Alaska looks for new leadership
By Karen L. Willoughby
VALDEZ, Alaska — Randy Covington announced at the recent annual meeting of the Alaska Baptist Resource Network that he plans to retire as executive director at the 2025 annual meeting.
The 79th annual meeting of Southern Baptists in Alaska took place Sept. 24-25 at First Baptist Church of Valdez with a theme of “Reaching Forward,” based on Philippians 3:13-14.
“Alaska may be the Land of the Midnight Sun, but a quick glance around our state shows how little gospel light there is amidst Alaskans,” President Robert Scott, pastor of Dillingham Bible Church, told messengers and guests. “We must reach forward and take the truth of who Christ is and what Christ has done to those throughout our state, and that requires firm footing.”
Worship for the annual meeting was led by Allan Covington, the executive director’s brother, and the multi-state Deep South Worship Team. Out-of-state speakers included Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, Calif.; and Charles Grant, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee’s associate vice president for convention advancement and relations.
Representatives from the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Alabama State Board of Missions, Guidestone Financial Services and California Baptist University brought greetings and information from their entities.
Adam Hailes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Valley Mills, Texas, preached during the Pastors’ Conference that preceded the annual meeting.
In all, 151 attendees — 123 messengers and 28 guests — from 38 of Alaska’s 109 churches, missions and preaching points registered for the annual meeting, pastors’ conference and Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) event.
This year’s business included approval of amended and restated Articles of Incorporation for three entities: the Alaska Baptist Resource Network (state convention), Alaska Baptist Foundation, Inc., and Alaska Baptist Family Services, Inc., doing business as Birchwood Behavioral Health. A motion to tighten membership requirements for affiliation with the state convention to a specific version of the Baptist Faith and Message failed to attain the 2/3 majority required for approval.
The only other business consisted of approving a 2025 budget and electing officers.
The $910,280 budget, decreased $14,332 from the 2024 budget, reflected the restructuring of the state convention’s offices. The budget included a 1.5% cost-of-living raise for employees.
The budget retains the 80/20 percentage split, with 20% leaving Alaska for Southern Baptist educational and global mission causes.
“The Cooperative Program allows us to extend our reach through church planting and revitalization efforts,” Covington said. “We are anxious to find ways to gain access to unreached communities where much of our native population lives. We must ramp up our efforts to these unreached peoples.”
Alaska’s new officers are President Bruce Rowell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Palmer; First Vice President Alan McElroy, pastor of White Cliff Church in Ketchikan; Second Vice President Kyle McGee, associate pastor of First Baptist Church in North Pole; and Recording Secretary Lorie Pierce, member of Montana Creek Baptist Church.
“The best part of every one of these meetings is reconnecting with each other,” Covington said. “Because of the size of our state and the distance between many of our churches, we don’t get to see each other very often, and we are family. While we may discuss business and administrative needs, this [annual meeting] is more like a family reunion. We fellowship, build new relationships, pray and worship together and hear great messages of inspiration to encourage us as we reach forward in the task of the Great Commission.”
The 80th annual meeting of the Alaska Baptist Resource Network is set for Sept. 23-24, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Palmer.
New York celebrates 55 years
By Karen L. Willoughby
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — A tinge of nostalgia permeated the 2024 annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New York, a Northeast Network of churches.
It was Executive Director Terry Robertson’s last annual meeting. He plans to retire next April. He will be celebrating 54 years in ministry — 45 in New York State — and 20 years at the helm of the New York state convention, which spills over into five states.
The job description has been posted online at bcnysbc.org. Resumes will be accepted until Oct. 31.
“I love the diversity of our churches,” Robertson said. “I think it’s quite remarkable, across our territory we have the interaction of various ethnicities. We are family. Not only family but friends.”
About 520 churches affiliate with the Baptist Convention of New York. Eighty percent of the pastors have second and sometimes third jobs. Sixty percent of the churches are in Metro New York.
“We have a good mix of Hispanic, Filipino, Haitian. We have so many Koreans they have two associations: one in New York and one in New Jersey,” Robertson said. “Our territory is about 500 miles north to south and 500 miles east to west. It’s a massive area, and probably 34 million people in it.”
The 55th annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New York took place Sept. 20-21 at Northside Church in Liverpool, N.Y., with “Press on: Because Jesus has made us His own” as its theme, with Philippians 3:12-14 as its Scripture.
Worship was led by the Northside Church Praise Team. Hance and Julie Dilbeck led a four-hour “Intensive” Friday afternoon for pastors and their wives. Hance is president and CEO of GuideStone Financial Resources. Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, was a guest speaker.
“I believe President Gale Dingwell, pastor of Ridgecrest (N.Y.) Church, delivered the most significant president’s address in our history,” Robertson said. “I think both Dilbeck and Iorg just did phenomenal jobs. Iorg was here Friday after being installed Monday night. That said a lot to our people.
“It was all pretty amazing,” Robertson continued. “Timothy Widjaja, a young Indonesian pastor — Cornerstone Church in Queens — brought the annual sermon. He told us how he was a product of our ministry. His parents were very active in the church he now serves as pastor. He grew up going to Syracuse on ‘convention business.’ Timothy spoke of people in this territory who were heroes to him. He made it very clear the impact Southern Baptist work has had in our territory.”
When Terry and Elizabeth Robertson moved to do ministry in New York 45 years ago, there were 100 churches, 10 of which worshiped in a language other than English. Now there are 520, and 43 of them worship in an ethnic language.
“It’s good progress but over 800 languages are spoken in our territory,” Robertson said. “God has constantly shown His power in working through every situation and all circumstances, proving He’s in control.
“You have to take into account the significant impact of 9/11,” Robertson continued. “Since then, Southern Baptists have seen significant growth and advancement. The compassion of Southern Baptists shined through that tragedy and all the disasters we’ve had since.”
New York’s annual meeting drew 55 messengers from 25 churches, plus 10 visitors.
The messengers passed a $765,250 budget for 2025, up from last year’s $756,834. In addition, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) plans to allocate up to $1,100,000 for church planting and church planting development.
Of the total (less the NAMB portion) $226,500 was allocated for Cooperative Program giving. The 30/70 percentage split of CP giving remains unchanged since 2019, with 70% staying in the New York area.
Messengers elected officers for the next two-year term: President and chairman of the executive director transition team Gale Dingwell, pastor of Ridgecrest (N.Y.) Church; Vice-President Chris Cali, pastor of Northside Church in Liverpool, N.Y.; Recording Secretary Kathy Ray, member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Geneseo, N.Y.; and Assistant Recording Secretary, Grace Harris, member of One Community in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood in New York City.
The Baptist Convention of New York’s next annual conference is set for Sept. 26-27, 2025, at Northside (N.Y.) Church.
Robertson said God has been telling him for 45 years that people need the Lord. “Not only do people need the Lord,” he said, “but we as Southern Baptists belong here.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
