Alabama Baptists elect new officers, vote to extend Alaska partnership
By The Alabama Baptist Staff
HUNSTVILLE, Ala. – Messengers to the Nov. 11–12 Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting at Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville approved a $37.5 million Cooperative Program allocation budget for 2026, elected a slate of new officers, and voted to extend their partnership with Alaska Baptists “indefinitely with periodic reviews.”
Photo by Tracy Riggs Frontz/The Alabama Baptist
The budget amount remains unchanged from the 2025 budget and maintains the 50-50 percentage allocation between Alabama Baptist and Southern Baptist ministries. The 202nd annual meeting of Alabama Baptists also included various presentations featuring the meeting’s theme of “Compelled,” based on 2 Cor. 5:14.
During the SBOM report, Alabama Baptists also voted to extend their partnership with Alaska Baptists “indefinitely with periodic reviews assessing the effectiveness of the collaboration.”
The two state conventions established their partnership in 2021, and in a video message to Alabama Baptists on Nov. 11, Bruce Rowell, president of the Alaska Baptist Convention, shared his gratitude.
“Alabama Baptists have left a permanent mark on the Great Land, on the Last Frontier where we do ministry,” he said.
Rowell noted that Alabama Baptists have given more than $300,000 in direct financial support to the Alaska Baptist Convention, as well as thousands more to individual ministries and churches.
State convention officers
Jarman Leatherwood, pastor of House of Hope and Restoration Church in Huntsville, was elected state convention president. Ryan Whitley, pastor of CrossPoint Church in Trussville, was elected first vice president, defeating Kenneth Wells, bivocational pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Scottsboro, 206 to 112 with 2 ballots not counted. Mat Alexander, pastor of First Baptist Church Gadsden, was elected second vice president. Both Leatherwood and Alexander ran unopposed.
Also re-elected were Debbie Oliver as recording secretary and Mike Jackson as statistical secretary and registration secretary. Oliver and Jackson both serve on staff of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
Presidential address
Craig Carlisle, who completed his second term as Alabama Baptist State Convention president, preached his presidential address on the theme Compelled, and urged the crowd to remember several “important things.”
Carlisle listed the following items:
- that the local church is the headquarters of the ABSC, Carlisle said. “You are the convention — pastors, leaders, laypeople, churches.”
- that the Cooperative Program, now 100 years old, is “still the best way to fund missions and theological education,” he said.
- that “making our churches safe places for children and teenagers must remain a high priority.”
- to invest in the Calling Out the Called initiative to encourage raising up more pastors.
- to “continue to let bivocational ministers know they are valuable, important and needed now more than ever.”
- to elevate the importance of churches praying for revival.
- that “we are going churches for a coming Christ, and we pray that Jesus will come soon, but until then, we’re going to keep going.”
A total of 882 people representing 368 churches were present for the state convention annual meeting — 767 messengers and 115 guests.
The 2026 annual meeting will be held Nov. 14-15 at First Baptist Church Trussville.
Read the full story here. For more coverage of the Alabama Baptist State Convention Annual Meeting, go to thealabamabaptist.org.
Wyoming celebrates largest baptism growth in SBC
By Karen L. Willoughby
MILLS, Wyo. – The Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission Network’s 95 churches from 55 mostly-rural communities anticipate beginning a partnership with IMB missionaries working with rural churches in Europe.
The 159 messengers from 51 churches and 25 guests to the 42nd annual meeting of the Wyoming Southern Baptist Missions Network heard about the potential partnership during their Nov. 6-7 gathering at Mountain View Baptist Church in suburban Casper.
“We’re excited about this,” Executive Director Rondie Taylor told Baptist Press. “For Wyoming churches, big cities often seem inaccessible, but churches in rural communities feel like home. They’re often overlooked, and we look forward to seeing them and serving them in whatever way we can.”
This year’s theme – “Invest” – based on Colossians 4:12 reflects Wyoming’s commitment to reach Wyoming with the Gospel.
Church Planting Strategist Don Whalen reported 20 ongoing plants and replants, five “seeds” becoming plants this year, and 30 churches “successfully planted” since 2005. Wyoming Southern Baptists also had three additional churches vote to join the Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission Network this year.
“Since 2015, 24 churches have closed their doors, but we have successfully replanted in 10 of those communities” added Whalen, who is retiring after 23 years serving Wyoming Southern Baptists, 10-plus years leading the church planting effort. A succession plan is in place.
“Don has been responsible for the emphasis and rejuvenation of church planting in Wyoming,” Taylor told messengers during his Executive Director’s report. “We as a mission network would not be where we are today without his great work.”
Business Manager Janice Trotter also retired this year. She and Whalen were honored during a Friday, Nov. 7, noon luncheon at Boyd Avenue Baptist Church in Casper, as part of the annual meeting. The Rocky Mountain Baptist Foundation in Colorado is set to take over Trotter’s accounting responsibilities and Wyoming Baptist’s office staff will handle day-to-day business operations.
Taylor noted Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary, which has two in-state educational tracks for Wyoming: the Wyoming Southern Baptist Center for Leadership Development, now in its 20th year with over 170 graduates, and a teaching site in Casper for Gateway’s Rocky Mountain campus, now in its fifth year.
“We are so grateful for Dr. Groza,” Taylor said. “He spoke [Nov. 5-6] at our evangelism conference and it was a fantastic event. Gateway’s partnership with the Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission Network is essential to our task of raising up Wyoming leaders to be the next deacons, elders, pastors and church planters.”
Outgoing President Ed Tharp, pastor of Boyd Avenue Baptist Church in Casper, in his report to messengers spoke to the day’s “Invest” theme.
“At the end of Colossians, Paul lists a bunch of people who were partners in the Gospel, a variety of people who were invested in it,” Tharp preached. “They were invested in each other. They were invested in the mission. And they were invested in their relationship with God.
“We need to be invested in the work God called us to, and we need to invest in each other as fellow laborers in Christ,” Tharp continued. “Let us do this with intentionality. Let us seek out relationships and truly come alongside each other.”
Wyoming saw the largest year-over-year percentage increase in baptisms last year of any state convention, and a total of 365 baptisms, Taylor told messengers in his report. ACPs revealed attendance numbers exceeded pre-COVID numbers for the first time since 2019. “The years 2020 and 2021 saw deep declines but they are rebounding.
“God is on the move in Wyoming,” Taylor said. “I am so grateful for the leaders and faithful churches scattered across our state that are worshipping Him, sharing the Gospel, baptizing believers and investing in the next generation.”
Messengers elected President Bill Harvison, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Powell; First Vice President Reuben Marlow, pastor of Living Hope Church in Green River; Second Vice President Dave Brown, member at Hilltop Baptist Church in Casper; Recording Secretary Dawn Kenney, member at Bar Nunn (Wyo.) Baptist Church; and Assistant Recording Secretary Elizabeth Woodfin, member at Rendezvous Church in Pinedale.
Wyoming Southern Baptists in 2026 anticipate receiving $410,000 in Cooperative Program sharing from churches, $125,000 from churches through the Wyoming State Mission Offering, and up to $110,000 from the North American Mission Board for evangelism and church planting.
The 2026 budget, up $20,000 from last year, was approved at $875,512. Cooperative Program giving to global missions remains at 10 percent, or $41,000 in 2026, same as last year.
“The Gospel is being proclaimed, baptistries are being filled, lives are being transformed, addictions broken, disciples grown, leaders raised, and churches planted across our state,” Taylor said. “As a network, we believe it is our purpose to come alongside churches and pastors and help you better fulfill the mission God has given each local church in its community. We believe we are better together and healthier when we work together. We believe healthy pastors with healthy families lead healthy churches and healthy churches transform communities.”
The 43rd annual meeting of the Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission network is set for Nov. 5-6 at Boyd Avenue Baptist Church in Casper, with an evangelism conference to start Nov. 4.
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