From the inception of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, there have been passionate voices at the table speaking to the importance and value of collegiate ministry. Many of the leaders past and present of the CBF movement have spoken about the impact their collegiate experience through the Baptist Student Union had on their lives and the lives of others. It was in those groups where they learned to be leaders and how to engage in missions. They were introduced to the concept of religious freedom, soul freedom and the understanding that God could call both men and women to serve Christ. Many believed that offering these possibilities to young adults at the crossroads of their lives was the future of this new movement. The value and impact…show more content… They understood that young CBF leadership would need to be mentored, challenged and offered discipleship and campus ministry was the natural and appropriate place for that process to begin. People gathered on many occasions to make their concerns known to the CBF leadership. In addition to the state leaders, people like Becky Matheny, David Weatherspoon, Bruce Gorley, Ruth Perkins Lee, Scott Lee, Mike Young, Devita Parnell, Tim Willis, Leslie Limbaugh, Wanda Kidd, Amy Derrick and John Derrick, spoke often in public forums and in private meetings about the need to look for ways to provide ministry congruent with CBF’s ethos to college…show more content… A grant from the foundation could fund some initiatives that would help young adults explore areas of call and leadership. The first grant that CBF received was awarded to both CBF and Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond. That grant provided many smaller grants for, but a significant amount was set aside to host a retreat for college students and seminarians called Antiphony. Along with the Lilly Grant, Passport Camps also sponsored this event.
Antiphony was designed to be time for students to come together and have conversations “about things that mattered.” The grant and supplemental funds provided for two events. One was held in Birmingham, AL the week between Christmas and New Years in 2004. The Keynote speakers were Julie Pennington-Russell and Colleen Burroughs with Ken Medema and Nathan led music. The theme for the event was God’s Call, The World’s Cry. There were 250 participants, which was a strong showing for the first ever CBF national event held for young adults.
Two years later another and final Antiphony Retreat was held in Atlanta, Georgia/ Amy Mears and Reggie Blout were the speakers and John Wiles and Kate Campbell provided music. That event had the same sponsors and had about 210 in