Baltimore officially becomes Strategic Focus City for 2008 or 2009

BALTIMORE, Md. (BP) — Though the signing and celebrating of the covenant still needs to take place, it’s official: Baltimore will become the North American Mission Board’s newest Strategic Focus City.

Baltimore Baptist Association pastors officially have agreed to NAMB’s November 2005 invitation to form a partnership to focus national resources in local church evangelism and church planting efforts in the Baltimore area.

For the past three years, Baltimore area churches and associations, along with the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCMD) and other partners, actively have been embracing Baltimore with the love of Christ through many cooperative efforts, locally known as Embrace Baltimore.

The actual launch of the Strategic Focus City strategy in Baltimore is scheduled for 2008 or 2009.

The first two Strategic Focus cities, Chicago and Phoenix, implemented their strategic plans in 2000. They were followed by Las Vegas and Boston in 2001, Seattle and Philadelphia in 2002, Miami in 2003-2004 and New York City in 2003-2005. Cleveland, Ohio, the newest city, currently is being implemented as a Strategic Focus City.