Thank You for Making the Annual Meeting Such a Great Success!

What a great day at the Mid-Atlantic CBF Annual Meeting, held March 29 at Montgomery Hills Baptist Church! Our attendance was up, the energy was noticeable, the message was challenging, and so many great connections were made. Thank you for making this day inspiring and uplifting for so many.

This year, we were challenged to think about the intersection of mission and advocacy as we explored Standing Together as Neighbor – Voices of Solidarity and Mission. Vincent Lui, a member of University Baptist Church in Baltimore who serves on our Coordinating Council, did a wonderful job interpreting our theme. You can read a copy of his remarks on the MACBF blog.

We were excited to give out not one but two mission grants this year—one to Village Baptist Church in Bowie, MD, and one to Parkwood Baptist Church in Annandale, VA. Read about these creative mission initiatives on the MACBF blog. The Bill George and Patricia Bolinger Mission Fund of the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Baptist Fellowship provides small grants to churches seeking to engage in new mission endeavors.

Mid-Atlantic CBF believes in theological education and invests in local students pursuing postgraduate degrees. This year, we were able to invest in one of our chaplains, Allison Anderson, as she works on a Doctor of Ministry degree from McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University.

During our business session, the fellowship affirmed our 2025–2026 budget. Because of the faithfulness of our churches and individuals, we were able to increase our budget by $2,000—adding $1,000 to our Annual Meeting line item and $1,000 to our Administration line item.

The fellowship also affirmed our new Coordinating Council, adding two new members who have never served before: Brenda Hafer, the Associate Pastor of Ox Hill Baptist Church, and Ellen Wilson, a lay leader from First Baptist Church of Herndon. We also added Allison Anderson, Chaplain in West Virginia, who has served on the Council in previous years.

We had four great breakout sessions that covered a variety of topics while still fitting nicely into our theme of Standing Together as Neighbors. We were glad this year’s schedule allowed for two breakout sessions, giving everyone a chance to attend two of the four offerings. Lunch was a wonderful time of fellowship, and we concluded the day with worship, where we heard from two of the pastors who attended the February border trip and received a challenge from Elket Rodriguez, CBF’s Global Migration Advocate, to stand as a neighbor to the migrant, immigrant, and refugee.

Thank you again for standing together and making this gathering unforgettable!