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How the Southern Baptist Convention Works
The Southern Baptist Convention
† Formed on May 8, 1845 in Augusta, GA
†Largest Protestant Denomination
† 16 Million Members† Over 45,000 Churches in all
50 states
The Southern Baptist Convention† Dedicated to Crossing Barriers
† Over 200 Language Groups are represented
Evangelical Arabic Church, Antioch, TN Twin Cities Hmong Baptist Church
Basic Convictions
† Southern Baptists have 3 basic convictions:
† 1. Lordship of Jesus Christ
† 2. Authority of God’s Word
† 3. Devotion to Missions
SBC Membership
† Foundation is the local congregation† Membership in a Southern Baptist congregation:
† 1. Salvation
† 2. Believer’s Baptism by Immersion
SBC Congregations† Autonomous
† Set own budget† Call own pastors† Follow God’s direction for ministry
† Evangelistic† Living and sharing the Gospel
† Voluntarily join with other congregations† Doing more together than we can apart
Organizational StructureA local congregation is affiliated with three areas of Baptist organized life: association, state convention, and national convention…. The Southern Baptist Convention is not over the state conventions or the associations. All are as autonomous as are the congregations. These three bodies are on the same level organizationally, and all are made up of messengers sent directly by their congregations…
James L. Sullivan, Baptist Polity: As I See It, Revised Edition (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 67.
Congregations Working TogetherAssociation State Convention Southern Baptist
Convention
Fellowship among local Baptist churches
Fellowship with Baptist churches in the state
Fellowship with all SBC churches
Coordinated ministry and evangelism on local level
Coordinated ministry and evangelism on state level
Coordinated ministry and evangelism on national and international level
Fellowship, Joint Ministry Accountability
Fellowship, Joint Ministry Accountability
Fellowship, Joint Ministry Accountability
Disaster relief: Volunteer training and equipment
Disaster relief: Coordination of teams
Disaster relief:Logistics and support
Cooperation Is Key† Autonomous
† Churches†Working
†Together
SBC Structure
† The SBC is structured as a Convention† This allows us to
join together in a wide range of ministry opportunities at the same time
North American
church planting
in a nightclub
Prison ministry
in Thailand
The Annual Convention
† 2-Day Session† Congregations choose messengers to attend
† One messenger from every contributing congregation in friendly cooperation
† One additional messenger for every 250 members or $250 contributed to work of the Convention
† Maximum 10 messengers per congregation
The Annual Convention
† Evangelistic opportunities (Crossover) and Pastor’s Conference precede the convention meeting.
The Annual Convention
† Congregations large and small are represented † Each Messenger has a voice† Messengers
† Join together in prayer, praise and worship† Elect officers† Pass resolutions† Hear reports from entities
How the Southern Baptist Convention Works
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