Por Aaron Weaver
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Twenty-five years after Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders committed to work alongside 20 of the nation’s poorest counties for 20 years, Together for Hope marked its anniversary Friday by looking toward the next quarter-century.
The organization’s “25 Years of Gifts” banquet at the 2026 CBF General Assembly celebrated a history of walking alongside rural communities while inviting participants to imagine what comes next.
“How do you write a future instead of a history?” Together for Hope President Jason Coker asked. “How do you write the future of Together for Hope?”
Together for Hope began as CBF’s Rural Poverty Initiative and has grown into a rural development coalition engaging the 338 counties of persistent rural poverty in America. These are rural counties where at least 20 percent of the population has lived below the federal poverty line for 30 years or more.
Its work is grounded in Asset-Based Community Development, an approach that identifies and builds upon the gifts, relationships and resources already present in communities rather than defining rural places by their needs and deficits. Together for Hope works with communities to hear their dreams and take steps toward those visions.
The organization focuses on four Priorities of Hope: education, health and nutrition, housing and environment, and social enterprise. Its coalition connects locally rooted organizations, builds their capacity and helps direct resources toward community-led work.
Together for Hope now has partnerships actively working in more than 84 of the 338 designated counties. Across its network, 70,660 volunteers have contributed 2,207,085 hours. Partners have completed 26,718 home repairs and constructed 3,469 homes, distributed more than 2.3 million pounds of food since 2016, impacted 22,145 children and awarded more than $4.2 million in grant funding.
Coker said planning for the anniversary initially centered on recording the organization’s history. That process led him toward a different question about who will shape Together for Hope in 2051 and what freedom will look like for African Americans, Latinos, other minoritized communities and people living in poverty.
“What does the future of freedom look like?” Coker asked. “How do you write the future?”
He recalled helping lead a 2018 Poor People’s Campaign demonstration in Jackson, Miss. When Coker hesitated before stepping into a busy intersection, Mississippi civil rights veteran Frank Figgers leaned toward him.
“Pastor, the first step’s the hardest,” Figgers said.
“The first step is probably going to be the hardest,” Coker reflected.
Coker acknowledged the forces confronting rural communities but placed Together for Hope’s future within the Christian story of resurrection and liberation.
“Rome didn’t have the final say, did they?” he asked.
Learn more and connect with Together for Hope at www.tfhope.org.
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.
–30–
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.