WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — In its 13th General Assembly, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina reelected Don Horton, a layman from Zebulon Baptist Church, as moderator. Gail Coulter, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Hendersonville, became moderator-elect.
“It was good that a small congregation be chosen for that very special offering to the body,” Coulter told Associated Baptist Press. “We were a part of the early meetings and talks, and I think this election is a wonderful commentary on the CBF of North Carolina.”
A brief business session during the March 17 – 18 event also included the adoption of the CBFNC 2006-2007 budget and the election of officers and coordinating and ministry council members.
In other business developments, Linda Jones, a former associate pastor of Winter Park Baptist Church in Wilmington, became the new missions coordinator for CBFNC. Paul Baxley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Henderson, also reported on efforts to share the CBFNC Mission Resource Plan with interested churches.
“The Mission Resource Plan covenant is marked by faithfulness and freedom,” Baxley said at the conference. “Though we are asking each congregation represented here to prayerfully consider the Mission Resource Plan, we are asking even more that your response be faithful to what you believe God wants for the life of your church.… We believe that many of our churches will choose to participate in this covenant.”
Developed in 2004, the plan provides suggestions and methods for CBF and North Carolina Baptist ministries to contribute to missions. Roughly 100 churches have received copies of the plan, according to CBFNC officials.
All in all, Coulter said, the assembly was a success. It included 72 ministry workshops on 49 topics, culminating with an address by Daniel Vestal, the national coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Worship services include a Taizé service and a service with the Winston-Salem Chinese Christian Church, which meets at Ardmore Baptist Church. Taizé music emphasizes simple phrases, like lines from Psalms, that are repeated and sometimes sung in canon.
“I thought it was really wonderful,” Coulter said. “It was a good attendance, it was a great spirit. It got an A-plus in my book.”
-30-