The Southern Baptist Convention is anticipating one of its biggest meetings in recent years as approximately 20,000 people are expected to travel to Orlando for next month’s annual convention.
This year’s SBC Annual Meeting and Pastors’ Conference will take place June 7–10 at the Orange County Convention Center, drawing church leaders, messengers and members from across the country.
Dr. Richard Land, executive editor of The Christian Post
and former president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said he believes the expected rise in attendance “reflects a growing spirit of optimism about the SBC's future.”
Land said that optimism is “reflected in the recent reports of significant increases in baptisms and regular church attendance at the local level and the smooth and contention-free recent election of new chief executive officers at Southeastern Seminary in North Carolina, along with Lifeway, the publishing arm of the Convention in Nashville, and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the convention.”
According to Convention Manager Lynn Richmond, interest in the gathering became apparent months ago when hotel reservations first opened. Richmond told Baptist Press
, the SBC’s official news service, that demand for accommodations quickly exceeded expectations.
Jonathan Howe said more than 13,000 of the projected attendees are expected to serve as official messengers representing SBC churches during the convention’s business sessions.
“This will be our largest annual meeting since Nashville in 2021, and we can’t wait to see SBC families from across the country come together in Orlando,” Howe told BP.
The SBC, recognized as the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, convenes every June to conduct denominational business, elect leaders and receive reports from its agencies and seminaries.
Its Annual Meeting is considered one of the largest deliberative assemblies in the United States, with thousands of messengers gathering each year to introduce motions, debate resolutions and vote on major issues affecting the denomination.
Two pastors are currently expected to be nominated for SBC president during this year’s meeting: Josh Powell of South Carolina and Willy Rice of Florida. Additional nominations could also emerge during the convention.
