WASHINGTON (ABP) — In a duo of historic commissioning services held June 28 and 29 in Washington, supporters of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship sent 18 new missionaries and field personnel for service in the United States and abroad.
Sixteen of the personnel were affirmed during the June 28 commissioning service, a traditional part of the CBF's general assembly meetings. But two were appointed during a special joint communion-and-commissioning service that CBF and the American Baptist Churches USA held June 29.
“I am delighted that we are cooperating with American Baptists in joint appointments of the Binkleys and the Jameses to their respective places of ministry,” said CBF Global Missions coordinator Rob Nash. “These joint ventures send the signal that mission engagement in the 21st century is about collaboration for the good of God's kingdom in the world.”
He referred to two couples who are being jointly funded by CBF and ABC, a first for the two denominational groups.
Duane and Marcia Binkley, from First Baptist Church of Jefferson, Ohio, have served for 15 years in Thailand among the Karen people, many of whom are refugees from the military dictatorship in neighboring Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).
A new government policy allows some Karen refugees to come to the United States. The Binkleys will work with those refugees and the ones still in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. American Baptist missionaries have not served directly in Myanmar since 1967, due to the military government there.
The couple has begun collaborating with regional leaders and ABC and CBF local churches to help them minister to new Karen residents in their area. Numbering about 400,000 people in Thailand and an estimated 7 million in Myanmar, the Karen people live mostly in the hilly area along the eastern border of Myanmar.
The Baptist mission in Myanmar began in 1814, thanks to the efforts of Adoniram and Ann Judson. The Judsons worked for nearly 40 years to plant Baptist missions there, and the Karen were some of the most receptive people in the country. Today, the Myanmar Baptist Convention claims over 1.2 million baptized converts, many of them Karen believers.
The other couple, commissioned in the joint June 29 service, is Nancy and Steve James. They will serve in Haiti. The Jameses are CBF affiliates, meaning they raise most of their own support, but will also receive some funding from ABC.
Following the commissioning, Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey challenged CBF supporters to continue to “face the world of spiritual lostness,” by knowing the world and knowing the Bible. “An anointed ministry must know the cost and be willing to pay the price,” he said. “An anointed ministry has a transforming power, and transforming lives is at the heart of CBF.” Coffey is the retired head of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
“If you are going to be the presence of Christ in a broken world, it will not happen without risk-taking,” he said. “These people you've seen commissioned here tonight are risk-takers.”
Attendees at the service also gave $16,538.30 for CBF's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Offering for Religious Liberty and Human Rights. BWA receives one-third of the offering proceeds; CBF distributes the other two-thirds to organizations devoted to human-rights issues, particularly religious freedom.
CBF will share its portion this year with the European Baptist Federation. EBF consists of 51 member national denominations across Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. The funds will allow EBF officials to travel to countries and investigate religious-freedom conditions, as well as educate local Baptists on how to advocate for religious freedom.
Other CBF personnel commissioned during the June 28 service, listed with their CBF program, service area and home church, are:
— Karen, affiliate, medical riverboat ministry in Southeast Asia, from Bayshore Baptist Church, Tampa, Fla.
— Wanda Ashworth, affiliate, executive director of Open House Ministries in Homestead, Fla., from First Baptist Church, York, S.C.
— Clista and Glen Adkins, Global Service Corps, Gandhi School in Hungary, from First Baptist Church, Greenville, S.C.
— Diana Bridges, affiliate, strategic catalyst for work among internationals in Starkville, Miss., from University Baptist Church, Mississippi State, Miss.
— Casey and John, Global Service Corps, earthquake relief and development in Southeast Asia, from First Baptist Church, Macon, Ga.
— Christy Craddock, Global Service Corps, Touching Miami with Love in Miami, Fla., from Calvary Baptist Church, Waco, Texas.
— Mary Helen, affiliate, NGO assistant and teacher, Middle East, from First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Fla.
— Amanda Hambrick, outreach coordinator for Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries in New York City, from Tabernacle Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.
— Paula Settle, affiliate, rural poverty ministry in eastern Kentucky, from First Baptist Church, Winchester, Ky.
— Fran Stevenson, affiliate, advocate for Afghan immigrant families in Fremont, Calif., from Crossroads Church, Fremont, Calif.
— Tori Wentz, affiliate, medical missions registered nurse, global travel, from Fredericksburg Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, Va.
— Colette and Jay Westfall, affiliate, medical liaison and advocate for holistic ministries in Bangalore, India, from Winter Park Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C.
— Janée Angel, affiliate, Brussels, Belgium, from First Baptist Church, Burleson, Texas.
CBF does not release last names and specific location information for personnel serving in sensitive areas.
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