ATLANTA (ABP) — Sixteen women leaders from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship just returned from a two-week trip to China, where they visited women leaders of the church in China and CBF representatives in Lanzhou, Chengdu, Nanning and Macau.
The trip let the American women, all of whom are leaders within the Fellowship movement, to observe firsthand how the CBF global missions group works alongside churches in China. The women now plan to speak in churches on behalf of the 2006-2007 CBF Offering for Global Missions, which supports the work of field personnel in China and around the world.
Connie McNeill, CBF's coordinator of administration, said the trip was the first designed to fit the needs of women who lead missions. She said she can't wait to begin planning the next trip.
“For each trip, we look for locations and experiences where participants can invest two weeks exploring missions, and then become more involved in the Fellowship when they return,” she said.
At the beginning of their trip, the 16 America women met with 15 Chinese women leaders and elders from churches throughout the region at a women's symposium in Shanghai. Topics ranged from theological education and lay leadership to church organization.
Dialogue focused primarily on “the joys and struggles of women in church leadership,” especially how they related to family issues — something to which most women worldwide can relate.
Beverly Greer, missions coordinator for CBF of South Carolina, said she also learned a lot about Chinese law and government. Before the trip, she confessed she knew little about the relationships CBF has with the China Christian Council and the State Administration for Religious Affairs. Now, she said, she has a better understanding of those relationships.
“It was exciting and a joy to see firsthand some of the benefits that come from respecting the Chinese laws and culture as we minister in that country,” she said. “That is a story I will love telling.”
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