Por Aaron Weaver
DECATUR, Ga. — Cooperative Baptist Fellowship communications staff and collaborators were recognized for excellence in religious communications and public relations in the 2026 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards of the Religion Communicators Council, receiving five awards including a Best in Class honor for the CBF.net website redesign.
The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards began in 1967 and are given annually to active members of the Religion Communicators Council who demonstrate excellence in religious communications and public relations. The awards honor the late Victor DeRose and Paul M. Hinkhouse, leading lithographers in New York City and longtime friends of the RCC. Founded in 1929, the RCC is the oldest public relations professional organization in the country.
The CBF staff team of Jeff Huett, Chief Operating Officer; Aaron Weaver, Content and Creative Strategies Officer; Jeff Langford, Brand, Design & Digital Platforms Officer; and Lauren Lamb, Marketing & Communications Manager, won Best in Class in the Websites category for the CBF.net website redesign. The redesign also was named the Category Winner.
Huett, Weaver, Lamb and Langford also received an Award of Merit in Annual Reports — Single Work for CBF’s 2025 Impact Report.
In Booklets — Single Work, Prayers of the People was named the Category Winner. The award recognized the work of Meg Lacy, Weaver, Langford and Lamb on CBF’s year-long guide to prayer.
Called in Context received an Award of Merit in Booklets — Single Work, recognizing work by Weaver and Langford. Called in Context is a CBF resource initiative that helps congregations notice, name and nurture calling within their churches and communities.
In total, CBF’s 2026 honors recognized work across digital strategy, annual reporting, prayer resources and congregational ministry resources helping Cooperative Baptists connect to shared mission, tell stories of ministry impact and equip churches for faithful practice.
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