This morning, the Affirming Network (AFN) of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) announced they had merged into a single organization, retaining AWAB’s name and leadership. The merger went into effect on June 1.

The joining of AFN with AWAB is the result of two years of conversations between the three organizations regarding the future of AFN in light of leadership challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AFN was founded in 2018 by LGBTQ+ individuals and allies to dream and enact a vision for a fully inclusive CBF. According to Rev. Jordan Conley, instead of “merely making space around a  table for LGBTQ+ folk, AFN advocated for a whole new table in Cooperative Baptist  life.” Conley is the co-pastor at Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, KY, and a leader in the AFN.

Conley added that the current landscape around LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance in the country “highlights the urgency of churches coming out as  communities that embrace the expansive mission of Jesus Christ” and that “AWAB is uniquely equipped to walk alongside CBF churches as they discern, affirm, and advocate for  LGBTQ+ folk and allies.”

Paul Baxley, CBF’s Executive Coordinator, noted the AFN had become a place of community for those within the fellowship who are guided by a “deep commitment to inclusion” for LGBTQ+ individuals. Baxley recognized that not everyone within CBF shares the same conviction but that the entire fellowship can offer a “more excellent way” regarding conversations that are “increasingly  characterized by fear, demonization, and dehumanization.”

The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists was created in 1993 as a resource for churches that are or are becoming, more inclusive of all people, regardless of gender expression or sexual orientation. It has relationships with numerous Baptist churches and entities.

Bob Sittig, AWAB board chair, celebrated the merger. He said, “The relationship that  has been established between AWAB and CBF churches is a significant step forward in the advocacy of the full inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community into Baptist life.”

The merger was announced just days before CBF’s annual General Assembly is to take place in Greensboro, NC.