There will be a historic gathering and celebration of Baptist unity and shared values during this year's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, to be held June 28-29, 2007, in Washington, D.C., when the CBF and the American Baptist Churches, USA, convene in worship on Friday, June 29.
“We are connected to American Baptists as people who share some common heritage and hold dear, core Baptist tenets as expressions of our faith,” said Connie McNeill, the CBF's coordinator of administration.
The ABC,USA and the CBF share several things, including many churches affiliated with both groups. The CBF also partners with the ABC,USA's Ministers and Missionaries Benefits Board to make job and retirement benefits available to staff at CBF partner churches. Both the CBF and the ABC,USA share several partners, including the Baptist World Alliance. The groups also share a commitment to historic Baptist principles and to missions. Their shared efforts—in hurricane relief, sending missionaries and starting churches—will be highlighted during the joint worship service.
“We look forward on this special night together to celebrating those areas of mutual cooperation and mission,” said Roy Medley, ABC,USA's general secretary.
During its biennial meeting, American Baptists will celebrate 100 years of ministry. In 1907, they were constituted as the Northern Baptist Convention, the name remnant of an 1845 Baptist schism over slavery that formed the Southern Baptist Convention from which the CBF later emerged. In 1950, Northern Baptists changed their name to the American Baptist Convention and in 1972 adopted its current name. Now, they number approximately 5,800 churches and 1.5 million members.
“There will be close to 10,000 Baptists in the nation's capital on the weekend before July 4, celebrating Baptist history, heritage, freedom and fellowship,” said Bo Prosser, CBF congregational life coordinator. “There will plenty of opportunities for sharing in each other's events with the highlight of the time being a combined worship experience centering on our witness and fellowship.”
Also involved in the joint worship service will be leadership from the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention.
“We believe this is just the beginning of fruitful work together with CBF and with other Baptist bodies,” Medley said.