VALLEY FORGE, PA (1/19/22)—The retirement of Rev. Dr. Yvonne B. Carter, executive minister of the Cleveland Baptist Association (CBA), has been announced effective June 30, 2022. Carter has served as Executive Minister of CBA since 2014.

“As a region, CBA has been tremendously blessed with the gifts, talents, and effective dedication of Rev. Dr. Yvonne B. Carter. She has been a humble servant while providing exemplary service to our region, the nation, and the kingdom…As much as we are sad to see her go, we celebrate her amazing tenure here as the first woman and second African American regional minister for CBA,” James P. Quincy, III, president of CBA, wrote in a letter announcing Carter’s upcoming retirement.

General Secretary of American Baptist Churches USA Dr. C. Jeff Woods said, “Dr. Carter has provided admirable leadership to the Cleveland Baptist Association. Her style and her initiatives consistently brought people together and inspired them to accomplish God’s mission as a region. Her contributions to the wider family are also greatly appreciated. We will miss her calm and insightful comments during our Regional Executive Ministers Council and National Leadership Council discussions.”

Under Carter’s leadership, the region committed to a 20/20 Vision, which resulted in a region restructuring. She secured several grants that provided valuable region resources and led through the development of a National Urban Leadership Conference held for Cleveland churches, a Youth Enrichment Program for Cleveland children, and the Ohio Leadership Academy to train individuals throughout CBA.

Prior to working with CBA as executive minister, Carter served in the Missional Life and Leadership Division of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), where she served as a ministry partner with the ABHMS office of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Ministries with responsibilities for relationship building and networking.

In 2001, Carter began service as a Partner in Discipleship Ministry with the former Educational Ministries. She has held several positions with ABHMS, including Managing Director of Event Development. In that capacity she was responsible for implementing the National Black Church Education Conferences in 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2009, as well as providing oversight and direction for the 2008 and 2012 National Gatherings of American Baptist Youth.

Before entering ministry, she spent years working in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Carter was licensed to ministry in 1995 by Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio; graduated from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio, in 1998 with a master’s degree in Christian Education; and was ordained as an American Baptist minister in 1998 with recognition by the CBA. She received a doctoral degree in Ministry with a focus on Transformational Leadership from Ashland Theological Seminary.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.