Spring meeting of the FSW Board of Directors focused on racial justice

The Fellowship Southwest Board of Directors met for their semi-annual meeting March 31 and April 1 in Houston, Texas. The chair of the board, Bishop John Ogletree, hosted the group at First Metropolitan Church where he was founding pastor 39 years ago.

The 16-member board plus five full-time staff met for two days to reflect on recent activities of the organization and dream and strategize about the future.

Often the Spring board meetings include a focused conversation around an area of work in the organization. Spring 2024 in Phoenix, Ariz., held a Native American focus. This year the focus was on racial justice. We invited the leadership from LTR Ministries to join us. David Park and Collin Packer spoke about their Let’s Talk Race class and even led the board through a sample piece of the curriculum and resulting discussion. We dreamed together about the ways our organizations can partner to further the conversation around racial justice.

We welcomed four official new members to the board this meeting: Ellen DiGiosia, Glen Foster, Katie Moore and Kyle Tubbs. Foster and Tubbs have served as ex-officio members of the board for several years in their capacity as coordinators of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship regional organizations. Now that Fellowship Southwest is fully independent from CBF, they accepted an invitation to become full members. DiGiosia, in her similar role as the new coordinator of CBF Texas, was also invited. Katie Moore was elected to replace Jackie Baugh Moore’s seat on the board.

FSW is especially grateful to Chair John Ogletree, Vice Chair Andy Stoker, and Secretary Brenda Kirk for their faithful leadership. We are blessed to have a supportive board who affirms our work and allows us the flexibility to use our gifts and meet the moment as we see God calling us to do.