DALLAS (BP)–The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting drew 9,637 messengers to Dallas June 12-13. The unofficial total is nearly double last year’s 5,015 messengers in Phoenix, topping that total by 11 a.m. the day before the meeting even began.
Ken Ledwell of Beltsville Baptist Church attends the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, Texas.
When registered guests, exhibitors and others are included, the count of those at the SBC annual meeting rose to 12,045.
It is the highest attendance at an annual meeting since Orlando in 2010 (11,070), but fewer than in 1997 when the convention last met in Dallas (12,519). The all-time high messenger count — 45,519 in 1985 –- also happened in Dallas in 1985.
The unofficial state-by-state messenger registration numbers include Delaware, 12; and Maryland, 88. Official attendance numbers will be released later; the numbers do not include guests or children.
Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention have elected the 68-member Committee on Nominations for 2017-2018 to represent the 34 states or territories qualified for representation on the committee according to SBC Bylaw 30.
The committee, with at least one layperson from each qualified state or territory, was elected during the June 12-13 SBC annual meeting in Dallas.
The committee will make nominations to messengers at the June 2019 SBC annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala., for trustees to the SBC boards and committees.
For Maryland/Delaware/D.C., messengers elected Pastor Jon Boulet of Sycamore Hill, Hockessin, Del.; and Larry Willis of Pleasant View Baptist, Port Deposit, Md.