During the 2025 annual meeting, N.C. Baptists held a Sending Celebration for 22 missionaries from churches across the state being sent to the nations and launched a new missions engagement initiative for N.C. Baptist churches.

The 2025 N.C. Baptist annual meeting began with missionaries standing before attendees ready to be sent to the nations. It ended with those same attendees on their knees, praying for the next generation who will one day join in carrying the gospel forward.

In between those moments, worship and business blended into a shared vision of living out the meeting’s theme of “On Mission Together” as N.C. Baptists launched a new missions engagement initiative, celebrated sending 22 missionaries from local churches, emphasized reaching the next generation and prayed for God’s favor for work still to come, echoing the event’s supporting verse of Psalm 90:17.

The two-day meeting, held Nov. 10-11 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, drew 2,039 attendees — 1,595 messengers and 444 guests — which marked the highest total in 16 years when 2,055 people attended the 2009 meeting.

Messengers also approved a $30 million Cooperative Program (CP) budget for 2026, reelected the full slate of state convention officers, and heard messages, ministry reports and more during the meeting, which was the 195th annual gathering in Baptist State Convention of North Carolina history.

Missions engagement & Sending Celebration

During the event’s opening session, N.C. Baptist Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Unzicker unveiled a new missions engagement initiative aimed at helping churches live out the Great Commission. The initiative is built around a fourfold framework of strategizing, mobilizing, caring and connecting.

“Our vision is simple, but it’s bold, and it’s going to take all of us being on mission together,” Unzicker said.

Unzicker’s address preceded an N.C. Baptist Sending Celebration in which 22 missionaries representing 10 churches from across the state were recognized and given the opportunity to share about their ministry assignment and prayer requests. Attendees concluded the opening session by praying over the missionaries, many of whom will be serving in hard-to-reach locations where access to the gospel is limited.

“This is what it means to be on mission together,” said state convention President Allen Murray, pastor of Mount PIsgah Baptist Church in Supply, N.C., before leading attendees in prayer over the missionaries to conclude the meeting’s opening session Monday night.

President’s address

Murray opened the second day of the meeting Tuesday morning by delivering the annual president’s address. Murray emphasized the importance of prayer in a message titled “In Prayer Together” based on Acts 4:23-31. In his sermon, Murray shared three characteristics of “On Mission Together” people. Murray said “On Mission Together” people believe in prayer, providence and proclamation.

“Prayer is no bookend for the Christian on mission,” Murray said. “Prayer is the mission.”

Officers reelected

Murray was one of the three state convention officers who were reelected to second terms of service in 2026.

In addition to Murray being reelected president, Steven Wade, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville, N.C., and professor of pastoral theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, was reelected as first vice president, and Matt Capps, lead pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, N.C., was reelected as second vice president. 

All three officers ran unopposed.

Budget approved

Messengers adopted a 2026 Cooperative Program budget totaling $30 million, which is $1 million less than the 2025 budget. The budget maintains a 50/50 split between N.C. Baptist ministries and global ministry partners.

Messengers also approved a motion stipulating that undesignated CP receipts in excess of the $30 million budget in 2026 be allocated equally between N.C. Baptists’ life initiative and mission engagement activities.

An increased $2.8 million goal for the 2026 North Carolina Missions Offering was also adopted along with offering allocation percentages. The $2.8 million goal represents a $200,000 increase from the 2025 goal, while the percentage allocations were unchanged. Similar to 2025, 62% of the offering will go to N.C. Baptists on Mission ministries, 28% will go to church planting and 10% will go to missions projects in local Baptist associations.

Convention sermon

Shane Pruitt, national next-gen director for the North American Mission Board, closed out the meeting by delivering the annual convention sermon. Pruitt preached on spiritual awakening and the next generation, sharing four markers of a genuine move of God from Acts 5:27-42. He said one can know God is moving when obedience is the priority, the gospel is being proclaimed, there is an awareness of kingdom victory and there is mission without fear. 

At the conclusion of his message, Pruitt invited attendees to gather around the stage to kneel and pray for the next generation.

“We need to help young people realize that Jesus is the best, and there is none like Him,” Pruitt said.

Other business

In other business, messengers approved a minor change to the state convention’s bylaws to remove a reference related to appointing trustees to the Christian Action League of North Carolina. In September 2024, the Christian Action League voted to dissolve as an organization.

During the time for miscellaneous business, a motion requesting that the state convention’s board of directors work with the Fruitland Baptist Bible College board of directors to begin the process of establishing a search committee for the school’s next president was ruled out of order because Fruitland’s governing documents outline the process for conducting a presidential search. Current Fruitland President David Horton has announced his plans to retire at the end of March 2026. The motion was brought by David MacEachern, a messenger and senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Gastonia, N.C..

Messengers approved the Committee on Nominations report as presented, which elects individuals to serve on the N.C. Baptist board of directors and various committees as well as trustees and directors of the institutions and agencies of the convention.

Messengers also heard reports from N.C. Baptist entities, which included Provision Financial Resources of N.C. Baptists, the Biblical Recorder, the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina and N.C. Baptists on Mission. During the Baptists on Mission report, officials reported that volunteers have rebuilt more than 600 homes in western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene since the storm struck a little more than a year ago.

The meeting was preceded by the annual N.C. Baptist pastors’ conference, which met Sunday and Monday, Nov. 9-10, at the Koury Center around the theme of “Ordinary Gospel Men.”

Next year’s meeting

Next year’s N.C. Baptist annual meeting will be held Nov. 16-17, 2026, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C. Messengers voted to approve Trevin Wax, vice president of research and resource development with the North American Mission Board, to deliver the 2026 convention sermon.

By Chad Austin, BR Managing Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared on brnow.org.