Editor’s note: Due to global security concerns, names and specific locations of some of CBF’s field personnel will not be publicized.
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.