A coalition of education and religious freedom groups rallied near the U.S. Capitol urging senators to defeat a Republican spending plan that would create a federal school voucher program and impose deep cuts to social service programs like Medicaid. “Today,…
Some Baptist leaders hopeful about Pope Leo XIV
“I did not think this would happen in my lifetime,” Baptist scholar Elizabeth Newman said of the election of an American as pope. Newman, a theologian and ethicist who serves as co-chair of the Baptist-Catholic dialogues convened by Baptist World…
CBFNC focuses on diversity, inclusion and ‘serving together’ amid trying times
Last week’s annual gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, hosted by Pritchard Baptist Church in Charlotte, centered the theme “Serving Together,” bringing forth unity in diversity among North Carolina congregations in the current political, social and economic…
What I learned at CBF’s Advocacy in Action
I got to tag along with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on its Advocacy in Action trip to Washington, D.C., last week. Having participated in several similar advocacy trainings and trips with various groups, I thought I knew what to expect. The…
Despite court injunction, immigration agents show up at CBF ministry
A March 18 encounter with federal agents left a North Carolina refugee ministry and its network of supporting congregations rattled but determined as ever “to continue serving the stranger in our community,” said Marc Wyatt, director of Welcome House Raleigh….
CBF and coalition win temporary order against ICE raids in churches
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and others who filed suit to block the Trump administration from sending ICE agents into houses of worship won a temporary restraining order Feb. 24. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang issued an order blocking the administration’s…
27 more religious groups sue to stop ICE raids at churches
Fellowship Southwest and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas are among 27 religious bodies that filed suit against the Trump administration Feb. 11 to stop ICE agents from having access to houses of worship for immigration raids. The multiparty lawsuit…
CBF joins Quakers in lawsuit against ICE raids in churches
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has joined a coalition of Quakers as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed last week demanding the Trump administration not allow ICE agents to conduct raids in houses of worship. The new policy of the Trump…
CBF pledges to keep serving immigrants
Despite Donald Trump’s executive orders attempting to shut down all immigration into the United States, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship says it will continue to serve immigrants and refugees in Jesus’ name. “We attend to the hungry and thirsty because Jesus…
Prominent Texas church quietly quits the SBC
Note: This story was updated Oct. 29 with additional comments from church leaders. One of the most prominent Baptist churches in Texas quietly quit the Southern Baptist Convention Oct. 27 — part of an unnoticed trend that’s hard to…
CBF receives $1.25 million grant to nurture children
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has received a $1.25-million grant from the Lilly Endowment for an initiative on inclusive children’s ministry. The grant will equip churches to be safe places inclusive of children — especially children with disabilities — and to use creative…
Sudden personnel change raises concerns in Great Rivers Fellowship
A personnel change said to have been necessitated by financial strains has caused a rift in a relatively new regional body of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. At least two churches affiliated with Great Rivers Fellowship have written formal letters of…