EDITOR’S NOTE: Click here to read updates on state convention annual meetings for 2020.
Florida is the latest state convention to decide not to hold an annual meeting in 2020 because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. North Carolina Baptists are considering an adapted format, and Alabama Baptist leaders will make a final decision within the next two weeks.
Florida
Tommy Green, executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention, announced in a Sept. 2 video posted on Facebook that the Nov. 8–10 at Lakes Church, Lakeland, Florida, would not take place. The decision was made by convention officers during an Aug. 27 teleconference call, according to the Florida Baptist Witness.
The convention’s State Board of Missions — which is scheduled to meet Sept. 17–18 — will adopt the 2021 budget, make future meeting adjustments and consider extending the service of all elected leaders serving on boards and governing bodies until the 2021 annual meeting, the Witness reported.
North Carolina
Leaders for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina will consider an alternate annual meeting plan during the Sept. 28 meeting of the convention’s board of directors, according to the Biblical Recorder.
The proposed plan shifts the Nov. 9–10 annual meeting at the convention center in Greensboro to a one-day meeting Nov. 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Charlotte. The convention’s executive committee recommended the one-day option through a motion passed during a video conference call on Aug. 25.
Alabama
In Alabama, the executive committee of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions has been monitoring the situation and working to make a decision no later than mid-September, according to State Board officials.
During an Aug. 14 regularly scheduled meeting, the trustee body of the State Board authorized the executive committee to make the decision.
Georgia
Georgia Baptists plan to hold an adapted form of an annual meeting on Nov. 9 from 1 to 6 p.m. with a maximum of 400 people at Ingleside Baptist Church, Macon, and following social distancing guidelines, according to The Christian Index.
“The Administration Committee decided it would be best to make our Annual Meeting an abbreviated meeting this year,” said W. Thomas Hammond Jr., Georgia Baptist Mission Board executive director. “By holding the meeting on a single day, we will eliminate the need for hotel stays for all or most messengers.”
Tennessee
Directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, officers of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the convention’s committee on arrangements voted 84 to 1 on Aug. 27 to “postpone indefinitely” the annual meeting scheduled for Nov. 8–11, according to the Baptist and Reflector.
It is the first time in the 146-year history of the convention that an annual meeting will not be held. The vote was taken during a special called Zoom meeting and was based on a recommendation of both the convention officers and the committee on arrangements earlier in August.
Mississippi
The Mississippi Baptist Convention’s 100-member board learned of the postponement plans during the Aug. 25 in-person, socially distanced meeting, according to The Baptist Record. The annual meeting was scheduled for Oct. 27–28. An alternate date has not yet been determined.
Mississippi convention president Ken Hester explained during the meeting, “Due to the extraordinary and extraneous conditions caused by the current pandemic, as authorized by Article VI, Sec. 2 of the Convention’s Constitution, the Convention President with the concurrence of the other Convention officers, including the Convention Board’s Executive Director-Treasurer, deem it appropriate and necessary to postpone the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Convention, until further notice.”
The last times the Mississippi convention did not convene annual sessions were during the Civil War, in 1862 and 1863, The Baptist Record reported.
Louisiana
Louisiana leaders plan to make final decisions about their Nov. 10 annual meeting in the coming weeks. The latest report notes the venue is being moved from Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, and a new site will be announced during the executive board’s meeting on Sept. 29, according to The Baptist Message.
South Carolina
The annual meeting of South Carolina Baptists remains on the state convention calendar for beginning the evening of Nov. 9 and concluding the evening of Nov. 10.
Share with others: