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Sharing the News:
A weekly publication of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida
August 7, 2019 
In This Issue:
ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
WHAT IS IT?

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For years now, CBF churches and individuals have heard the term  Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) in affiliation with CBF Global Missions and the work of our CBF field personnel. Many of you have seen living examples of this form of community development through your visits to Touching Miami with Love or in working at CBF Disaster Response sites that in time turned into the provision of long term presence. It is one thing to see a healthy ABCD model and find great value in it, but it is quite another to begin implementing the philosophy of Asset Based Community Development in your own area. The fist step to beginning this form of community development work in your own neighborhood is preparation through study.   

First of all, what is Asset Based Community Development ? According to the ABCD Institute, "Asset Based Community Development  is a strategy for sustainable community-driven development. It  builds on the strengths that are already found in a community by mobilizing individuals, associations, and institutions to come together to build on their assets -- not concentrate on their needs." If you want to read more of the ABCD Institute's description of this form of community development, click here. 

Because Asset Based Community Development is such an organic process that never looks the same in any community, it can be quite daunting for individuals and churches to participate wholeheartedly. Beginning something that has no initial goal except to listen to the community seems impractical when there are so many needs evident in all communities. Yet, how do we expect our community to be mobilized if we do not first listen to community members?

Here are some resources/events if you or your church are interested in diving deeper into the world of Asset Based Community Development:

Having Nothing, Possessing Everything: 
Finding Abundant Communities in Unexpected Places
by Michael Mather
This is the story of how one church found abundance in a community of material poverty. Viewing people - not programs, finances, or service models - as their most valuable resource moved church members beyond their own walls and out into the streets, where they discovered folks rich in strength, talents, determination, and love. This book  will inspire readers to seek justice in their own local communities and to find abundance and hope all around them. Click here to access the book. 

Seeking Shalom:  How Reimagining Our Response to Poverty Can Transform Lives and Restore Communities
Produced by The Lupton Center 
This 6-week interactive, video-based curriculum examines why traditional models for addressing poverty are not working, presents a biblical framework for understanding poverty, and reveals the five core principles for having real and lasting impact.  The interviews, stories, and animations highlight the wisdom of 30 different thought leaders including biblical scholars, those who have experienced chronic poverty, urban ministry veterans, authors, and more. Click here for more information.

ABCD Webinars
CBF Florida would gladly schedule a series of webinars to assist individuals and churches in better grasping the tenets of Asset Based Community Development. There are many CBF field personnel and Together for Hope practitioners with expertise developed over years of ABCD work. If you are interested in this form of learning, please email me at rshapard12@floridacbf.org. 

Christian Community Development Association National Conference 
October 9-12 in Dallas, TX
Christian Community Development Association's annual conference has been inspiring, training and connecting Christan Community Development practitioners for 30 years. Join us in Dallas for amazing speakers, workshops, go & sees, worship, networking sessions and more! Click here for more information. 

Pivot Miami 
October 23 - 27 in Miami, FL
Through our Pivot Miami cultural immersion trip, we will not only see ABCD in action, we will be taught by some of the best practitioners in the country - our own Jason and Angel Pittman! We will learn in a classroom setting such subjects as Community Development 101, Personal Privilege, and other subjects that will shape and inform our pivot back home to begin similar work in our own communities. See below for more info on Pivot Miami.  

I hope these resources will prove helpful for you and your church. 

Grace and peace,
Rachel Gunter Shapard,  Associate Coordinator

2019 Florida Clergy Convening

There are a limited number of complimentary rooms available, so be sure to register as soon as possible. Registration for the event will close after Wednesday, September 4 at 5:00 PM. Click here  to register.  

PIVOT Miami
Pivot Miami is a learning immersion experience for lay leaders of all ages. Ministers are welcome if accompanied by laity. Our local hosts will be Jason and Angel Pittman from Touching Miami with Love. If you have always wanted to see the beautiful work that is occurring at TML for yourself, then this is the trip for you! 


Pivot Miami will include six studies exploring God's mission in the world ahead of 4 days of acquisition and reflection among the many and varied cultures represented in Miami, Florida. We will explore multiple Miami neighborhoods with a focus on their community assets. This mission development event challenges thoughts and beliefs about God's mission in the world and our role in that mission. The trip registration deadline is September 1, 2019.

The trip cost is $800 for single room occupancy plus travel ($530 - 2 per room; $430 - 3 per room; $385 - 4 per room). The up front cost to reserve your spot is $150.00. Travel assistance grants are available for CBF events, and you can find that information  here. Due to ground transportation and lodging constraints in Miami, trip capacity is 25 participants. Sign up  here to secure your spot!

Invitation to Pray
As you take time to pray this week, you are invited to remember the following concerns in the CBF family:  
  • Pray for  South Venice Baptist Church ,  Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, Riverside Baptist Church, and Living Stones Baptist Church  as they search for senior pastors.
  • Sharon Jewett , the wife of Doug Jewett, who has been in treatment for recurrent cancer. We celebrate that Sharon received good results on her most recent tests and scans.
  • Give thanks for Danny Prada and Heartway Church in Davie, Florida. Danny was commissioned as a church starter during CBF's General Assembly in Birmingham. We welcome Danny and Heartway to the CBF Florida family!
  • Continue to pray for John Churchill, the missions pastor at Christ Journey Church in Miami, who is recovering from a recent medical procedure.
  • P ray for Joe Boronat , a former youth pastor for Ray Johnson. Joe has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
Florida Fellowship Newsletter Spring 2019
The newest edition of CBF Florida's Fellowship News is now online and coming soon to your mailbox (if you're a subscriber). Check out the latest issue to read about the celebration banquets in Tampa and Deltona. Find out who this year's two recipients of the Edge Award for Leadership in Christian Education are. Learn about Tiffany Burch, one of this year's CBF Florida scholarship recipients. Discover the two persons who were presented the "Celebrate CBF Florida" award. To read about these items and more, all you need to do is to click here. Learn what your Fellowship Baptist family is doing around Florida and throughout the Caribbean Islands.
Birthday Celebrations
Happy birthday to all of the following CBF field personnel, chaplains, counselors and church planters!

Wednesday, August 7
  • Merrie Harding, Orlando, FL (Field Personnel)
  • Vernon Westenbroek, Columbia, MO (Chaplain)
Thursday, August 8
  • Janee Angel , Belgium (Field Personnel)
  • LuAnne Prevost, Knoxville, TN (Chaplain)
Friday, August 9
  • Elizabeth Sample, San Francisco, CA (Child of Field Personnel) 
Saturday, August 10
  • Elliott Sample, San Francisco, CA (Child of Field Personnel) 
  • Nicholas Wright, Waco, TX (Chaplain)
Sunday, August 11
  • Robbie Byrd, Fayetteville, NC (Pastoral Counselor)
  • Justin Murphy, Leesburg, FL (Chaplain)
  • Karen Rector, Jacksonville, FL (Chaplain)
Monday, August 12
  • Charline Berry, Baltimore, MD (Chaplain)
  • Brian Price, Sugar Land, TX (Church Starter)
Tuesday,August 13
  • Henrietta Anderson, Henrico County, VA (Church Starter)
  • Clyde Angel, Indianapolis, IN (Chaplain)
  • Rodney Bolejack, Denton, TX (Chaplain)
  • Thomas Dougherty, Mechanicville, VA (Pastoral Counselor)
  • Martha Kate Hall, (Staff Georgia)
  • Wayne Maberry, Alturas, FL (Chaplain)
  • Johnny Taylor, Plano, TX (Chaplain)
Prayers of the People

Janee Angel
Antwerp, Belgium

Janee Angel serves in Antwerp, Belgium, working particularly among the Arabic speaking community, which is ever growing in the midst of the world refugee crisis. Janee and her husband, Hary, live in a Moroccan neighborhood and minister primarily with those who come from the Middle East.

Janee and her family established the first evangelical Arabic church in Antwerp. The church holds weekly services and Bible studies, has a music ministry and children's program. Janee also hosts women's events and prayer group. Janee and Hary seek to meet the needs of the rapidly growing refugee community, meeting newcomers, hosting refugee dinners and opening their home to those with nothing.  

Pray for: 
  • Arabic speakers to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • Protection of those who come to know Christ from a Muslim background.
  • The spiritual and emotional maturity of the Angel's church in Antwerp.
  • Protection, wisdom, direction and provision of Janee's family. 
I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.

Hosea 11:4