Jeff Iorg, SBC Executive Committee president, leads a panel discussion at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on the importance of the Cooperative Program.
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) — The 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas will feature a 100th anniversary celebration of the Cooperative Program (CP) and President Clint Pressley presiding over his first annual meeting. Dozens of key leaders met at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Thursday (Aug. 22) for a kickoff to begin preparations for the June meeting.
Pressley said during this year as president, he wants to remind Southern Baptists they are united around the Baptist Faith and Message and the Cooperative Program.
“We agree on those two things,” he said.
“I want us to hold fast to the confession that tells us who Christ is and why we’re on mission and our cooperating together to actually be on a mission,” said Pressley, senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.
Annual meeting theme
He shared the annual meeting’s theme will be “Hold Fast,” based on Hebrews 10:23-24.
“We hold fast to the confession. We hold fast to stirring up one another to love … and do good works,” he said.
“That is the mission.”
Volunteers needed
Around 700 volunteers are needed annually to ensure messengers and guests are served well at the annual meeting.
Texas pastor George Schroeder is leading the coordination of the volunteers who will serve as greeters, ushers, tellers and more.
“This is Texas and we got to do this thing right. Right?” he asked the more than 200 guests.
“We get to tell people about barbecue, Dr. Pepper, football and George Strait, and I suggest we do that,” he said, “but we get to tell them about Jesus. We get to show them who we are.”
Schroeder is pastor of First Baptist Church Fairfield and a former editor of Baptist Press.
He believes between the two “strong state conventions” in Texas, they will be able to make a favorable impression on Southern Baptists.
Pastors’ conference to focus on doctrine and mentor relationships
South Carolina pastor D.J. Horton, president of next year’s pastors’ conference and senior pastor of Church at The Mill in Spartanburg, told the group the 2025 theme will be “Worth Following,” and conference preachers will focus on 2 Timothy.
“Every pastor will be assigned an exposition in 2 Timothy, and if you attend all of it, you’ll hear 10 consecutive sermons laid through verse by verse of the book of 2 Timothy,” Horton said.
“One of the themes in 2 Timothy is that Paul says it’s not about being an innovator, a cultural specialist or social media kingdom,” Horton said. “It’s about following … the doctrines that have been given to us following the pattern of sound teaching.”
Horton said he also wants to model Paul’s intentional mentorship of Timothy and create a way for all willing pastors to be connected with a mentor. He said more details will be released closer to the meeting.
Celebrating 100 years of CP
As the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program will be a prominent theme of the 2025 meeting, Pressley; Bruno Molina, Hispanic Baptist Network executive director; Julio Guarneri, Baptist General Convention of Texas executive director; and Nathan Lorick, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention executive director, joined SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Jeff Iorg for a panel discussion on CP.
The group gave firsthand accounts of the many ways funds given through the Cooperative Program have been a part of their ministries — from supplementing their seminary educations to providing a way for their local churches to be involved in national and international missions to supporting state conventions and national entities.
“We’re celebrating what God has done for each one of us to make it possible for us to be not only supporters of but recipients from the Cooperative Program and what it’s meant in our lives,” said Iorg.
“The Cooperative Program is a great equalizer,” said Lorick. “It allows people from all skill sets and giftings to be able to exhaust our lives for our Lord God.”
Crossover aimed at local church evangelism
Ryan Jesperson, Dallas Baptist Association executive director, will be at the helm of Crossover, a citywide outreach initiative that will take place in the days leading up to the 2025 meeting. Hundreds of Southern Baptists joined together in Indianapolis this past June to carry out dozens of events across the city.
Jesperson believes the impact in Texas will be felt across all of the local associations that touch the Dallas area as efforts will be to mobilize churches in each association to lead in what he called harvest events.
“This year, the North American Mission Board has said we are going to do events that focus on church evangelism,” Jesperson said.
Kickoff participants spent time praying that God would not only lead during the gathering next June but prepare the way for Southern Baptists as they plan to impact Dallas with the gospel.
The prayer time was led by Ray Gentry, president of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders; Eddie Lopez, SBC second vice president; and Marcus Hayes, pastor of Crossroads Baptist in The Woodlands, Texas.
Texas-based entities excited to host
Texas-based SBC leaders David Dockery and Hance Dilbeck shared their excitement for welcoming Southern Baptists to the “Big D” next summer.
“Being in Dallas, where GuideStone is located, we will have the opportunity to deploy financial educators and advisors to the annual meeting to serve pastors in a great way,” Dilbeck said.
Dockery prayed for the work of the convention, “God, thank you for the privilege to work together in the cause of advancing the gospel. We pray that your hand of favor (and) blessing might rest upon Southern Baptists this day and in days to come.”
Dockery is president of SWBTS, and Dilbeck is president of GuideStone Financial Resources.
Mark your calendar
Important dates for SBC 2025:
- Hotel reservations open Oct. 7, 2024
- Messenger pre-registration opens Feb. 3, 2025
- Childcare registration opens Feb. 3, 2025
- Resolution portal opens April 1, 2025
The 2025 SBC annual meeting and pastors’ conference is set for June 8-11 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as associate vice president for convention news at the SBC Executive Committee.)
