ATLANTA (ABP) — Karen Gilbert of Dallas has been hired as the associate coordinator for volunteers and partnerships in the global missions office of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
The position is based in Dallas, where Gilbert had been minister of missions at Wilshire Baptist Church since 1996. She begins May 1, filling a position vacated Dec. 31 when Tom Ogburn left for a pastorate in Oklahoma City.
Gilbert, who has a long history of involvement in CBF missions, said the position is a “great combination” of her skills and experience. “It is taking the things I love doing the most – working with partners and people and helping get people plugged in,” she said.
Her previous experience includes community minister at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and case manager for Family Services Inc. She has a bachelor's degree in social work from Longwood College in Farmville, Va., and a master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
“Karen brings a wonderful mix of local church experiences and hands-on missions work to this position,” said Grace Powell Freeman, the Fellowship's associate coordinator for global missions operations. “She will be a great member of the missions staff, as well as an asset to all of our field personnel and global missions partners.”
Gilbert has been on the Fellowship's national Coordinating Council since 2003. She also is a member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas executive board and the council of CBF in Texas.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is an organization of moderate Baptist churches and individuals. Its global missions office currently supports about 150 missionaries, most of them among unevangelized people groups and the world's poor.