It is supposed to be the largest meeting of Alabama Baptists during the year. More churches from more associations are supposed to attend this meeting than any other. It is supposed to be a time when Baptists conduct their business and make plans for the coming year. It is supposed to be a time of renewal and reunion as friends cross paths, sometimes for the first time since the last gathering.
“It” is the annual meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC), which meets this year Nov. 14–15 at Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover. Officials are hoping the number of registered messengers will climb back toward the 2,000 mark. In 2002, the last time the annual meeting met in the Birmingham area, 2,017 messengers registered. In each of the last three years, registration has barely toped 1,000.
Election of a new president usually ensures an upturn in registration, but this year, only one presidential candidate has been announced. Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville, is expected to be nominated for the office by Evangelist Don Graham. Willmore is completing a second term as first vice president of the ABSC and served two terms as second vice president.
Only one candidate has been announced for each of the vice presidential spots as well. Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, is expected to be nominated for first vice president by John Killian, president of the state Pastors Conference and pastor of Maytown Baptist Church. Jackson is the current second vice president of the convention.
Mike Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pelham, is expected to be nominated for second vice president by former state convention president Joe Godfrey, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pleasant Grove. Interestingly Shaw nominated Godfrey’s opponent for president of the convention in 2002, the last year the convention had a contested presidential election.
Godfrey now nominating Shaw symbolizes the spirit of cooperation that appears to prevail in most of Alabama Baptist life.
It is because of that spirit of cooperation that Alabama Baptists will consider a record Cooperative Program (CP) budget. Many other state Baptist conventions have been forced to cut back on budget goals, but Alabama Baptists keep moving forward. This year, messengers will consider a record $43.925 million CP budget and a challenge budget of $44.925 million.
Of that amount, 42.3 percent will go to causes of the Southern Baptist Convention. The remaining portion will help underwrite work sponsored by Alabama Baptists.
Several other business items will also be considered. The one that excites this writer the most is the missions partnership with Michigan. Perhaps that is because my family was one of the thousands of Alabama families that left the cotton fields of the state and migrated to the factories of Michigan in the 1950s.
I was privileged to be a part of Southern Baptist beginnings in that state. I still have my messenger badge from the meeting that founded the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. The state remains a place that could greatly benefit from the encouragement of Alabama Baptists.
Baldwin County Baptists will provide many of the inspirational highlights of the annual meeting. State convention President Henry Cox, pastor of First Baptist Church, Bay Minette, will bring the annual president’s address at the conclusion of the opening session Tuesday morning. His neighboring pastor, Jerry Henry of First Baptist Church, Fairhope, will deliver the convention sermon on Wednesday. Nearby pastor Paul Matthews of Jubilee Baptist Church, Daphne, will provide one of the theme interpretations.
There will be other inspirational moments, of course, including theme interpretations by Jerry Wilkins, director of missions for Tuscaloosa Baptist Association, and Les Hughes, pastor of Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster. The Tuesday night program will feature Alabama-native Ted Traylor, who now serves as pastor of Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola, Fla., and is always a popular preacher.
Inspirational moments will not be limited to the annual meeting. The Pastors Conference has an outstanding lineup of popular preachers. This meeting is always an inspiration-filled event. No wonder it is a popular time of encouragement for pastors and others.
Unlike past years, meetings related to the annual convention will not be concentrated in the host church. Hunter Street will host the convention and the meetings of the State Board of Missions. The Pastors Conference will be at Gardendale’s First Baptist Church. Other meeting sites range from Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer, to First Baptist Church, Birmingham, to First, Pelham.
Participants will want to check carefully the location of the meetings they wish to attend.
If possible, participate in the annual meeting of the ABSC. It will be educational and inspirational.
If personal participation is impossible, please pray for the annual meeting. Pray for convention leaders, for speakers, for the business decisions, for a spirit of cooperation and encouragement. Alabama Baptists are blessed by God, and we want to “be a blessing” to others in Jesus’ name.
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