I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, to be held Nov. 16-17 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
Jim AustinThis year’s meeting is unique in that it has been preceded by a prayer summit held on Oct. 28, with the anticipation that God may truly be honored and glorified by all that occurs in our deliberations.
Additionally, the order of business committee this year has organized a community outreach in partnership with Columbia Metro and Lexington associations as well as South Carolina Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union. This outreach will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13, and will seek to impact the surrounding communities of the Columbia and Lexington area with acts of kindness offered in Jesus’ name that result in opportunities of gospel witness.
Also preceding this year’s annual meeting will be the South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference, led this year by president and pastor Brad Whitt. The conference will be held at Riverland Hills Baptist Church. Pastor Whitt has assembled a line of impressive, gifted Bible preachers whose messages will inspire, encourage, and challenge all who attend. I encourage all of our ministers to take part in this wonderful gathering.
In our annual meeting, encouraging reports will be heard regarding the sacrificial and dedicated efforts of South Carolina Baptists in these challenging times. Several ministries are experiencing phenomenal response to their efforts of outreach and discipleship, for which we give our Father praise. No doubt we, like other state conventions, are facing shortfalls financially; yet, we are encouraged by the historic response to the gospel and faithfulness of God even during these challenging times. Our order of business committee, along with the leadership of convention president Fred Stone, has crafted an inspiring lineup for our annual meeting, with the theme, “For the Glory of God.” All that we do should be with the ultimate and sole purpose to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. Included in our meeting will be inspiring messages brought by LifeWay researcher Ed Stetzer. Following his message will be a meal for young leaders, and, on Wednesday, our former Southern Baptist Convention president, Johnny Hunt, will preach God’s Word at the close of our meeting. You will not want to miss a single moment of these encouraging times together.
I look forward to seeing each of you at our annual meeting and encourage you to begin praying now that God will truly be glorified as a result of our time together. We are, even during these challenging days, wanting to seize the moment and reach our state and the nation with the good news of Jesus our Lord, as together we Experience Kingdom Life.
– Austin is executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.