What is now Church Building Ministries, Inc. had its beginning back in the 1980’s, through the ministry of a man named Joe Brewer who was the chairman of the Missions Committee of the First Baptist Church of Brookhaven, Mississippi.
Joe, very aggressively, sought and undertook building projects which were accomplished by volunteers from First Baptist, using the church’s bus and finances.
In order to complete these projects, Joe had to reach out to other churches for additional volunteers, and soon, there were more volunteers from these other churches than from First Baptist. This meant that First Baptist Church was providing transportation and financing a ministry in which only a small number of its members were participating.
Joe has related that as he contemplated this he had a vision that the Lord wanted him to form a separate, independent organization to carry out this mission. This vision was realized in 1994, when, after months of legwork and paperwork, Church Building Ministries, Inc. was organized as a Mississippi charitable corporation, approved under the IRS 501c3 rule.
God immediately started using CBMI to accomplish His plan. For the next twelve years, under the leadership of The Holy Spirit, Joe organized and supervised the ministry in over one hundred projects in more than twenty states and two foreign countries.
In September, 2006, while overseeing CBMI’s work of debris removal and rebuilding on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, Joe was severely injured in an accident, leaving him almost totally paralyzed and unable to continue to actively lead CBMI. Joe’s and Sudie’s prayer at this point was that God would continue the ministry.
God answered Joe’s prayers by providing Marvin and Dorothy Taylor, who were recently retired and in positions that allowed them to take charge of CBMI on, what was hoped, a temporary basis. After he recovered from the accident Joe continued to be the CEO while Marvin and Dorothy organized the projects and led the volunteers. It soon was obvious that God wanted this ministry to continue. Since September, 2006, CBMI has made over seventy construction mission trips in fourteen states.
In December, 2012, Joe and Sudie decided it was time for them to officially retire. The CBMI board of directors voted to make Marvin Taylor President and Board Chairman and to give Dorothy the job of Secretary/Treasurer. The Board also named Joe Chairman Emeritus.
Marvin and Dorothy have and will continue to administer CBMI using operating procedures similar to those established by Joe, and endeavor to follow God’s will and leadership in all CBMI work.
Joe, very aggressively, sought and undertook building projects which were accomplished by volunteers from First Baptist, using the church’s bus and finances.
In order to complete these projects, Joe had to reach out to other churches for additional volunteers, and soon, there were more volunteers from these other churches than from First Baptist. This meant that First Baptist Church was providing transportation and financing a ministry in which only a small number of its members were participating.
Joe has related that as he contemplated this he had a vision that the Lord wanted him to form a separate, independent organization to carry out this mission. This vision was realized in 1994, when, after months of legwork and paperwork, Church Building Ministries, Inc. was organized as a Mississippi charitable corporation, approved under the IRS 501c3 rule.
God immediately started using CBMI to accomplish His plan. For the next twelve years, under the leadership of The Holy Spirit, Joe organized and supervised the ministry in over one hundred projects in more than twenty states and two foreign countries.
In September, 2006, while overseeing CBMI’s work of debris removal and rebuilding on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, Joe was severely injured in an accident, leaving him almost totally paralyzed and unable to continue to actively lead CBMI. Joe’s and Sudie’s prayer at this point was that God would continue the ministry.
God answered Joe’s prayers by providing Marvin and Dorothy Taylor, who were recently retired and in positions that allowed them to take charge of CBMI on, what was hoped, a temporary basis. After he recovered from the accident Joe continued to be the CEO while Marvin and Dorothy organized the projects and led the volunteers. It soon was obvious that God wanted this ministry to continue. Since September, 2006, CBMI has made over seventy construction mission trips in fourteen states.
In December, 2012, Joe and Sudie decided it was time for them to officially retire. The CBMI board of directors voted to make Marvin Taylor President and Board Chairman and to give Dorothy the job of Secretary/Treasurer. The Board also named Joe Chairman Emeritus.
Marvin and Dorothy have and will continue to administer CBMI using operating procedures similar to those established by Joe, and endeavor to follow God’s will and leadership in all CBMI work.
