CBFNC Annual Gathering
The God Who Sees

The CBFNC 2022 Annual Gathering has concluded. Thank you to all who participated March 17^th & 18^theither at Trinity Baptist in Raleigh or online! In case you missed it, check out the videos below from both days of the 2022 Annual Gathering.

Need more info? Call 336.759.3456 or email info@cbfnc.org.

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me,’” –Genesis 16:13

General Session #1 | Thursday, March 17, 2022

(includes a missions update at the end from Mina and Gennady Podgaisky, CBF field personnel who serve in Kyiv, Ukraine.)

Welcome Video | Friday, March 18, 2022

Once the video begins to play, click the white cc button on the bottom right side to view subtitles.
Click the settings button to translate subtitles into Spanish.

Workshop Session #1 | Friday, March 18, 2022

To view videos in full screen format, click the square button in the far right corner.
For subtitles, click the white cc button on the bottom right side. Click the settings button to translate subtitles into Spanish.

Coaching: A tool to recalculate the journey in Post Pandemic times/ Una herramienta para re calcular el camino en tiempos de Post Pandemia

Daniel Sostaita | Pastor/Coach. Pastor and Founder of Iglesia Cristiana Sin Fronteras/ Daniel Sostaita Pastor/Coach. Pastor y Fundador de Iglesia Cristiana Sin Fronteras

This workshop* is designed to incorporate coaching tools into our ministries for the purpose of being relevant in the communities we serve./ Este taller está diseñado para incorporar herramientas de Coaching en nuestros ministerios con el propósito de ser relevantes en las comunidades que servimos.

*This workshop will be entirely in Spanish

Mapping your Future: Financial Wellness Strategies for Clergy

Rob Fox | President of Church Benefits
Jim Morrison | Director of Financial Awareness Initiative

Making decisions for your financial future is easier with a little help. That’s why CBF Church Benefits offers incentives through the Financial Wellness Initiative to help clergy design and implement a financial plan. Join Rob Fox and Jim Morrison to consider how to build a financial plan and implement incentives to help you map your financial future.

Mental Health and the Church : Facing Reality, Seeking Understanding, and Offering Hope

Andrew Tatum | Clinical Mental Health Chaplain
Amanda Price | Clinical Psychologist

In this session Rev. Andrew Tatum, a clinical mental health chaplain, and Dr. Amanda Price, a clinical psychologist, will offer insight into the landscape of mental health in contemporary American culture, explore the possibility of a theological understanding of mental illness, and offer space to imagine the role of the church in the face of mental health crises. This session is intended for all participants seeking a greater understanding of mental illness and who wish to explore ways that the church and individual Christians can offer hope to those in crisis.

*Please note that this session will include discussion of sensitive topics including mental illness and suicide.

Sexual Abuse Awareness Training

Larry McGlothlin | Founder, A Model Ministry

Many believe that child sexual abuse can’t happen in their church, or that no one they know could be an abuser. This misconception can be dangerous for children and your church. Recognizing grooming tactics and abuser characteristics are important components of abuse prevention. Take action today by knowing the signs!

The Book of Job as Comedy

Kathryn Lopez | Associate Professor in the Undergraduate Department of Christian Studies, Campbell University

How to read the book of Job and all its disparate parts well has long been the quest of Job scholars. In recent years, scholars have increasingly identified elements of comedy within the book, satire, parody, etc. How might it change our interpretation of the book of Job if we understood it as a comedy? Not as something humorous, but as a classic literary technique to challenge people’s often wrongly held beliefs about God and suffering.

Young Adults Involved in Traditional Church

Tommy Justus | Senior Pastor, Mars Hill Baptist Church

Join on the journey that pastors and churches have avoided for years. Who are young adults, what is their habitat, how do we lure them into church and how can we do all this without changing anything and with minimal budget and effort? There are no miraculous answers but an invitation to join in the search and share what we have learned.

Workshop Session 2 | Friday, March 18, 2022

Beyond the Colorful Halls

Robin Priddy | Children’s Pastor, John’s Creek Baptist Church

When someone walks into a new church, the children’s area is usually distinguished by things like colorful halls, exciting signage, or child-like decorations. And certainly, a lot of children’s ministry happens in the colorful halls. But how does children’s ministry expand beyond the colorful halls and into other areas of the church? How does children’s ministry expand beyond the colorful halls and into the family home? How does children’s ministry expand beyond the colorful halls and into the community? In this workshop, we will look at why children’s ministry needs to expand beyond the colorful halls and brainstorm together some practical ways to make this happen.

Congregational Life Cycles and Trajectories

Chris Gambill | Ordained Baptist Minister, Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, Consultant, and Board-Certified Coach

Congregations typically grow and develop in similar ways, but at different speeds. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this cycle for many congregations. This workshop will help you identify where your congregation is in its life cycle, and share some ways to set your congregation on a trajectory for thriving.

Engaging Youth & Young Adults

LaMont Johnson | Senior Pastor, West Durham Baptist Church

Many churches in America has seen a precipitous decline in attendance over the past 30 years. In more recent years, the 18-35 demographic has been waning in attendance, more than any other group in church membership and attendance. This workshop presents practical strategies and tools in engaging the Young Adults, who are connected to our church community. Using the acronym, C.U.T.E, the presenter suggests four ways in engaging Youth and Young Adults, by “Being”: Culturally Sensitive; Understanding of New Trends; Transformational in communicating doctrine; and, Encouraging to All generations.

Loving God in the Darkness

Layne Wallace | Senior Pastor, Rosemary Baptist Church

Since the beginning of the Christian era, believers have used the term “darkness” to mean absence of good and absence of God. What does a faithful believer do when they suffer and cannot find God’s presence? This workshop details a life story, the feeling of God’s absence, and describes a way to be faithful to God while feeling overcome by darkness. The workshop is for both laity, pastors, and scholars alike, and it can speak to the needs of each.

Principles That We Can Learn from Boaz and Ruth: A Biblical Approach to Serve the Immigrants

Rafael Hernandez | Latino Minister, First Baptist Church Huntersville

The workshop* will explain briefly some principles from the Book of Ruth (Ruth as an immigrant from Moab) that we should be aware when we are serving in NC a very diverse immigrant community. We will emphasize the concrete practice of justice, mercy, respect, and tolerance as paradigms that we see in Ruth. We will address some similarities from Ruth as an immigrant with our current situation as immigrants in USA and then we will provide some biblical and theological answers that we should consider in our ministry.

So You Have a Volunteer Problem?

Kep Pate | Associate Pastor of Youth, Children, and Their Families, Forest Hills Baptist Church

No matter where you are, the size of your church, or the context of your congregation, volunteers are the lifeblood of any ministry. Without them programs fail, ministries struggle, and quality suffers. Any church that fails to recruit and retain the next generation of volunteers is going to face struggles in making their ministry a reality. In this workshop, we will not only explore ways to recruit new volunteers but how to create a culture where volunteers thrive and are engaged.

Social Media as Ministry, Not Marketing

Christen Kinard | Founder of Digital Congregations

Do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels when it comes to social media? Are you questioning its place as part of your communications efforts? In this workshop, learn what to do if your church decides to opt out of social media and how to use social media as ministry (not marketing) if you opt in. You will discover how to be strategy-driven instead of content-driven in the social media space so you remain focused on the needs of those meeting you there instead of merely promoting the perceived needs of the church. This new-to-you approach will result in increased engagement, greater reach, and more effective ministry!