By Aaron Weaver and Carrie McGuffin
Two well-known Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner ministries — Touching Miami with Love in Miami, and Open House Ministries in Homestead, Fla. — have announced they will merge to expand their reach, serving children and youth from marginalized neighborhoods in South Florida.
The merger comes as TML begins its 20th year of ministry — and also at a time when church and other ministry mergers are becoming increasingly common across that national and denominational spectrum.
A common trait in many such mergers is recognizing that two congregations or ministries share similar callings, with each bringing complimentary gifts to the table. Ministry leaders echoed that trend.
“Our two organizations have a long history of providing very similar services in two of the most underserved and marginalized neighborhoods in South Florida,” said Jason Pittman, executive director of Touching Miami with Love. “We believe this merger will provide both of our organizations with an expanded outreach, and we’re excited to see what opportunities the Lord brings as we journey together.”
TML was launched in 1994 at a time when CBF and CBF of Florida began to mission in inner-city Miami. The ministry is led by Jason and Angel Pittman, who are CBF field personnel. They seek to empower children, youth and families in the Overtown community of Miami, providing life skills classes, entrepreneurial projects, creative arts, computer classes, tutoring and recreation through after-school and summer programs.
Open House Ministries, led by CBF field personnel Wanda Ashworth-Valencia, will become the Homestead Site of TML. OHM is entering its 22nd year of work as a holistic neighborhood center that offers hope and healing to the Homestead community through after-school and summer programs, soccer teams, community gardening, Bible study, worship opportunities and a 12-step addiction program for youth.
Mergers generating ministry impact
Mergers of religious groups are increasing due to economic needs in some cases, but also because the two parties see the increased possibilities of combining resources and talents.
A 2011 report by the Leadership Network said mission-driven mergers were a growing trend even then, with 2 percent of American churches having merged in the previous two years. It expected that to hit 5 percent in 2013.
More recently, the organization said mergers “are happening with increasing frequency” and that they are producing growth and “admirable” ministry outcomes as the ministries merge “around a shared mission that is producing more effective spiritual and social impact,” the Leadership Network reported.
There can also be other reasons to merge, said George Bullard, an author and leadership coach with the Columbia Partnership.
“Some ministries or congregations merge out of weakness,” Bullard said in an email to Baptist News Global. Often these face declining facilities and budgets and “their target group has diminished.”
Others combine because one of them is weaker and needs the other to survive, Bullard said.
But the ministry merger in Miami appears to be different altogether, he said.
“This seems to be merger about building a greater capacity to serve,” Bullard said.
Combining energy and creativity
Ministry and CBF leaders in Florida described the Open House-TML agreement that way, too, saying it will result in improvement of services to those in great need.
“This new season of partnership will even enable Open House Ministries to offer services to more children and youth, and enhance the enrichment activities provided for our students,” Ashworth-Valencia said. “We expect to share best practices to further refine and improve our ministries.”
CBF Florida Coordinator Ray Johnson praised the two ministries, which have received substantial financial volunteer support from his organization over the years.
“This merger combined the energy and creativity of the two centers’ directors,” Johnson said. “I promise they will form together a ministry force that will powerfully and positively impact South Florida.”
CBF Global Missions Coordinator Steven Porter shared his passion for this strategic collaboration between the two organizations, emphasizing that the merger will strengthen their collective impact.
“This collaboration multiplies the capacity of each organization by combining talented staffs and accessing resources in South Florida that would otherwise be lost,” said Porter, who served as executive director of TML from 2001 to 2005. “Built on the sacrificial gifts of Cooperative Baptists and many, many others, these ministries celebrate God’s light in communities too often derided for darkness.”
BNG Assistant editor Jeff Brumley conrtributed to this report.