Por Aaron Weaver
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “Where is God calling you to speak boldly at this time in the spaces and places God has put you?”
Outgoing CBF Moderator Tanya Parks posed that question Friday during the Worshipful Work Session at the 2026 CBF General Assembly, using her final remarks as moderator to challenge Cooperative Baptists to deepen belonging, sustain long-term global mission presence and create more opportunities for women called to ministry.
Parks issues challenges for CBF’s future
Parks said she once associated boldness primarily with visible public witness but came to recognize quieter expressions in congregations serving international neighbors, nurturing children, creating community and taking chances on women called to pastor.
When she and her husband moved to Slovakia as CBF field personnel in 2012, others described the decision as brave.
“To me it just felt like we were doing the next right thing that God had called us to do,” she said. “The boldness of waking up in a foreign country every day didn’t feel so much like bravery as it did just following God.”
Parks shared specific challenges for the Fellowship’s future.
“From our very formation as a Fellowship, we’ve talked about being a ‘big tent,’ a ‘big table’ as I like to say,” Parks said. “There are still many spaces where some of our brothers and sisters do not feel welcome and loved.”
“How can you advocate within your churches and regions to create spaces of belonging for all?” she asked.
Parks urged Cooperative Baptists to give generously to the Offering for Global Missions, which supports current field personnel and helps make new appointments possible.
“This kind of full-time, long-term presence is vital to live out our mission around the world,” she said. “Will you give boldly? Will you advocate in your churches for the support and growth of our Field Personnel?”
Parks said only around 10 percent of CBF-affiliated churches currently have a woman serving as senior pastor.
“If there are no churches for us to place called and trained women for ministry, what are they to do? Where are they to go?” she asked.
“Will you stand up in your churches and create spaces for women to minister and grow?” Parks continued. “This might mean that you have to take a step of faith and boldly do some things you have never done before.”
She challenged churches with male pastors to invite women to preach on Easter Sunday, search committees to consider women for pastoral leadership and male pastors to advocate for women serving alongside them.
“We still have a long way to go,” Parks said, “but together, we can create a bolder future for those who will gather in another 35 years.”
Callahan: “Dream bigger. Trust deeper.”
Parks handed leadership to incoming CBF Moderator Jason Callahan, who said CBF’s mission and values drew his family into service more than 25 years ago.
“We were inspired by CBF’s commitment to creating and fostering diverse communities that reflect God’s peace and acceptance, and by its dedication to bearing witness to Jesus through His teachings of grace and love,” Callahan said.
Callahan said he plans to draw on his experience as a business executive as he partners with the Governing Board, CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley and CBF staff.
“As we boldly move forward into God’s land of promise, our marching orders are clear: we are to be strong, courageous, and humble,” he said.
“Boldness means doing what others believe is impossible,” Callahan continued. “It means redefining what success looks like according to God’s Kingdom rather than the world’s standards. It means listening carefully for God’s direction and then having the courage to follow wherever He leads.”
Callahan said setting ambitious goals is relatively easy, but achieving them requires discipline and focus.
“We must prioritize and focus on the two or three initiatives that will have the greatest impact on our mission during the coming year,” he said. “Leadership requires conviction. It requires the courage to say ‘no.’ Not ‘no’ forever. Simply, ‘not right now.’”
Callahan challenged CBF to “raise the floor” by elevating accountability and expectations, continually challenging the status quo and investing in and elevating talent.
“Dream bigger. Trust deeper. Follow more faithfully,” he said.
“The challenges before us are real. But so is the promise of God,” Callahan said. “As we move into this new year together, may we be strong. May we be courageous. May we be humble. And may we trust that God goes with us wherever we go.”
Commemorating Juneteenth
Pan African Koinonia Steering Committee member Rev. Dr. Joshua Scott led the Juneteenth commemoration with a reflection on its history and meaning. CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley and outgoing Moderator Tanya Parks then led a litany of remembrance and recommitment.
“Today, we honor Juneteenth, a day that is not just about history, but about truth, memory, and freedom delayed,” Scott said.
“So Juneteenth reminds us that freedom in America did not arrive all at once,” he said. “For many, it came late. It came resisted. It came after waiting, after suffering, and after generations had already paid the price.”
Black communities transformed that delayed freedom into remembrance, worship and celebration, Scott said.
“They didn’t just mark the end of bondage, they built celebration out of survival,” he said. “That is one of the great lessons of Juneteenth: freedom is not only declared. It is protected, practiced, and passed down.”
Baxley and Parks then led the Fellowship in remembering those who endured enslavement and recommitting to equality, dignity, human rights and resistance to injustice.
Assembly adopts budget and bylaw amendments
The General Assembly adopted a $16,118,827 Ministry and Missions Budget for 2026–2027. CBF Past Moderator Juan Garcia described the plan as courageous and responsible, with revenue and expense projections similar to the previous year. It supports the long-term presence of CBF Global Missions field personnel, grant-funded disaster-response training, congregational resources, Fellowship growth and greater racial and ethnic diversity.
The Assembly also adopted the Nominating Committee report and Governing Board recommendations, electing nominees to their designated offices and terms, including Moderator-Elect Rev. Melissa Hatfield. Learn more about Hatfield and new governance members here.
The Assembly also adopted seven amendments to CBF’s Constitution and Bylaws. The changes give the Nominating Committee greater flexibility in nominating the recorder and align its ex officio membership with current practice.
Together for Hope marks 25 years
Juntos por la esperanza President Jason Coker celebrated the organization’s 25th anniversary. The coalition works across 338 counties of persistent rural poverty through education, health and nutrition, housing and environment, an
d social enterprise.
“Together for Hope became more than a good idea; it became a mission,” Coker said.
Coker said the network has grown from 16 partnering organizations to nearly 10 times that number.
“The first 25 years of Together for Hope has been remarkable,” he said. “The next 25 years will be unimaginable.
“We have to be more than a ministry; Together for Hope has to become a movement,” Coker added. “We will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cower, we will not be silent.”
Premios a la Excelencia en la Misión
“The Missions Council is delighted to award the 2026 Mission Excellence Awards to three deserving congregations ministering with those near and far,” Missions Council Chair Suzanne Hooie shared.
Greater Faith Baptist Fellowship in Gainesville, Fla., was recognized for health fairs, English as a Second Language classes, food and prison ministries, and short-term housing for men returning from incarceration.
Church at Cactus in Peoria, Ariz., was honored for community partnerships, hands-on mission opportunities, support for CBF Global Missions and disaster response.
Temple Baptist Church in Durham, N.C., was recognized for its Welcome House ministry with CBF field personnel Kim Wyatt and her husband Marc, sustained relationships with refugee families and a partnership connecting Duke University students with refugee students preparing for college.
“On behalf of the Missions Council, Global Missions and our CBF family, we congratulate you and pray that your commitment and love for missions continues to impact lives locally and beyond,” Hooie said.
CBF launches Disaster Ready Churches
Dave Hawes and CBF Global Missions Coordinator Laura Ayala spoke about the formal launch of CBF’s Disaster Ready Churches program, made possible by a three-year, $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment. By 2029, CBF aims to train 1,000 volunteers and certify 200 congregations.
A pilot supported by the Baugh Foundation reached six congregations across five CBF state and regional organizations. Planning teams assessed assets and risks within their congregations and communities to identify areas of disaster-response ministry in which each church could specialize.
Representatives gathered in Jacksonville to present their assessments and receive hands-on training in tarping, spiritual care, supply distribution and becoming disaster-response volunteers. Hawes said the first 27 volunteers had completed training and were ready to serve through the network.
The teams will complete disaster-response plans for congregational approval and then become eligible for grants to help implement those plans. Ayala invited churches and individuals to participate in CBF’s Disaster Response Network.
Blessing Student Serve interns
Dane Jackson recognized young adults serving through Student Serve in congregations and communities and alongside field personnel in the United States and around the world.
The summer- and semester-long internships include children’s ministry, youth and family ministry, pastoral ministry, worship, communications, facilities and operations, university outreach and field ministries. Jackson described the interns as co-laborers with the Holy Spirit committed to Christ-like service, authenticity, diverse perspectives and collaborative relationships.
Informe de la Junta de Prestaciones de la Iglesia
Junta de Beneficios de la Iglesia President Rob Fox described the organization’s mission as “Your Benefits are our Ministry.”
“Young ministers are leading the way to CBB,” Fox said, noting that most new churches enrolling with the organization come through recommendations from early-career ministers.
“They’re asking insightful questions, building their financial plans, and taking advantage of the many incentives and offerings supported by the Financial Wellness Initiative program,” he said.
Fox also announced resources to help pre-retirees and retirees embrace continuing callings.
“Our retired participants remind us that purpose doesn’t expire with a paycheck. It deepens,” Fox said. “Their lives are a living witness that faithfulness and service are lifelong callings, and that hope endures, grows, and inspires through every chapter.”
Informe de la Fundación CBF
CBF Foundation President Shauw Chin Capps said the Foundation’s work is driven by more than financial figures.
“While the day-to-day work of CBF Foundation is full of numbers and processes, it is the Gospel impact we’re able to make that drives our engine,” Capps said.
The Foundation distributed more than $7.2 million to clients in 2025 and now manages more than $80 million in assets. Capps also highlighted its stewardship of the Emmanuel McCall Racial Equity Fund and resources helping churches navigate financial strain and changing patterns of religious giving.
“Yes, those are impressive numbers, but numbers and money are useless when they are not used to make good things happen in this world,” she said.
Capps described the Foundation as a bridge between needs, callings and resources.
“The work of CBF Foundation, and I would dare say the work of your church, is inn-keeping work,” she said. “At CBF Foundation, we strive to be that trustworthy and effective innkeeper who can make the calling and resources of your church, your nonprofit, your seminaries go even farther so that all of us can live out our calling and our mission of Gospel transformation.”
The 2026 CBF General Assembly concludes Friday. Watch livestreams of plenary and worship sessions and find ongoing news coverage at www.cbf.net/general-assembly-26.
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Led by the love of Christ, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship invites churches and individuals to partner in transforming God’s world, working together as a global community to spread good news, justice and hope through impactful ministries, missions and resources.