2019 state annual meetings

HAMPSTEAD, N.H. (BP) -- "There are different methods to reach people … but here's the thing that brings us all together: the message," Chris Goeppner, a New Hampshire pastor whose church baptized 92 last year, noted in the opening remarks of the Baptist Convention of New England's 37th annual meeting. The Nov. 1-2 sessions at Island Pond Baptist Church in Hampstead, N.H., drew 169 messengers and 58 guests for fellowship, worship, prayer, business and celebrating what God is doing as the New Englanders focused on the theme of evangelism.

ODESSA, Texas (BP) -- The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) emphasized the urgency of evangelism and passed resolutions on racial reconciliation, sexual misconduct and mental health at its annual meeting Oct. 28-29 at First Baptist Church of Odessa, Texas. The Southern Baptist Convention's evangelism outreach "Who's Your One?" was the theme for the group's 22 annual meeting, which featured Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Adam Greenway and International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood as guest preachers.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP) -- The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) celebrated ministry successes, sent missionaries, conducted business and worshiped at its 166th annual meeting Oct. 22-23 at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church in Little Rock. Messengers approved resolutions affirming God's design on gender, marriage, sexuality and personal identity; opposing pornography, sexual abuse, legalized casinos and recreational marijuana, and reaffirming a commitment to scriptural integrity in political engagement.

BRANSON, Mo. (BP) -- Missouri Baptists celebrated restoration and renewed cooperation to transform lives with the Gospel at their annual meeting Oct. 28-29 at the Branson Convention Center in Branson, Mo. Attendance rose in comparison to the previous few years, drawing 1,277 messengers and 262 visitors from 499 churches.

CLOVIS, N.M. (BP) -- During the Baptist Convention of New Mexico's (BCNM) 2019 Annual Meeting, New Mexico Baptists celebrated the 100th anniversary of the New Mexico Baptist Children's Home and Family Ministries (NMBCH), approved a 2020 budget, adopted four resolutions, reelected current convention officers, and heard Executive Director Joseph Bunce's plans to retire in 2021. Messengers and guests also heard from Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee president and CEO Ronnie Floyd and International Mission Board president Paul Chitwood.

EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- Amid a challenge for churches to "Step Up!" to increase baptisms, church planting, mission going and missions giving, 410 messengers and more than 100 guests at the 2019 California Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting approved a 2020 budget that reduced the percentage of Cooperative Program gifts sent to the Southern Baptist Convention, and passed several CSBC governance-related recommendations.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (BP) -- Evangelism was a key focus as the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB) held its 2019 annual meeting at Parkview Baptist Church in Lexington, Neb. Keynote speaker Anthony Jordan, retired executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, challenged attendees to make evangelism a priority. "Everywhere we go we should be looking for that lost person to witness to," Jordan said.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (BP) -- Fifty-six churches have been started in the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention (UISBC) over the last 5 1/2 years, messengers and guests were told at the Oct. 18 annual meeting of the two-state convention. About 200 congregations speaking in one of at least 13 languages identify with the UISBC, executive director Rob Lee said. That's up from 48 churches when the two-state convention was organized in 1964, and includes 188 affiliated churches, church plants, pre-plant Bible studies and core teams developed by planters for Bible studies.

LAS VEGAS (BP) -- Records were shattered again this year at what was the 41st annual meeting of the Nevada Baptist Convention (NBC). Meeting at Shadow Hills Church, where Brett Capaci is pastor, and with "Focus" as its theme, the 142 messengers from 61 of the state convention's 204 churches heard of historical, financial and statistical records that were broken this year, and of six churches that joined the NBC.

FARGO, N.D. (BP) -- The blizzard that halted traffic north, south and west of the Red River Valley that borders Minnesota held off until the close of the Friday, Oct. 11, final session of the Dakota Baptist Convention. No problem. The two-state convention provided a night's lodging for those trapped by a storm so severe snowplows were directed back to their garages for drivers' safety.