ROANOKE, Va. — Without any discussion or dissension, the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) voted to apply for membership in the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) during its annual meeting in Roanoke, Va., Nov. 10.
They also approved a budget increase for the BWA. Approximately 1,500 delegates attended the meeting. John V. Upton Jr., executive director of the BGAV, said, “Virginia Baptists have been a part of the BWA since its beginning in 1905. Our membership up to this point had been through the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The decision of the SBC to leave the BWA has automatically removed our membership.”
New BGAV President Richard Smith, a member of the BWA promotion and development executive committee and the budget and finance committee, said, “We are excited to begin the process of becoming a part of the BWA and sharing its ministry across the world.”
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