2018 State Annual Meeting Reports

ARECIBO, Puerto Rico (BP) -- Southern Baptists of Puerto Rico gained nine new congregations at the group's 2018 annual meeting, held just over a year after Hurricane Maria cut church attendance by as much as a third in the U.S. territory. "To the expansion of the Kingdom of God" was the theme as the Convención de Iglesias Bautistas del Sur de Puerto Rico (CIBSPR), the Convention of Southern Baptist Churches in Puerto Rico, held its first annual meeting since 2016. Newly elected president David Colón, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Logos in Santa Isabel, called the Nov. 17 meeting historic because of the newly added churches and participation that allowed the election of a full slate of officers.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BP) –- Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists are continuing their years-long mission to designate more Cooperative Program dollars for national and international Southern Baptist ministries. Messengers to the 2018 annual meeting agreed to give 35 percent of 2019 CP receipts to national and international ministries, a steady rise from the 17 percent that was forwarded in 2015. The contribution from the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention (MWBC) is anticipated to be $192,500, based on total CP receipts of $550,000, the MWBC said.

HAMPTON, Va. (BP) -- Cooperation aimed at reaching neighbors and nations with the Gospel was the focus of the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia Annual Homecoming Nov. 11-13 in Hampton. Effective since an October vote of the SBCV executive board, the state convention retains its founding name of Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, but in business matters refers to itself as the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia and SBC of Virginia. "They are Not Alone" was the theme, capping a 2017 theme of "We are Not Alone."

David Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has announced his plans to retire, sharing his intentions during the 2018 LBC annual meeting, with the theme of “Imprint -- Marking the Next Generation.” “I have every confidence that God is going to take care of this convention and bring about good things and better things for His glory,” Hankins, 68, told messengers during the Nov. 12-13 meeting at Temple Baptist Church in Ruston. “So I know you will join me in praying during these transition days.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (BP) -- Holding their 198th annual meeting under the theme of "Building Bridges," South Carolina Baptists committed to advancing the Gospel and healing racial divisions in their home state and beyond. An emotional high point of the Nov. 13-14 gathering was an evening worship service at Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as Mother Emanuel, a church revered as one of the oldest independent black congregations in the South. Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, a historically African-American congregation in ...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (BP) -- About 300 worshipers filled the sanctuary of historic Mother Emanuel Church Nov. 13 for a session of South Carolina Baptists' annual meeting, held at the site of the 2015 massacre of nine black worshipers by a self-avowed white supremacist. An overflow crowd of 400 watched from closed-circuit TV at the nearby Citadel Square Baptist Church. South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) President Marshall Blalock had arranged for SCBC messengers to hold evening worship at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in keeping with the annual meeting theme, "Building Bridges."

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (BP) -- From reaching budget goals to achieving new highs in offering giving to making plans for the long-range future, Alabama Baptists have a lot about which to get excited, said Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. This year the state reached a 50/50 split of Cooperative Program funds between the state's budget and the Southern Baptist Convention causes for the first time. It's a goal Alabama Baptists have been working toward for several years -- and reached five years early.

MIAMI (BP) -- Under the theme "Faithful," 827 messengers representing 374 churches gathered for the 157th annual meeting of the Florida Baptist State Convention. They voted on business, received ministry updates and heard from fellow pastors about some of the ways God is moving to reach Florida with the Gospel through local churches. With the addition of guests at the Nov. 12-13 meeting, the crowd swelled to 1,201 in total attendance at Wayside Baptist Church in Miami.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (BP) -- Speakers urged Georgia Baptists to redouble their efforts in sharing the Gospel with young people and training student ministry leaders alongside other business at their 197th annual meeting held at Second Baptist Church, Warner Robins, Nov. 12-13. Messengers also adopted a $41.3 million budget, collected more than 38,000 backpacks for Appalachian children, and elected a new president and vice presidents.

MARYVILLE, Ill. (BP) -- The pioneering spirit of more than 200 churches was on display during the Illinois Baptist State Association's (IBSA) annual meeting Nov. 7-8. This year's meeting was held at First Baptist Church in Maryville. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams helped lead a Wednesday evening service dedicated to the steps churches must take in order to reach Illinois' mission field with the Gospel. The vast spiritual need in Illinois, where at least 8 million people do not know Christ, was communicated most poignantly by the words of the state's most famous ...