By Staff
SPRINGFIELD—“Do the Work of an Evangelist” will be the theme Oct. 25-27 for the 176th annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) at the Expo Center here.
The gathering will feature the usual mixture of preaching, singing, and business as more than 1,000 messengers are anticipated. It begins at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 25 with MBC President Bruce McCoy, pastor, Canaan Baptist Church, St. Louis, gaveling the meeting to order.
Two of the more prominent Southern Baptist pastors on the national scene are scheduled to speak. On Oct. 26 at 4 p.m., Mac Brunson, pastor, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla., will speak. He will be followed on Oct. 27 by David Uth, pastor, First Baptist Church, Orlando, Fla., who will speak at 9:55 a.m. as the meeting winds toward its conclusion.
MBC Executive Director David Tolliver and McCoy will speak on Oct. 25, and Randy Johnson, pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Republic, will deliver the convention sermon on Oct. 26. Johnson has indicated he will bring a message out of Malachi, a book that uplifts the idea of God’s name being great among the nations.
Music for the annual meeting will be handled by a variety of artists. The Martins, a trio known for its versatility that has won six Dove awards, will be the anchor on Oct. 26. Other groups will be the Missouri Music Men and Southern Raised. On the opening night, Mike Wright, music minister, Canaan Baptist, will return in support of his pastor, McCoy, who is a two-time president.
The evening program on Oct. 26 will celebrate the contributions of MBC staffers. A staff report told from the perspective of MBC Associate Executive Director Jay Hughes will be presented. He is over the Support Services branch of the MBC.
Also that evening a special offering will be taken for the recently created Vivian McCaughan Missional Living Endowment. Proceeds from this endowment will fund future activities in four areas: church planting, multi-housing ministry, leadership development, and partnership missions.