April 9, 2001

CBF offers direct link to missions needs
___ATLANTA--Lori Knight Kennedy never dreamed that handing out hot dogs to homeless men on the streets of Dallas would change her life.
___But as the speech pathologist spent two hours a week helping a friend feed hundreds of homeless men from the back of a car, her eyes were opened.
___"I discovered that in the city where I grew up, 10 minutes away there were homeless people," she explained. Listening to their stories, Kennedy realized these men were a lot like her.
___She found it therapeutic to help others.
___"Being involved in your church is OK," she said. "But churches can forget to look at their community, to be Christians out in the world, outside the church.
___"There are thousands of needs; you just have to meet them one need at a time," added Kennedy, who serves as part-time volunteer coordinator at Touching Miami with Love Ministries, an inner-city ministry in Florida.
___Financial contributions to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's 2000-2001 Offering for Global Missions and Ministries help meet the needs of missionaries and the people with whom they serve in the United States and around the world. This year's offering goal is $5.5 million.
___With the theme "Get Personal: Doing Missions in My World without Borders," CBF has asked Texas Baptists to get involved with missions through prayer, financial support and now direct contributions through MissionXpress. This emphasis allows CBF partner churches and individuals to send ministry items directly to Touching Miami with Love and three other North American-based missions teams.
___Kennedy returned to Miami in August 2000 after leaving to receive a degree from a Texas seminary. She previously spent a two-year term as a Global Service Corps missionary with Touching Miami with Love.
___Kennedy credits volunteers with keeping the "hands-on" ministry going, especially in the summer, when groups of volunteers come weekly to assist with children's camps.
___Other CBF missionaries featured in MissionXpress include:
___ Brian and Claire McAtee, who minister to the extensive international population among Boston University students. The couple serve as affiliated chaplains at the university. Their work focuses primarily on maintaining three small classes--a conversational English class, a Bible study for believers and a study for those wanting to learn more about Christianity.
___ Mich and Pat Tosan, who developed a non-profit organization to minister to the estimated 80 million Persian speakers worldwide. Persian World Outreach reaches out to Persian-speaking refugees in the U.S. and also in other parts of the world.
___ Kim and Marc Wyatt, who help refugees resettle in Toronto, Canada. The Wyatts minister to "refugee claimants," people who arrive without sponsors and claim to be fleeing persecution. They work with Canadian Christians through three resettlement houses to provide shelter, safety, counsel and immigration assistance.
___For more information about MissionXpress or offering resources, call the CBF Resource Link at (888) 801-4223 or go to www.cbfonline.org.

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