More than 1,300 messengers from Baptist churches across North Carolina gathered at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C., on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 11-12 for the 189th annual Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s (BSCNC) Annual Meeting. The theme of this year’s meeting is “God’s Great Work,” emphasizing the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Day one highlights are available here.

Tuesday Recap

  • At the close of registration at 6 p.m. Tuesday, 522 pastors, 262 church staff, 209 spouses of pastors or church staff, and 394 laity registered for this year’s Annual Meeting for a total of 1,387 messengers. An additional 292 visitors registered for an opening-session total of 1,679 in attendance.
  • Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, preached a message titled “Why North Carolina Baptists Must Evangelize” from Acts 1:4-11 during a special worship service aligned with the “Who’s Your One?” evangelism initiative. Floyd challenged pastors and lay people to prioritize evangelism in their church and personal lives.
  • Messengers approved a $30.5 million Cooperative Program budget for 2020 that increases the percentage allocation to the missions and ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention by 0.5%. The increased SBC allocation marks the 14th consecutive year that N.C. Baptists have increased the percentage allocation to the SBC.
  • Messengers also set the 2020 goal for the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO) at $2.1 million.
  • Messengers re-elected all three state convention officers. Steve Scoggins, pastor of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, Micheal Pardue, pastor of First Baptist Church of Icard, and Matthew Ledbetter, pastor of Creeksville Baptist Church in Conway, were re-elected to the offices of president, first vice president and second vice president, respectively. All three officers ran unopposed.
  • Messengers approved two amendments to the state convention’s bylaws that establish a process for removing board members and other elected and appointed officials for cases of “serious misconduct.” The changes apply to convention officers, members of the board of directors, appointees to special committees of the board, members of convention committees and members of Fruitland Baptist Bible College’s board of directors.
  • In his executive director-treasurer’s address, Milton A. Hollifield Jr. preached from Matthew 9:35-38 and exhorted N.C. Baptists to “get engaged in God’s great work.” During his address, Hollifield also announced plans to expand the state convention’s church health and revitalization ministry.
  • BSCNC Associate Executive Director-Treasurer Brian Davis moderated a panel discussion with pastors and ministry leaders from across the state answering the question, “How has the convention’s strategy to impact lostness through disciple-making helped your church fulfill the Great Commission?”
  • Clay Warf, executive director of the N.C. Baptist Foundation, Leland Kerr, Baptist healthcare liaison and FaithHealthNC representative with N.C. Baptist Hospital, Blake Ragsdale, director of communications with the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina, and Seth Brown, executive editor of the Biblical Recorder, shared reports with messengers on behalf of institutions of agencies of the state convention.
  • Amy Pardue Boone, executive director-treasurer of Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina, shared a report with messengers.
  • Richard Brunson, executive director-treasurer of N.C. Baptist Men (NCBM), also known as Baptists on Mission, shared an update on NCBM’s 18 different ministries, including the ongoing disaster relief efforts related to Hurricane Florence, which struck North Carolina in September 2018. Brunson said NCBM’s goal is to rebuild 2,000 homes in the next two to three years, and volunteers are still needed to serve.
  • Representatives from several state and national ministry leaders brought greetings to messengers. They were: Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention; David Horton, president of Fruitland Baptist Bible College; and Scott Pace, vice president of undergraduate studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Presidents of the North American Mission Board (Kevin Ezell) and the International Mission Board (Paul Chitwood) brought greetings by video.
  • The 2020 N.C. Baptist Annual Meeting is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 9-10, 2020, in Greensboro.