For Southern Baptists gearing up to attend the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., the North American Mission Board (NAMB) will offer avenues for church leaders and guests to engage the mission and take time to be refreshed and encouraged in Southern California.
Crossover
On June 11, NAMB and California Southern Baptists will launch Crossover as a Send Relief Serve Tour experience featuring several evangelistic events hosted throughout Anaheim by local churches. Southern Baptist seminaries will, in the week leading up to the annual meeting, also train and send out teams of seminary students into local communities in Southern California to share the gospel.
Send luncheon
On June 13, NAMB’s annual Send Luncheon will take place in the Anaheim Convention Center starting at noon Pacific time. In addition to a great lunch, attendees can expect an encouraging program designed to provide pastors, church leaders and their families a respite ahead of the SBC annual meeting. The program will feature entertainment as well as a short presentation from NAMB president Kevin Ezell and the usual surprises attendees have come to expect at NAMB’s annual luncheon. The event is sold out.
Chaplaincy breakfast
NAMB will host a breakfast to honor SBC chaplains on June 14. Chaplains will hear from NAMB’s experienced chaplaincy staff, including retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Doug Carver, NAMB’s executive director of chaplaincy, as well as other leaders in Southern Baptist chaplaincy. Carver will also participate in the SBC annual meeting’s “Celebrating Freedom” portion of the morning that helps to kick off the gathering.
NAMB presentation
As part of its report to Southern Baptists during the meeting, NAMB will feature the work of Send Relief, with a particular focus on the ongoing crisis response in Ukraine. Ezell will also share stories to inspire Southern Baptists toward personal evangelism. As part of the report to the convention, NAMB will also highlight Send Network and the success Southern Baptists have seen in church planting.
NAMB missionaries
A few dozen NAMB missionaries will attend the 2022 annual meeting to meet and engage with fellow members of the Southern Baptist family and gain a greater understanding for how Southern Baptists partner for the sake of the Great Commission. A few GenSend student missionaries will assist with messenger registration, and Send Network will host a sold-out breakfast June 15 to encourage and equip church planting missionaries, their sending churches and others interested in missions.
NAMB, Send Relief exhibits
Church planting missionaries are reaching the unreached across North America with the hope of the gospel, and at NAMB’s booth in the exhibit hall, attendees will be able to commit to pray for a church planter through a Pray for Planters experience. Send Relief will also feature a booth that will provide information for attendees to learn about upcoming Serve Tour mission trips in North America as well as opportunities to serve internationally through Send Relief’s efforts with the International Mission Board.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.)
