WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) -- Bob Patterson, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, has announced plans to step down "sometime during 2004."

Patterson, hired in February 1999 as the state organization's first coordinator, made the announcement Jan. 20 during a meeting of the organization's Coordinating Council. Patterson asked the council to allow him to "phase out" by forming a search committee soon but offered to serve until a new coordinator is selected.

Patterson, 60, cited a "confluence of events" leading to his decision. These include personal and family interests, he said, and an awareness "of imminent changes in North Carolina Baptist life." Some moderates in the state are evaluating their participation in the traditional state convention -- and considering other affiliations -- after a string of political losses.

Patterson told the Biblical Recorder that he hopes to remain in the Winston-Salem area and that future options such as pastoral ministry would be "consistent with my sense of calling." "I'd like to put more energy into racial reconciliation and cross cultural understanding in our communities," he added.

Larry Hovis, moderator of the CBF of North Carolina, praised Patterson "for his outstanding service" to the organization. "Under his leadership, we have grown in participating churches, staff, budget and ministries," Hovis said. "We respect his desire to begin a new chapter in his life and ministry and the process of spiritual discernment that has led him to this decision."

The CBF of North Carolina was formed in 1994, three years after the founding of the national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, to which the North Carolina organization relates. Six people serve on the staff, which relates to more than 210 partnering churches. The number of partners has tripled in the past five years, according to the release.

With denominational unrest growing among some moderates in North Carolina, many observers expect the state CBF to take on a higher profile as an alternative channel of giving to favored Baptist institutions and agencies.

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