Board of directors meet in Oklahoma with emphasis on native ministries

Paul Baxley, CBF; Stephen Reeves, FSW; Andy Stoker, Thanks-giving Foundation

We are extra energized this week after our semi-annual meeting with the Fellowship Southwest Board of Directors. Our tradition is to rotate the location of our meetings around the region, so this time we convened in Norman, Oklahoma.

The evening prior to our meetings happened to be the CBF Oklahoma's annual banquet, Celebrating Excellence. It was a joy to be there in support of our close partners and hear from CBF Coordinator Paul Baxley and witness the award presentations. Two of the award recipients are members of the Fellowship Southwest board, Rick McClatchy from CBF Texas and Jackie Baugh Moore representing the John and Eula Mae Baugh Foundation.

Monday we gathered at First Baptist Church Norman with several representatives from indigenous Christian leaders in Oklahoma. We listened as they shared with us the priorities and the concerns from their communities. And we discussed ways that Fellowship Southwest can come alongside them in effective ministry and advocacy, since indigenous ministries is one of FSW's four priorities.

We continued with regular board meeting reporting and discussion on Monday afternoon. We heard from our border ministry partner Elket Rodríguez and Jorge Zapata and discussed our continued financial support for their ministries and others along the border. That evening, we enjoyed dinner together.

On Tuesday, we reconvened for the business section of the board meeting at NorthHaven Church, passing the 2023 budget and electing officers. Next year Michael Mills will serve as our chair, Amy Jacober as chair-elect, and Andy Stoker as secretary. We said goodbye to three wonderful board members who are rotating off: Kristin McAtee, Kathy Krey and Mark Newton. And we elected to invite two new members to the board: Brenda Kirk and Rowland Johnson.

We are so fortunate to have a gracious, intelligent and generous board.