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From Anna Anderson, in Conetoe, NC
The Andersons have been busy in 2023! We began to catch a vision in Ahoskie, North Carolina, where we work with an encourager church, First Baptist Ahoskie, to reimagine the space that had once been the First Presbyterian Church. The church could no longer sustain...
Making Music for the Glory of God by Steven Norris
THE TRIP WAS A YEAR in the making. As our family wrapped up our time in Uganda in the summer of 2022, Francis Angalla and I started scheming. Music is an integral part of the healing work that Francis and Missy Ward-Angalla (CBF Field Personnel), are doing with refugees in Kampala, Uganda. Therefore, for the past year, we have been laying the foundation to co-lead a music camp, bringing together musicians from the Unites States and across East Africa for a transformative week.
Our Name Tells the Story by Jody Long
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s annual General Assembly has come and gone. Georgia was honored to host again, welcoming multitudes of friends and Baptist family from across our Fellowship to our great state.
2022 State Gathering Report
Over 130 CBFGA folks gathered at First Baptist Church, Augusta, November 6-7 to fellowship, worship, and seek a way forward as we considered the theme “God’s Story, Your Story, My Story.” Through compelling sermons by Dr. Chuck Poole, and in engaging conversations facilitated by Dr. Dave Odom, we looked hard at some of the difficulties our churches and ministers have faced through the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on what it means to be a neighbor in these times.
BWIM of Georgia Announces Scholarship Recipient
BWIM of Georgia Announces Scholarship Recipient Baptist Women in Ministry of Georgia’s Sarah Owen Ethridge Scholarship recipient for this year is Maggie Parker Andrews. Maggie began to feel her call to ministry when she joined a youth choir called Jubilate. A combined...
CBFGA: 30 Years Strong and Moving Forward-Norma Rushing, CBFGA Past Moderator
During the 1980s, the fundamentalists took over the Southern Baptist Convention. At the Dallas convention in 1985, moderates knew they no longer had a home in the Southern Baptist Convention. I was not present, but my 16-year-old son, a leader of the youth in our church, attended with his youth minister, our pastor, and others from Scott Boulevard Baptist Church. He came home talking about how the moderates were mistreated and about the hatred and ugliness of the convention. I am sad to say that this experience caused him to never want to attend a Baptist church in his adult life.
The Power of Listening and Sharing Stories-Megan Turner Doud, CBFGA Coordinator for Young Baptist Ministries
When Jody and I began having conversations about a year-long theme for CBFGA for 2023, “Story” was the first idea that came to my mind. From my time working in the local congregations, serving on the Ministries Council and Discovery Team for CBF, and being a part of...
“God’s Story, Our Story, Your Story”- Jody Long, Executive Coordinator, CBFGA
Ms. Crumbliss, my beloved high school history teacher, first introduced me to Studs Terkel, one of America’s best-known oral historians. Terkel’s long and twisting career in radio and writing found focus in the mid-1960s as he published his first book of oral...
Living the Story by Jody Long
Songs like “Blessed Assurance,” “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” “Victory in Jesus,” and “Higher Ground” were staples in my home church. These songs and so many like them draw us together to sing in harmony the story of faith. “I love to tell the story, ‘twill be my theme in glory to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love,” wrote Katherine Hankey, putting words and music to her longing to proclaim the goodness of Jesus and his love to the world.
Beautiful Things Out of the Dust by Steven Norris
AS WE EMBARK on a new year together as CBF Georgia, it is customary to introduce myself as the new moderator for 2023. Though born in Mississippi, I call Memphis, Tennessee, my “hometown.” I joined the staff of First Baptist Church, Griffin, in 2018 after spending sixteen years in North Carolina, where I attended graduate school and served churches as music minister and pastor. It is an honor to be here and to serve CBF Georgia in this capacity.
CBF General Assembly Suggests a Bright Future-Norma Hodges-CBFGA Moderator
Dallas was hot! But the meeting rooms were cold! We had an uplifting time at the 2022 General Assembly in Texas! Georgia was well represented. For our state meeting, on the opening evening, we joined with CBF of Alabama to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Seeing the room filled with many young faces was great. It reinforced for me that CBF is healthy and has a future. Daniel Vestal shared during his podcast that he was pleased to announce that at the 2022 Assembly he recognized only about a third of the attendees from the past, because this year’s gathering was attracting a new and diverse generation.
Does Theological Education Have a Future?-Greg DeLoach-Dean of McAfee School of Theology
When I was a kid growing up in rural Middle Georgia, I had no idea what a seminary was, let alone the purpose of one. When I told my pastor that I felt called to serve the church as a minister, he explained that I would need to go to seminary. All I knew was that it meant an additional three years of school after college, and that sounded dreary! Nevertheless, there was no question that if I wanted to serve the church as a minister, I had to go to seminary. And I am glad I did, because it is still changing my life.
Summer is for Serving-Megan Doud, Coordinator for Young Baptist Ministries
When I was a youth minister, one aspect of summer was serving. It was important for me to take advantage of the summertime when youth schedules were more flexible. We served locally and nationally. This is exactly what this summer was for our children, youth, and college students throughout Georgia.
Signs-Jody Long-Executive Coordinator, CBFGA
The question I am asked the most is, “How is your work with CBFGA?” Lately, the second most-asked question I get is, “Where is my church going to find its next pastor?” Most of the time, my response is a garbled attempt at explaining the shifting sands of church...
Greetings and Happy 2022! … I’m Norma
As the new moderator of CBFGA, my hope is that we can return to normalcy in our churches during 2022. Zoom and livestream are wonderful tools, but oh, isn’t it grand when we can meet face to face and give our warm hugs of Christian fellowship! We can see smiles in the...
Happy Birthday CBFGA!
About thirty years ago, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia began forming. I write “began,” because several seminal dates are mile markers on our journey. First, on November 11, 1991, after the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention, interested...
CBF/GA Coordinating Council Nominations
CBFGA Coordinating Council Nominations Accepted through September 30, 2021. September 1 marks the opening of nominations for persons to serve on the CBFGA Coordinating Council. Our Coordinating Council conducts the business of CBFGA between sessions of our...
Student Ministry Events on the Horizon
College Mission Experience, March 5-12, 2022 • In March, our college students will have the opportunity to learn about missions by being a part of the Urban Immersion program in New York City. The Urban Immersion program is designed to offer groups a chance to learn,...
We’ve Come a Long Way, but… by Jody Long
John Smyth. Thomas Helwys. Roger Williams. William Carey. Luther Rice. Billy Graham. Martin Luther King, Jr. All these names are deeply embedded in our Baptist consciousness. But what about Catherine Scott? Sarah Wright? Mary Webb? M.A. Brannen? The small Baptist...
Together for Hope in Georgia
As of this spring plans are coming together in Sumter County, where Wendy Peacock, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church and past moderator of CBF/GA, is helping to connect Together for Hope (TFH) with local agencies and initiatives. TFH was begun in 2001, with the...