Meeting at First Baptist Church of Columbia Nov. 11-12, messengers to the 204th Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention elected an Irmo pastor to serve as president-elect, adopted a $26.5 million Cooperative Program Ministry Plan, and approved six resolutions.
With “Till All Have Heard” as their theme, the 774 registered messengers heard challenges from Convention President Wes Church, pastor of First Baptist, Columbia; J.J. Washington, national director of Personal Evangelism at the North American Mission Board; and Bryant Wright, president of Send Relief, Southern Baptists’ global compassion ministry.
Officers Elected
Elected to serve by acclamation as convention officers were: president-elect, Ryan Pack, pastor of Riverland Hills Baptist Church in Irmo; vice president, Mark Bishop, pastor of First Baptist Church, Landrum; and registration secretary, Randy Jackson, executive and college pastor of Northwood Baptist Church in North Charleston.
The 2025 Convention Officers are (l to r): Randy Jackson, Mark Bishop and Chuck Sprouse with President-Elect Ryan Pack. (Photo by SCBaptist Creative team)
Pack, who will preside at the 2026 annual meeting, was nominated by Cory Horton, pastor of Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Taylors. Mark Kelly, pastor of First Baptist Church of Barnwell, nominated Bishop, and Clint McCormick, pastor of Berlin Baptist Church in Salley, nominated Jackson.
In nominating Pack, Horton highlighted that Riverland Hills is a leading congregation in both Cooperative Program giving and baptisms. Riverland Hills also has tripled its Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and doubled its Annie Armstrong Offering this past year.
Having served at Riverland Hills since 2017, Pack has been pastor of four other churches in North and South Carolina. He has served on the SCBC’s Nominations, Resolutions, Order of Business, and Enrollment and Credentials committees. He also has been a member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.
Chuck Sprouse, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ninety Six, will preside as president at next year’s annual meeting, Nov. 10-11, at Taylors First Baptist Church.
In announcing the theme “Celebrate!” for the 2025 Annual Meeting, Sprouse said, “We will celebrate what God has called us to do together, and I pray that we will have much to celebrate.” Next year will be the 100th anniversary celebration of Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program.
Budget Approved
The 2025 budget goal — unchanged from the previous year — will allocate 25.16 percent, or $6,667,400, for international missions and 20.34 percent, or $5,390,100, to North American missions, theological education, and other Southern Baptist causes. The state convention will retain 54.5 percent, or $14,442,500, for state missions work, its three universities, and its other five ministry partners.
Along with approving the 2025 budget, messengers heard from the leaders of the SCBaptist Share, Serve, Send, Start, Strong and Shepherd teams and from the presidents of its various ministry partners. They also approved the recommendations of the convention’s Nominations Committee and Committee on Committees for service on entity boards and committees.
Resolutions Adopted
In addition to expressing appreciation to the host church, messengers adopted five resolutions addressing issues impacting the state, individuals, and churches:
The unselfish work of South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers after the statewide devastation of Hurricane Helene was praised at the Annual Meeting.
• SCBaptist Disaster Relief — State and national volunteers who responded following Hurricane Helene were “enthusiastically” affirmed for their ongoing recovery efforts in removing trees from homes and roadways, and providing food, water, supplies and comfort to people in need.
• Centennial Celebration of the Cooperative Program — Churches were commended for voluntarily combining resources to mobilize missionaries, fund theological education, plant churches, strengthen established churches and assist communities in crisis. Messengers celebrated the $1.3 billion that SCBaptists have sacrificially given during the 100 years of the Cooperative Program.
• Appreciation for Christian-based Drug Rehabilitation — Church ministries and parachurch organizations were recognized for their work to redeem, rehabilitate, and restore people addicted to drugs and other substances. Pastors and lay leaders were encouraged to aid those working in this area through prayer, discipleship, financial support, and other means.
• Encouraging Laws to Protect Parental Rights — The South Carolina Legislature was encouraged to partner with families to enact legislation that protects and upholds parental rights; and that ensures parents have the freedom to make decisions regarding the upbringing, education and healthcare of their children.
• God’s Design for the Family — Churches were exhorted to boldly set forth the standard of God’s design for the family, while parents were charged to embrace their responsibility as the primary disciplers of their children and model a biblical family as a witness to others.
Give+Go Introduced
In his report to convention messengers, Executive Director-Treasurer Tony Wolfe introduced the “Give+Go” initiative, a holistic challenge for SCBaptists to increase their Cooperative Program investment and evangelistic engagement in 2025. The two-fold strategy to boost evangelism and CP investment will offer resources, events, videos, and curriculum to equip SCBaptists in sharing the gospel.
“SCBaptists are giving it all we’ve got in 2025,” Wolfe said. “We’re giving, and we’re going like never before.
“SCBaptists are a generous people,” he added. “I believe that every resource we need to accomplish the mission that God has entrusted to us is already ours in Christ Jesus.”
“This week, SCBaptists decided that our mission is too great, the gospel is too urgent, and our time is too short to divide or delay over peripheral issues. Ours is a laser-sharp Great Commission focus,” Wolfe wrote after the meeting in his column for The Baptist Courier. “Let the gates of hell take note: We are coming for you. We are advancing the gospel, and all the power of heaven is with us.”
Convention sessions featured several panel discussions on cooperation, missions and evangelism.
Three panel discussions at this year’s meeting focused on promoting cooperation, reigniting evangelism, and missions engagement.
Participants included D.J. Horton, pastor at Church at the Mill, Spartanburg; Alex Sands, pastor at Kingdom Life Church, Simpsonville; Josh Powell, pastor at Taylors First Baptist Church; Adam Venters, director of Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the University of South Carolina; Corey Watson, teaching pastor and evangelism director of First Baptist Simpsonville/Upstate Church’s Harrison Bridge campus; Ed Stewart, pastor and church planter of New Creation Baptist Church, Columbia; Tommy Meador, pastor at Northwood Baptist Church, North Charleston; Judd and Debbie McKinnon, International Mission Board missionaries; and Charlie Swain, SCBaptist Next Generation strategist. (See related story.)
Service Recognized
In their report, the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee presented its three annual awards:
Pastor Will Broadus receives the Impact Your World award on behalf of Reconcile Community Church in west Greenville.
• The E.A. McDowell Award, recognizing individuals who exemplify Christian action in politics, government, or community action, recognized Tim and Jody Cross for their work in refugee ministry. Open Arms welcomes and assists refugees arriving through the Refugee Resettlement Program, connecting them with local churches to support, provide community, and assist toward becoming self-sufficient.
• The Impact Your World Award, recognizing churches that demonstrate a commitment to social and moral concerns, was presented to Reconcile Community Church in Greenville, which was represented by Pastor Will Broadus.
• The Public Service Award, recognizing public officials who represent Christian ideals in the public square, was presented to Rep. Mike Burns. He advocated for legislation focused on protecting minors, including the Do No Harm Bill, the Child Online Safety Act, and the Save Women’s Sports Act.