GREENSBORO, N.C. — During a moving annual meeting, N.C. Baptists opened with a special Sending Celebration for missionaries and concluded with an extended time of prayer for attendees from western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene.

The event drew 1,905 attendees — 1,519 messengers and 386 guests — to the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center for the two-day meeting held Nov. 4-5. This year’s attendance marked the highest total in 14 years when 1,928 people attended the 2010 N.C. Baptist meeting.

This year’s meeting theme was “On Mission Together” based on Matthew 20:26-28. 

Messengers also approved a $31 million Cooperative Program budget proposal for 2025, elected new officers, approved several changes to the state convention’s articles and bylaws, and heard messages, ministry reports and more.

Sending Celebration

In a service marked by testimonies and prayer, N.C. Baptists opened the meeting with a Sending Celebration that featured a total of 18 current and future missionaries from local churches throughout the state who are taking the gospel to the nations through the International Mission Board. The event marked the second consecutive year that N.C. Baptists held a missions Sending Celebration to open the annual meeting.

Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., delivered the annual convention sermon prior to the Sending Celebration. Akin preached on “A Baptist Vision for the 21st Century” from Jude 1-4 and 20-23.

In his message, Akin emphasized two challenges from Jude in which believers are called to defend the faith and save the lost.

“Jude knew, I believe, that love for God and love for Christ is the key both to sound theology and love for the lost,” Akin said. “You see, if we don’t love the lost like we should, we don’t love Jesus like we should.”

Helene response & prayers

During their respective reports, N.C. Baptist Executive Director-Treasurer (EDT) Todd Unzicker and Richard Brunson, executive director of N.C. Baptists on Mission, both shared about the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene, which ravaged western North Carolina five weeks ago.

“Your N.C. Baptist staff has worked hours on end fielding thousands of calls, mobilizing thousands of volunteers, and coordinating in the collection of thousands of relief donations while working to house and financially support as many people out west as possible,” Unzicker said.

Meeting attendees gave Brunson a standing ovation when he joined Unzicker on stage.

Brunson said the work by Baptists on Mission’s disaster response ministry has included providing hot meals, removing trees and debris from homes and property, tarping roofs and mudding out homes damaged by flooding.

He also said the initial rebuild phase is underway that will provide essential rapid repairs to homeowners to help get families impacted by Helene back into a basic functioning home as quickly as possible before the worst of winter hits.

“The recovery efforts in western North Carolina are a marathon, not a sprint,” Brunson said. “We’re going to need lots of volunteers to help for the next four or five, maybe even six years.”

Brunson and Unzicker closed out the meeting by recognizing individuals impacted by Helene and inviting others to gather around them in small groups all across the main convention hall for prayer. 

“We pray for all of our brothers and sisters who have experienced so much hurt, so much pain and so much loss,” Unzicker said. “As N.C. Baptists come around other N.C. Baptists right now in this room, we pray that You would use our movement of churches to be on mission together to rebuild North Carolina…. May this be the time when the light of the gospel shines the brightest.”

CP budget

Messengers approved a $31 million Cooperative Program (CP) budget for 2025, which is the same overall total as 2024. The budget also keeps the CP allocation at an equal 50/50 split between the state convention and global missions and ministry partners.

Messengers also approved a separate measure stipulating that undesignated CP receipts in excess of the $31 million budget in 2025 be allocated at 50% to global missions and ministry partners and 50% to the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina.

Messengers also adopted a $2.6 million goal for the 2025 North Carolina Missions Offering that keeps the goal and percentage allocations unchanged from 2024.

Officer elections

Allen Murray, pastor of Centerville Baptist Church in Kelly, N.C., was elected to a full-term as president of the state convention. Murray was elected second vice president last year, but he ascended to the office of president after other officers resigned over the course of 2024 to accept other ministry positions.

Steven Wade, lead pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville, N.C., was elected first vice president, and Matt Capps, lead pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, N.C., was elected second vice president. 

Murray, Wade and Capps all ran unopposed. 

President’s address

In his president’s address, Murray preached from Luke 24:44-49 on characteristics of “on mission together” people.

Murray said “on mission together” people must be “Jesus people, Bible people and sent people.”

Article & bylaw changes

Messengers approved a series of changes to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s articles and bylaws that addressed providing greater specificity to the EDT search process, removing an N.C. residency requirement for individuals to serve in various state convention positions and updating references to Provision Financial Resources of N.C. Baptists following the organization’s name change last year.

Ministry reports

Messengers heard reports from N.C. Baptist institutions and agencies, including Provision Financial Resources of N.C. Baptists, the Biblical Recorder, the Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH) of North Carolina and the N.C. Baptist Aging Ministry (NCBAM).

David Melber, who was recently named BCH’s CEO-elect, also shared brief remarks with messengers. Melber will begin his new role with BCH on Jan. 2, 2025.

Next year’s meeting

Next year’s annual meeting will be held Nov. 10-11, 2025, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C. Shane Pruitt, next-gen director for the North American Mission Board, is scheduled to deliver the convention sermon.