NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Nearly 83 percent of the 11,641 messengers who attended the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2005 annual meeting drove to Nashville, while 15.4 percent flew in, according to official statistics released by SBC Registration Secretary Jim Wells.
Tennessee Baptists sent the largest number of messengers, 1,991 from 672 churches, according to the official totals for the June 21-22 sessions.
Other leading states were Georgia, with 1,021 messengers from 400 churches; Kentucky, 989 messengers from 389 churches; Alabama, 865 messengers from 382 churches; and North Carolina, 814 messengers from 372 churches.
Messengers who traveled 100 miles or less to attend the annual meeting totaled 1,489; 101-200 miles, 2,691; 201-300 miles, 1,981; 301-400, 1,712; 401-500, 1,481; 501-1,000, 1,794; 1,001 or more, 493.
By age (among 2,077 responding to the extended Messenger Information Survey), 106 messengers were 18-29 years old (5.10 percent); 229 were 30-39 (11.02 percent); 453 were 40-49 (21.81 percent); 643 were 50-59 (30.96 percent); and 646 were 60 or over (31.11 percent).
Men accounted for 6,839 messengers (58.75 percent); women, 4,802 (41.25 percent).
According to the messenger survey, 492 of the 2,077 respondents were attending their first SBC annual meeting (23.69 percent); 530 had attended an SBC five times or less (25.52 percent); 384 had attended six to 10 times (18.49 percent); and 671 had attended 11 or more times (32.30 percent).
The number of messengers registering online was 9,225, with 7,416 of those registrants present in Nashville.
Messengers were sent by 4,775 churches. A total of 361 churches with less than 100 members sent 667 messengers; 467 churches with 100-199 members sent 907 messengers; 554 churches with 200-299 members sent 1,148 messengers; 1,025 churches with 300-499 members sent 2,255 messengers; 610 churches with 500-699 members sent 1,447 messengers; 539 churches with 700-999 members sent 1,326 messengers; 447 churches with 1,000-1,499 members sent 1,322 messengers; and 772 churches with 1,500 or more members sent 2,569 messengers.
State-by-state numbers were: Alaska, 8; Alabama, 865; Arkansas, 391; Arizona, 37; California, 173; Colorado, 43; Connecticut, 3; District of Columbia, 12; Delaware, 4; Florida, 686; Georgia, 1,021; Hawaii, 9; Iowa, 10; Idaho, 16; Illinois, 281; Indiana, 233; Kansas, 66; Kentucky, 989; Louisiana, 303; Massachusetts, 2; Maryland, 91; Maine, 5; Michigan, 73; Missouri, 381; Mississippi, 674; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 2; Nevada, 37; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 15; New Mexico, 79; New York, 58; North Carolina, 814; North Dakota, 9; Ohio, 233; Oklahoma, 253; Oregon, 9; Pennsylvania, 33; Puerto Rico, 2; South Carolina, 579; South Dakota, 12; Tennessee, 1,991; Texas, 519; Utah, 17; Vermont, 6; Virginia, 472; Washington, 33; Wisconsin, 5; West Virginia, 72; and Wyoming, 9.
Last year’s SBC registration total in Indianapolis was 8,600.
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