For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Aaron Weaver | [email protected]
February 5, 2025
DECATUR, Ga. — Out of its historic commitments to religious freedom and ministry among immigrants and refugees, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on Tuesday joined a lawsuit that seeks to halt immigration authorities from enforcing in and near houses of worship and religious gatherings and to restore a decades long policy that protects the values of religious liberty. This policy was abruptly reversed recently by the Department of Homeland Security. Restoring it would provide immediate relief to CBF partner congregations who are called to engage in ministry with immigrants and refugees.
CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley released the following statement explaining CBF’s participation in the lawsuit as a part of its commitment to religious freedom and ministry with immigrants and refugees:
“From our very beginnings in 1991, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has been a community of congregations and individuals deeply committed to religious liberty, local church autonomy and church-state separation.
We have held these convictions consistently and have done so amid a wide diversity of theological positions, worship practices, missional emphases, geographic settings and even heart languages. Our congregations overwhelmingly continue to express these commitments that have been core to our Fellowship’s life since its inception to the present.
Cooperative Baptists have been committed to ministry among immigrants and refugees from the beginning of our participation in Christ’s mission in the United States and around the world. This is not a new commitment for us—it has been faithfully present in our global mission engagement and in the mission engagement of our partner congregations.
Because of these deep, long-standing convictions and commitments, CBF has joined others in taking legal action with the narrow focus of seeking a restoration of sensitive location status that has existed for houses of worship for almost as long as our Fellowship has existed, through both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The recent revocation of the sensitive location status is already harming the ministries of many of our congregations, the work of our field personnel and the life of our Fellowship.
As Baptists, despite our many differences on theology and political preference, we have stood steadfast for centuries in the belief that local congregations should be free to carry out their mission as guided by the Holy Spirit.
As a Fellowship, we have experienced a clear and unmistakable calling to be a community that is more racially, ethnically, generationally and geographically diverse as we believe this reflects the mission of God and the character of Jesus. The revocation of sensitive location status for houses of worship has also harmed our capacity to live into that divine calling.
Because the sensitive location policy was abruptly reversed by the Department of Homeland Security and because there is urgency in seeking relief and restoration to what previously existed, legal intervention is our best path.
A primary reason for our joining this legal action is a hope that DHS’s abrupt policy reversal will be blocked and our partner congregations will experience relief needed to freely associate and worship. We also believe that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act grant clear legal warrant for our action.
In joining this effort, we do not represent that Cooperative Baptists share the same political views or affiliate with a particular political party. Our Fellowship is unique because we are politically, theologically, racially, ethnically and generationally diverse. We are bound together by a strong commitment to the Lordship of Jesus and the time-tested experience that the boldest faith, whether in the lives of individuals or congregations, must rise from freedom and not coercion.”
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Understanding CBF’s Commitment to Religious Liberty and Ministry Among Immigrants and Refugees—Key Facts & Rationale
The What
- The CBF Governing Board voted unanimously to authorize CBF to join a legal challenge seeking restoration of “sensitive location status” for houses of worship.
- Sensitive location status historically protected houses of worship from most enforcement actions, ensuring congregations could freely minister without fear or interference. This has been true during both Republican and Democratic administrations.
- On Tuesday, February 4, CBF formally joined the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alongside a group of Quaker meetings .
The Why
- The revocation of sensitive location status for houses of worship violates the religious liberty of congregations—an essential Baptist commitment—and hinders worship and ministry of our congregations.
- The CBF filing states that since our founding we have been committed to the historic Baptist principles of religious liberty, separation of church and state and the autonomy of congregations. It also stresses that CBF congregations and field personnel have been doing ministry among immigrants and refugees from our beginning.
- The revocation of sensitive location status for houses of worship harms CBF’s capacity to live into a calling to be a community that is more racially, ethnically, generationally, and geographically diverse as we believe this reflects the mission of God and the character of Jesus.
- The removal of these protections also harms the effectiveness of church ministries—especially those serving immigrants—and creates fear in our communities.
- Since the policy was revoked, CBF is receiving reports from congregations of declining participation in a series of ministries offered in church buildings—particularly ESL classes, but also worship services, feeding ministries and shelter programs.
- Fear created in immigrant communities is also a challenge to our ability to live out the mission of Christ and embody the vision of beloved community that Christ gave us.
- Legal intervention is our best path because sensitive location status policy was abruptly reversed by the Department of Homeland Security and because there is urgency in seeking relief and restoration to what previously existed.
What This Filing Does Not Do
- It is not a partisan act; it is a statement of deep conviction flowing from the core of who we are as Cooperative Baptists.
- It does not take a stance on other policy questions related to immigration but is focused solely on restoring protections for houses of worship.
- It does not claim that all Cooperative Baptists share the same political views but underscores our shared commitment to religious liberty and congregational autonomy.
Our Hope and Prayer
- CBF hopes the court will grant immediate relief from this abrupt policy change so our congregations may return to worship and associate freely.
- If so, our action could provide immediate relief to our congregations who are called to engage in ministries with refugees and immigrants.
CBF is a Christian network that helps people put their faith to practice through ministry efforts, global missions and a broad community of support. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Aaron Weaver | [email protected]
February 5, 2025
DECATUR, Ga. — Out of its historic commitments to religious freedom and ministry among immigrants and refugees, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on Tuesday joined a lawsuit that seeks to halt immigration authorities from enforcing in and near houses of worship and religious gatherings and to restore a decades long policy that protects the values of religious liberty. This policy was abruptly reversed recently by the Department of Homeland Security. Restoring it would provide immediate relief to CBF partner congregations who are called to engage in ministry with immigrants and refugees.
CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley released the following statement explaining CBF’s participation in the lawsuit as a part of its commitment to religious freedom and ministry with immigrants and refugees:
“From our very beginnings in 1991, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has been a community of congregations and individuals deeply committed to religious liberty, local church autonomy and church-state separation.
We have held these convictions consistently and have done so amid a wide diversity of theological positions, worship practices, missional emphases, geographic settings and even heart languages. Our congregations overwhelmingly continue to express these commitments that have been core to our Fellowship’s life since its inception to the present.
Cooperative Baptists have been committed to ministry among immigrants and refugees from the beginning of our participation in Christ’s mission in the United States and around the world. This is not a new commitment for us—it has been faithfully present in our global mission engagement and in the mission engagement of our partner congregations.
Because of these deep, long-standing convictions and commitments, CBF has joined others in taking legal action with the narrow focus of seeking a restoration of sensitive location status that has existed for houses of worship for almost as long as our Fellowship has existed, through both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The recent revocation of the sensitive location status is already harming the ministries of many of our congregations, the work of our field personnel and the life of our Fellowship.
As Baptists, despite our many differences on theology and political preference, we have stood steadfast for centuries in the belief that local congregations should be free to carry out their mission as guided by the Holy Spirit.
As a Fellowship, we have experienced a clear and unmistakable calling to be a community that is more racially, ethnically, generationally and geographically diverse as we believe this reflects the mission of God and the character of Jesus. The revocation of sensitive location status for houses of worship has also harmed our capacity to live into that divine calling.
Because the sensitive location policy was abruptly reversed by the Department of Homeland Security and because there is urgency in seeking relief and restoration to what previously existed, legal intervention is our best path.
A primary reason for our joining this legal action is a hope that DHS’s abrupt policy reversal will be blocked and our partner congregations will experience relief needed to freely associate and worship. We also believe that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act grant clear legal warrant for our action.
In joining this effort, we do not represent that Cooperative Baptists share the same political views or affiliate with a particular political party. Our Fellowship is unique because we are politically, theologically, racially, ethnically and generationally diverse. We are bound together by a strong commitment to the Lordship of Jesus and the time-tested experience that the boldest faith, whether in the lives of individuals or congregations, must rise from freedom and not coercion.”
……………………………..
Understanding CBF’s Commitment to Religious Liberty and Ministry Among Immigrants and Refugees—Key Facts & Rationale
The What
The Why
What This Filing Does Not Do
Our Hope and Prayer
CBF is a Christian network that helps people put their faith to practice through ministry efforts, global missions and a broad community of support. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.