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