CBF offers grants to help congregations engage in missional ministries By Courtney Hodges, CBF Communications

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News Release

CONTACT:
Lance Wallace
770.220.1600

2.01.06

ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will offer grants to encourage Fellowship churches to begin missional ministries in their own communities.

In an effort to administer the grants, CBF Congregational Life has hired Suzanah Raffield as the grants project manager. Raffield assists those churches who have engaged in the study, "It's Time: A Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness," in discovering and initiating missional opportunities.

"It's Time: A Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness," a total church study towards becoming more missional, debuted at the CBF General Assembly last June. The "It's Time!" material includes eight-weeks of study material, sample sermons, small-group studies and personal devotional material.

"These resources are offered to help Christians and churches focus on being the Presence of Christ in the world," said Bo Prosser, the Fellowship's congregational life coordinator. "Suzanah brings a great enthusiasm for the local church and missional ministries. She will be a wonderful asset."

Raffield helps churches determine the next steps for their congregations after completing "It's Time!" She consults with churches on possible missional expressions and helps allocate grants to those churches who engage in missional ministries.

"It is exciting to encourage churches to be all that they can be as the body of Christ, ministering communally and globally," Raffield said.

"We are learning as the project grows," Raffield added. "We are excited about the ability to help churches move from just studying about being missional to embracing these concepts in local ministries."

Prosser said he can't wait to see the creative expressions of ministries that Fellowship churches discover. "The 'It's Time!' resources encourage churches to look for the needs in their community and develop intentional ministries around those needs," he added.

To apply for a CBF It's Time! grant, a congregation must have completed the "It's Time!" study. Applications are available online at www.thefellowship.info/ItsTime/grant.icm.

"Any CBF partnering congregation can apply for grant money to be used where they feel God leading them," Raffield said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for churches to consider the needs around them and minister accordingly."

As a founding board member of Global Women, Raffield gained experience on missions and ministries. She is currently studying contextual missiology at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, with a focus on maternal health and the Church's response.

For more information on "It's Time: A Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness," visit www.thefellowship.info/itstime or call (800) 352-8741. For more information on It's Time grants, contact Suzanah Raffield at sraffield@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship's mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.