CBA Staff
Rev. Yvonne B. Carter is the Executive Minister of the Cleveland Baptist Association.
Rev. Carter has been an active member of a CBA church since 1989, serving in many capacities over the years. In addition to local church service, she has served as a member of the CBA Board of Trustees; Chairperson of the Christian Education Department and for three years as the Executive Director of CBA’s youth at risk intervention initiative, the Youth Empowerment Project. In that capacity, she worked with CBA pastors and volunteers who were members of almost every CBA church who came together to provide hundreds of hours of service and support to help more than 70 young adults turn their lives around.
After careers in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, Rev. Carter was licensed to the ministry at Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1995 and, after graduating from Ashland Theological Seminary, was ordained by CBA in 1998 as an American Baptist minister. Since that time, she has had the opportunity to be involved with the broader American Baptist Family as a member of the ABC USA national staff since 2001, serving first as a Partner in Discipleship Ministry with the former Board of Educational Ministries and most recently as a member of the management team of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (formerly National Ministries).
Over the years, she has been invited to teach at the regional gatherings of ABC of the South, ABC of Michigan, ABC of Ohio, ABC of Metro New York, ABC of Metro Chicago, the Alaska Baptist Convention, and the Church Leadership Institute of the ABC of Pennsylvania and Delaware. She has also given consultation to the Discipleship Task Force of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, and served as a member of the National Ministries staff facilitation team for CBA’s year-long Vibrant Churches/Vital Ministries initiative in 2006.
One of Rev. Carter’s primary responsibilities on national staff has been as Director of the National Black Church Education Conferences held in 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2009 in various locations throughout the United States.
Rev. Carter is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at Ashland. A proponent of lifelong learning, she has found denominational ministry to be a great opportunity to expand her understanding of the needs and hopes of ministerial leaders, pastoral caregivers and congregations across the nation. She works in partnership with American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) colleagues to develop resources and hone the skills necessary to address the needs of children living in poverty, citizens returning from incarceration and newly arriving immigrants and refugees.
She is dedicated to assisting individuals in developing their spiritual gifts for ministry and cultivating their hearts for missional outreach. She holds the fervent belief that the Bible is not only to be read and understood but to be exemplified in the lives of all believers.
Her vision is for CBA to become not only the central convener for cooperative ministry among its 38 member churches, but also a vibrant, vital presence in the Cleveland community, serving as a prophetic voice as well as a practical force for change and transformation in the lives and hearts of all people.
Rev. Carter is a proud and loving mother of William “Chip” Carter, Jr. Esq., and his wife Abby; mother- in-law of Demetrius Snoddy; and grandmother of Alissa, Briana and William “Tre” Snoddy, and Rebecca and Hannah Carter.
Albertine E. Boclear - Administrative Assistant