North Carolina educator Brian Foreman has been named coordinator of congregational ministries for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
He was chosen for the newly created position by an eight-member search committee, then affirmed in the role by the CBF Governing Board.
Foreman currently serves as executive director of the Center for Church and Community at Campbell University. He has been a regular columnist for Baptist News Global. He also has been a leader in the CBF Fellows program, which assists young Baptists clergy in making a healthy transition from seminary to congregational ministry and has served as a consultant with the Center for Congregational Health.
Brian Foreman
He will begin his new role in July. The work involves helping congregations thrive by preparing and encouraging leaders and strengthening their capacity to respond to evolving needs. This work will be done in collaboration with CBF state and regional organizations and partner organizations.
Foreman earned a doctor of education degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a research focus in organizational motivation and community engagement. He also earned a master’s degree in religious education from Duke University Divinity School.
“My calling has always been to congregational ministry,” he said. “As a result, I’ve served congregations as youth minster, preschool director, custodian, interim pastor, consultant and coach. Most recently I’ve served churches by being a friend to pastors in rural and underserved areas. None of those church experiences have been perfect, but in each I have always seen the handiwork of God in the lives of individuals and congregations.
“CBF has been my denominational home since college, which happened to coincide with CBF’s earliest days,” Foreman added. “Its people, congregations and partners have played a role in my spiritual formation and worldview. The ministries highlighted at General Assembly, the laughter late into the evening at ChurchWorks, and the stories shared of imaginative ministry throughout the Fellowship has developed in me a deep love for CBF, its churches and its people. I see evidence of how God is still working through congregations. And so again, I come back to my calling for congregational ministry, and a new role in which to serve.”
Debbie McDaniel, CBF’s moderator-elect, praised Foreman as the right fit for this new role.
“Brian’s heart for the mission of the Fellowship was evident,” McDaniel said. “His adaptive and collaborative leadership style along with his natural ability to form relationships are skills and gifts needed for this role. As he spoke, Brian’s ability to relate to and address each person in the room reinforced in me that he could work not only with clergy but also with laity to invite them to come and see how CBF can be the uniquely perfect fit for their congregations.”
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