[1]Michigan 2025 focuses on church strengthening
By Karen L. Willoughby
GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Michigan Southern Baptists reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate Gospel movement through both church planting and church strengthening, with a renewed emphasis on helping existing congregations thrive.
“Our heart for starting new churches remains strong,” said Executive Director Ed Emmerling following the 68th annual meeting of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan, held Nov. 7 at Ekklesia Church. “But we’re also increasing our investment in strengthening churches, a priority our pastors have expressed as vital to accelerating Gospel movement across our state.
“We will put equal effort in strengthening our churches and starting new ones.” Emmerling told Baptist Press. “We increased our budget for strengthening churches, which is something our pastors wanted.
“We believe we are best at starting churches from a position of strength,” Emmerling continued. “Our goal for every church in Michigan is to engage their community with the Gospel through evangelism, equip their people through discipleship and expand the Kingdom through church planting and missions. We believe all churches should be doing all three of these, and from that, new churches will be multiplied.”
The one-day annual meeting, with a theme of “Accelerating Gospel Movement together,” based on Philippians 1:27, drew 144 messengers from 70 of Michigan’s 262 churches, plus 37 registered guests, for a total of 200 attendees.
“I felt there was a great spirit of unity,” Emmerling said. “We started with a significant time of prayer. It set the tone for our whole day.”
Special guest speaker Daniel Richie, evangelist, author, member of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., and the SBC’s first vice president, drove 12 hours to Michigan to speak at the annual meeting from Atlanta after his flight was canceled because of the government shutdown. He then drove directly to Charlotte, N.C., to speak Saturday afternoon at a North Carolina event.
“We’re seeing record baptisms and witnessing God move in ways we haven’t seen here in a long time,” said Emmerling, a Michigan pastor for 28 years, in his Executive Director’s report.
A total of 1,611 baptisms were recorded.
“One of our major goals for 2025 was simple but powerful: love on our pastors, because pastors are our heroes,” Emmerling said. “Pastors, you truly are our heroes. It’s an honor to serve you, serve with you, and celebrate all you do for the King of Kings.”
Events for pastors and their wives “reached nearly 600 total participants. That’s well over half of our churches joining in,” Emmerling noted. “It was a great year. As I’ve traveled around the state, I hear all the wonderful things God is doing. It seems like we’re in a state of revival!
“As a pastor, you don’t realize what God is doing around you,” the executive director continued. “I reminded our churches that even in a down season, God is still working. If we stay faithful and keep trusting Him, we’ll see His work in our churches too.”
Matt Thompson, the state’s Send Network director, said Michigan Baptists have endorsed 15 new churches and seven church planters this year and seen two new churches affiliate.
“We are also anticipating another five planters to be endorsed by the end of the year,” Thompson said. “The projected total for 2025 is 22 new churches added, which is almost 10 percent of our BSCM churches added in one year!”
Business
New officers elected were: President Cornelius Roberson, pastor of Heart and Soul Community Church in West Bloomfield; First Vice President Nate Click, pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Monroe; Second Vice President Michele White, a member of Middlebelt Baptist Church in Inkster; Recording Secretary Chris Peoples, pastor of Trinity Church in Adrian; Assistant Recording Secretary David Cox, pastor of Temple of Faith in Detroit.
The 2026 budget was decreased by $101,613.53, and the Cooperative Program split was decreased from 35 percent to global missions to 30 percent, plus 50 percent of any CP giving from churches over budget.
The 2026 budget includes $1,280,000 in CP giving from churches, for a total budget of $1,994,960, down from $2,127,000 last year. Global missions is to receive $384,000.
“My plan was to pastor Westside Church [in Flushing] and retire,” Emmerling said. “I had no plan to even apply [to be executive director] until approached by several pastors. Then my wife and I began praying about it. I thought I had the greatest plan until the Lord changed it. It’s such a joy to get to come along pastors, to rejoice with them, encourage them and work together with them.”
The 69th annual meeting of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan is set for Nov. 6, 2026, at Mile City Church in Plymouth.
Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists commission strategic planning team
By David Williams/MWBC
ROCHESTER, Minn. – With a theme of “Advancing the Gospel,” the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention reflected on the past and looked toward the future as messengers gathered at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Rochester for their 42nd annual meeting.
Trey Turner, elected in April to succeed long-serving Leo Endel as executive director, stepped to the stage to deliver his very first report.
“It has been 23 years since this report was given by someone other than Leo Endel,” Turner said, acknowledging his predecessor’s long tenure. He also paid tribute to others who had served in that role: Otha Winningham, Bill Tinsley and Gerald Palmer.
“We don’t need the same approach of 23 years ago,” he said, “but we do need the same kind of compassion and commitment that we had 23 years ago.”
Before the annual meeting, Turner had called for Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists to devote 200 hours of prayer for the meeting and for a strategic planning team that would be announced at the meeting.
The strategy team, tasked with developing a five-year plan to guide MWBC’s priorities through 2030, is composed of Matt Wunderlin, pastor, Rolling Hills Church, Platteville, Wis.; Chris Phillips, pastor of administration and discipleship, Trinity Baptist Church, Reedsburg, Wis.; Clint Calvert, elder, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rochester, Minn.; Paul Fries, member, Trinity Baptist Church, Reedsburg, Wis.; Paul Springer, pastor, Northwest Baptisst Church, Wauwatosa, Wis. ; Charles Dunning, member, Valley Baptist Church, Appleton, Wis.; and Dee Thao, member, First Hmong Baptist Church, Coon Rapids, Minn.
“They will work from now to April and present their findings at the April executive board meeting,” Turner said.
A total of 143 attended: 73 guests and 70 messengers from 39 of the convention’s 195 churches. Messengers approved a 2026 budget of $915,274, which is a 6.5 percent decrease from the 2025 budget of $978,525. The percentage of Cooperative Program giving forwarded to national causes remains at 20 percent.
Messengers elected President Chris Phillips, pastor of administration and discipleship, Trinity Baptist Church, Reedsburg, Wis.; First Vice President Joseph Young, pastor, First Hmong Baptist Church, Coon Rapids, Minn.; Second Vice President Hoyt Lovelace, pastor of missions, Resonate Church, Janesville, Wis.; Recording Secretary Tim Amert, member, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rochester, Minn.; and Assistant Recording Secretary Glen Slatts, member, Trinity Baptist Church, Reedsburg, Wis.
Messengers approved the two resolutions reported out of the resolutions committee by Keith Cogburn, director of missions, Lakeland Baptist Association: (1) thanking the host church and praying for their search for a new pastor; and (2) seeking God’s leadership for the MWBC as it navigates changes and opportunities.
The 2026 annual meeting will be Oct. 23-24 at Trinity Baptist Church in Reedsburg, Wis. The annual sermon will be delivered by Matt Wunderlin, pastor of Rolling Hills Church, Platteville, Wis. Alternate will be Philip Nache, pastor of Hope of Nations Fellowship Church, Minneapolis. The following year’s annual meeting will be Oct. 22-23, 2027, at Cross Pointe Church in Cambridge, Minn.
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