Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma names Steve Graham as new coordinator.
By Jeff Brumley
Steve Graham, who oversees peer learning groups and leadership development for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has been elected coordinator of Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma/Kansas. Graham will begin his new job Oct.1. He replaces T Thomas, who resigned last year to become pastor of a church in Paris, France.
Graham’s leadership and ministry experience and his Oklahoma roots made him the ideal candidate for the position, said Larry Stevens, pastor of Noble Avenue Baptist Church in Guthrie, Okla., and interim state coordinator since last September.
The state convention has 24 congregations, many of which cooperate with both CBF and Southern Baptist causes. It means Graham will have his hands full nurturing those relationships while the state seeks to continue planting new churches across Oklahoma and Kansas, Stevens said.
“He’s just the natural person for this,” Stevens said.
Graham, who was elected unanimously Aug. 4 by about 22 coordinating council members, is an Oklahoma native where he served as pastor of a new church start for 16 years before joining the CBF staff.
His exit comes on the heels of several recent CBF departures. CBF is undergoing a transition process that includes an ongoing search for Daniel Vestal, who retired as executive coordinator in June. CBF also is in the process of implementing recommendations from a task force charting a new course for the 21-year-old organization.
