Olena Levchenko and her Christian family barely escaped Russian forces in Ukraine and bounced from nation to nation in Europe before learning a Baptist congregation in Atlanta, was willing to sponsor them as temporary refugees in the United States. Levchenko…
Puerto Rican pastor Laura Ayala to lead CBF Global Missions
A Puerto Rican pastor has been named coordinator of Global Missions for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, signaling a series of firsts. Laura Ayala is the first person of color and the first person from outside the continental United States to…
Sam Harrell leaving CBF Global Missions for Africa Exchange role
The two top leadership roles for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions soon will be vacant, as Sam Harrell leaves his post as associate coordinator July 31. He has been named full-time coordinator of Africa Exchange, which serves vulnerable children in…
CBF pauses giving to Ukraine relief fund to await long-term rebuilding opportunities
More than $1.12 million has been given to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Ukrainian relief fund, prompting CBF leaders to pause accepting additional contributions until investing in long-term recovery becomes viable. CBF field personnel and others working in direct ministry to…
When a Mexican cartel kidnapped a Baptist pastor, they got more than they bargained for
A Mexican cartel got more than it bargained for earlier this month by kidnapping Lorenzo Ortiz, an American pastor who operates shelters for asylum seekers and other migrants south of the U.S.-Mexico border. His abduction at 6 p.m. June 2…
Title 42 is expelling the good people, not the bad people, border advocate explains
Claims that Title 42 protects Americans from foreign criminals ignore the realities of migrant life at the U.S.-Mexico border, an immigration advocate and attorney recently told a Baptist Sunday school class in Texas. The fact is that the drug cartels…
7 reasons to calm down about the termination of Title 42
On April 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the pending termination of Title 42, the order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the threat of COVID-19. The decision caused…
CBF’s Eddie Aldape works long days to move Ukrainian refugees through Slovakia
Three hundred kilometers. That’s the average round trip Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Eddie Aldape often makes as he transports goods and people to and from the Ukrainian border towns in Slovakia. There, 250,000 Ukrainian refugees have come since early…
Ukrainian seminary dean among those shot dead and left on the street by Russian troops
The dean of the Slavic Evangelical Seminary in Kyiv, Ukraine, was among those shot dead by invading Russian troops, according to multiple social media reports. Vitaliy Vinogradov was a graduate of the Kyiv Bible Institute and Evangel Theological Seminary. His…