MAGNOLIA MINDS: ‘A lot of value in participating’ in SBC Annual Meeting

By Brian Rushing

I was a Student Minister in Bay St. Louis when I was first introduced to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting in 2001. It was being held in New Orleans, just an hour away from my church.

When my pastor hauled me over there, I was curious about it all, but didn’t realize how much I would enjoy it. Since then, my appreciation of the work that we conduct each year at the Annual Meeting has continually increased, and I always leave the meeting encouraged by who we are as Southern Baptists.

That is why I’m excited to be part of an Association with so much involvement in the SBC Annual Meeting. This year, the Gulf Coast Baptist Association (GCBA) was strongly represented, with 15 of our churches sending 36 Messengers to Orlando. That means that one-quarter of GCBA churches participated in speaking on the direction of the SBC.

In our own churches, we often wish that more of our people cared about the business of our church and would meaningfully participate. I’m extremely grateful that our GCBA churches care about the direction of our SBC and are participating so strongly.

Not only did our GCBA churches engage in the business of the Convention, but we also used the Annual Meeting as an opportunity to grow in our love for one another as we enjoyed the opportunities to fellowship. We showed up at the Mississippi Baptist Fellowship on Monday night, sat together during the SBC business sessions, and went out for dinner together on Tuesday night.

There is a lot of value in participating in our Annual Meetings. My hope is that even more of our GCBA and MBCB churches will consider participating in the annual SBC, MBC, and GCBA meetings. It definitely exemplifies the truth that we are better together!

Rushing is the Associational Missions Strategist for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association.