By Jeff Brumley
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri is no more.
Its coordinating council voted last fall to change the name to CBF Heartland, and the change was officially announced today on its web site and Facebook page.
Leadership felt the change was needed to make the organization feel more welcoming to the small-but-growing number of partner churches in Kansas, Illinois and Iowa, said Jeff Langford, associate coordinator of CBF Heartland.
“This move toward CBF Heartland is a geographical move, and also a move of attitude,” Langford said. “We want to move into the future together.”
The group’s web site lists nearly 40 church partners, including one in Iowa, three in Illinois and one in Kansas. Langford said that number doesn’t reflect less formal relationships with yet more congregations.
The organization will begin spending more time in those other states where partnership churches exist, and eventually reach out to churches in South Dakota and Nebraska, he said.
CBF Heartland has no desire to poach congregations from other CBF state organizations – like Oklahoma, which typically partners with like-minded churches in Kansas.
Heartland’s existing Kansas church is located near or on the state line with Missouri, while the other non-Missouri congregations are in states with no CBF state organization.
And in any case, Langford added, the name change also signals a move away from traditional ways of thinking about doing denomination and church.
“We see this as leading the way in terms of relating to churches and serving churches and having relationships with individuals in much more meaningful ways,” he said.
CBF Heartland also is an effort to be more intentionally in-step with the national organization, Langford said.
Pat Anderson, interim executive coordinator for CBF national, welcomed the name change in a statement released today, saying it embodies the fellowship’s mission and purpose.
“Churches and individuals in several states will now find a missional Baptist home if they so desire in CBF,” Anderson said. “We welcome them, and reach out to them, as the CBF Heartland leads the way for us all.”
CBF Heartland also published comments from a pastor in Des Moines, saying the name change encourages churches outside Missouri to become more involved with the ministry of the organization.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how those of us who belong to churches in other parts of the Heartland can now be more actively involved in the work and mission of CBF,” the pastor said.