Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin delivers the convention sermon during the 2024 N.C. Baptist annual meeting as part of a special missionary Sending Celebration.
GREENSBORO, N.C — N.C. Baptists opened their 2024 annual meeting by celebrating missionaries from local churches from across the state who are taking the gospel to the nations through the International Mission Board.
In a service highlighted by testimonies and prayer, N.C. Baptists held a special Sending Celebration for current and future missionaries during the opening session of the state convention meeting, which was held Monday, Nov. 4 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center.
The event marked the second consecutive year that N.C. Baptists held a Sending Celebration to open the two-day annual meeting.
Shortly after a longtime missionary couple requested prayer for the first known baptized believer from a particular people group, N.C. Baptist Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Unzicker prayed that the 18 missionaries introduced during the meeting might be the ones who see the Great Commission fulfilled in their lifetimes.
“Father, we pray that as we send these out, that maybe these are the ones who would reach those last people groups,” Unzicker said.
Prior to the Sending Celebration, Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., delivered the annual convention sermon. 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.”
Akin said that according to Jude, missions and evangelism must stand on a firm theological foundation, be grounded in a fervent prayer life and be nourished by hope for the second coming of Christ.
Akin said he was thankful for N.C. Baptists’ passion to get the gospel out through praying, giving and going, and he challenged messengers and guests in attendance to continue to be a part of what God is doing to reach the lost.
“Lost people matter to God,” Akin said. “Lost people must matter to us.”
The N.C. Baptist annual meeting concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
