ATLANTA (ABP) -- A seven-member committee studying the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's funding of ministry partners is making progress in establishing the scope of its work, according to the chair.

The committee met Jan. 8-9 in Atlanta and will next reconvene Feb. 18, just prior to the Meeting of the CBF's Coordinating Council. "The committee has met twice, including once with staff in Atlanta, and continues to be in contact via e-mail," said chair Charles Cantrell, an attorney from Mountain View, Mo. "We are educating ourselves about our partners and intend to dialogue with and learn from them."

The Partner Funding Study Committee is made up of Cantrell, Matt Cook of Rosebud, Texas; Elizabeth Denham Thompson of Littleton, Colo.; Jerry Mantooth of Maryville, Tenn.; Michael Duncan of Eminence, Ky.; Carolyn Busby of Ada, Okla.; and Candace McKibben of Tallahassee, Fla.

The idea for the Partner Funding Study Committee came from a budget task force, which asked that an in-depth study be made of how the Fellowship's partners should be funded and evaluated.

"The committee is making progress on defining its goals and narrowing the focus of its work and making manageable what initially seemed like an overwhelming task, Cantrell said. "We are in agreement that a partnering model has been and should remain at the heart of what the Fellowship is about and how the Fellowship accomplishes its goals. It is now time to bring more structure and consistency to how we as an organization relate to partners. While conscious that the work of this committee should not drag on indefinitely, there is a sense in which the work initiated by this committee will probably become a permanent, dynamic process that will become a part of CBF life."

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