Kyle Tubbs, a national leader in church starting, has been elected coordinator of the Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma. He will succeed Steve Graham, who will retire the end of May after serving in the role since 2012.
CBF Oklahoma is among a network of autonomous state and regional organizations affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a group of moderate and progressive Baptists who broke away from the Southern Baptist Convention in 1990.
Tubbs most recently has led CBF’s church starting program from Atlanta. He previously was founding pastor of Peace of Christ Church in Round Rock, Texas. Prior to that, he served on the staffs of Trinity Baptist Church in Sweetwater, Texas, and First Baptist Church of Eula, Texas.
He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a master of divinity degree from Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary. He is a candidate for the doctor of philosophy degree in leadership from Dallas Baptist University.
Tubbs serves as president of the Logsdon Alumni Council and on the board of the T.B. Maston Foundation. He is a member of the Parliament of World Religions and the CBF Coaching Network. He and his spouse, Kaily, are the parents of two sons, Emmett and Henry.
“We see Kyle as a young, energetic, creative, well-connected leader.”
“We see Kyle as a young, energetic, creative, well-connected leader who is uniquely prepared to serve Oklahoma Cooperative Baptists as our state coordinator,” said Don Gilmore, chair of the search committee and a member of First Baptist Church in Norman. “Because of his imagination and his strong relational skills, he will be comfortable nurturing our current churches and supporters while cultivating new CBF Oklahoma members and congregations.”
Tubbs said he anticipates multiple priorities as he looks forward to taking the position June 1: “My immediate focus will be to continue to strengthen collaboration between individuals, churches and other missional partners in the CBF network. I also hope to explore new cooperating ecumenical partnerships.
“There is an expressed desire among CBF Oklahoma leaders to give intentional energy to starting churches in Oklahoma in the coming years,” he added. “I believe both established churches and new churches can be partners, working together and encouraging each other.”
Although Baptists are a dominant force in Oklahoma, the vast majority of those churches are aligned with the more conservative Southern Baptist Convention and Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
“I’m particularly excited to discover how Kyle’s passion for new church starts will impact CBF Oklahoma,” said Bob Searl, moderator of CBF Oklahoma and pastor of Spring Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. “The ground in Oklahoma is fertile for new congregations that reflect the values of CBF — freedom under the Lordship of Christ and compassionate ministry with and for all people.”