Greetings from

Florida and the Caribbean Islands

October 18, 2023

Here's a quick look midweek to strengthen your faith and connect with your CBF family.

Puerto Rico Beach

Prayer from Daily Feast Year A

Pastors Grace and Machuel Pinder hosted me with TLC this past weekend in Grand Bahama as we honored and celebrated the beautiful life of Judith Baillou, wife of Pastor Pedyson Baillou and Ebenezer Baptist Church, Sweet's Cay.

Left: Pastor Grace leading worship at Kingdom Harvest Global Ministries, where we worshipped Sunday morning

Middle: Grace, me, Dareus and Machuel

Right: Apostle Brian Dareus & Dr Jasmine Dareus, Kingdom Harvest Global Ministries

Thriving Congregations Cohort Begins

This Weekend in Lakeland, FL

In the fall of 2020, the Lilly Endowment awarded CBF a grant as a part of the Thriving Congregations Initiative. This grant established CBF's Thriving Congregations Initiative. The Thriving Congregations Initiative exists to equip churches to fulfill their unique call, and by extension, thrive, in today's chaotic world. The organizing thesis of this work centers on the belief that thriving congregations exhibit capacities around five key traits: Compelling Clarity, Holy Tenacity, Faithful Agility, Rooted Relationships, and Dynamic Collaboration. Please pray for the committed churches and their teams as they engage in this holy work while they realize what God is calling them to do and become.

Chris Aho, Director of Thriving Congregations pictured above leading a NC Cohort in Jan 23.

The CBF Florida and Caribbean Islands Churches engaged in this cohort include:

Bayshore Baptist

Ebenezer Baptist Church

First Baptist of St Petersburg

Greater Faith Bible Fellowship

Waters Avenue

CBF of South Carolina and Florida / Caribbean Islands, together, are offering this inter-generational mission engagement opportunity to families, singles, young, old and everyone in between. Spend this 2024 holiday weekend making a difference and making new friends. "Credit" is available to FL students seeking community service hours.

This year’s theme, “Equipping With Every Good Thing,” is based on Hebrews 13:20-21: "Now may the God of peace … equip you with every good thing to do his will, by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory forever and always.” The Offering for Global Missions equips the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship with the gifts and passions of 46 Field Personnel in 17 different countries and the United States, spreading the hope of Jesus Christ. When you give to the Offering for Global Missions, you also participate in this mission of Jesus Christ around the world.

This year we have a goal of $4 million. Every gift helps us reach this goal to support the presence of Field Personnel.

Make a gift to the offering here

Get your copy of the

OGM Prayer Guide below

"Writers were invited to share about someone who has made a significant impact on their lives, a spiritual guide so to speak - one who has shaped their faith, their theology or their prayer life." Thanks Meg Lacy Vega for compiling these beautiful Spiritual Guides.

Order Copies of 2023-24 Prayers of the People HERE.

Sunday, Oct 12 at

Parkview Baptist Church,

Gainesville, FL

Pastor Jesus Garcia became Parkview's senior pastor in early 2023. This past Sunday, I had a beautiful experience worshipping with this congregation. Pastor Jesus preached a great sermon on Esther and was joined by his sons, quite comfortably, during his time of leading the worship service. Such joy and preciousness!!

Living Stones, led by Pastor Ronnie Kiehm, showed up BIG TIME in Immokalee to learn and serve with Cultivate Abundance.

Everyone loves Mission Peniel especially on Friday afternoons! Cultivate Abundance plays a huge role in growing AND providing culturally appropriate foods for this beautifully diverse community.

It is time

to attend to your soul...

Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation

SOUL CARE

Cultivating an Awareness of Divine Presence

MARCH 3-8, 2024

Life Enrichment Center

4991 Picciola Road

Fruitland Park, FL

Pathlight -

a weekly CBF curriculum

for children

Learn More Here

Registration Now Open!

Have you heard?

Passport is going to

Puerto Rico

Next Summer!

Passport's philosophy of identifying where to host camp, especially outside of the continental U.S. is pretty specific. Go where we are welcomed and invited. The family of God is so BIG and we have so much to learn from fellow Christians around the globe. That is why were are excited to share the great news that we are headed to Puerto Rico in 2024.

Thanks to those who helped make introductions along the way. CBF Florida/ Caribbean Islands Ruben Ortiz and American Baptists in Puerto Rico

For more information