contact CBB at contact@churchbenefits.org or call (800) 352-8741. Additional information, as well as enrollment forms, are available at www.churchbenefits.org.