SPRINGFIELD – Messengers representing churches affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) are gathering Oct. 23-24 at Crossway Baptist Church in Springfield for their 189th annual meeting.
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Restore My Soul,” taken from Psalm 19:7, which reads, “The Law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The Testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (NASB).
The annual meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. Monday and closes Tuesday at 4 p.m. The full program is available online at mobaptist.org/annual-meeting and on the MBC Annual Meeting App.
Joby Martin, founder and lead pastor of The Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville, Fla., is the featured speaker Monday afternoon. MBC President Chris Williams speaks Monday evening, along with retiring MBC Executive Director John Yeats and incoming Executive Director Wes Fowler.
The MBC Executive Board elected Fowler as the new executive director Aug. 28 at its meeting in Jefferson City. Yeats hands the gavel to Fowler Monday evening, just prior to a celebratory reception for both men at the DoubleTree Hotel in Springfield. The reception is hosted by the MBC and all of its entities, and all MBC messengers and guests are invited to attend.
Tuesday morning’s featured speaker is Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries. Fowler closes the annual meeting with an address Tuesday afternoon.
Shaun Jones and the Fellowship Church Worship Team (Greenwood, Mo.) lead worship throughout the two-day event.
MBC President Chris Williams presides over the annual meeting. Local churches elect messengers to the convention; the messengers in turn select a new slate of officers and vote on other business matters.
In addition to hearing reports from MBC and Southern Baptist Convention entities, messengers introduce, debate and vote on motions, or actions they wish the convention’s executive board, staff, committees, or entities to take. They also may introduce, debate, and vote on a variety of resolutions, which express the opinion of messengers on particular issues.
Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are providing childcare Monday and Tuesday. Space is limited, and registration for each child is required at mobaptist.org/annual-meeting.
Exhibits are open in several locations on the Crossway campus throughout the annual meeting.
All sessions are open to the public. Follow convention activities on X (formerly Twitter) (@mobaptists) and be sure to include #mobaptists in your X and Facebook postings.
The Missouri Baptist Pastors’ Conference also is held at Crossway Baptist Church from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23.