The 2019 Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) is set for Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 11-12 at Oklahoma City, Quail Springs. The two-day event, which marks the 113th annual meeting of Oklahoma Baptists, will be preceded by the Oklahoma Pastors’ Conference on Monday and will conclude with an International Mission Board (IMB) missionary sending event on Tuesday evening.
Convention theme, highlights
The theme for the annual meeting, “Advance,” is designed around the BGCO’s mission statement: “We encourage one another to advance the Gospel.” The theme is based on the event focal verse, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the Gospel” (Phil. 1:12).
Highlights of the annual meeting will include presentations from BGCO Executive Director-Treasurer Hance Dilbeck, affiliate reports, officer elections, video presentations, a Veterans Day musical tribute and more.
Presiding officers for the 2019 Annual Meeting are: Blake Gideon, BGCO president and senior pastor of Edmond, First; LeRon West, BGCO first vice president and pastor of Tulsa, Gilcrease Hills; and Heath Tucker, BGCO second vice president and pastor of Skiatook, First.
Annual Meeting preachers include Dilbeck, Gideon and Rusty McMullen, pastor of McAlester, First, who will deliver the annual sermon. The Annual Meeting will include times of worship and fellowship with important business being addressed during three separate business sessions scheduled Monday evening and Tuesday morning and afternoon. For a complete schedule, visit www.bgco.org/annualmeeting.
Pastors’ Conference highlights the Gospel
The 2019 Oklahoma Pastors’ Conference will meet on Monday, Nov. 11, and has as its theme “See the People,” rooted in Jesus’ compassion for brokenness in Matt. 9:35-36.
Speakers include the following: Craig Towery, pastor, Sentinel, First; Stephen Rummage, pastor, Oklahoma City, Quail Springs; Anthony Jordan, retired BGCO executive director-treasurer; Dhati Lewis, pastor, Atlanta, Ga., Blueprint and executive director of the North American Mission Board’s Community Restoration; and K. Marshall Williams, pastor, Philadelphia, Pa., Nazarene.
IMB Sending Service comes to Oklahoma
On Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m., people from across Oklahoma and the region can take part in a special IMB sending service.
When asked why Oklahoma Baptists were hosting this special service, IMB President Paul Chitwood said, “We love Oklahoma Baptists, and Oklahoma Baptists love the lost. They love the IMB, and they especially love their missionaries. In fact, Oklahoma Baptists are the most generous group of Baptists, when you group them by state conventions that exist today. Oklahoma Baptists give a larger percentage of the designated offerings and receipts coming into their churches.
“They give the largest percentage through the Cooperative Program than any other state convention or any other group of Baptists, so we’re excited to be able to have sending celebrations and appointments of services again—it’s been several years—out in local churches or with state convention partners. As we relaunch that effort, we’re excited that the BGCO is the first place that we’re going,” he said.
Dilbeck is encouraging all Oklahoma Baptists to attend the IMB sending event. “On Tuesday evening, we want the parking lot full of church buses, people from across the state who have come to take part in this one-of-a-kind event,” he said.
How to register for Annual Meeting
The BGCO Annual Meeting is attended by guests and church members who are elected as messengers to represent their local church body in business decisions during the Annual Meeting.
Only elected messengers have voting privileges at the Annual Meeting. Church members interested in serving as a messenger should contact their church office for information on becoming an elected messenger. Every elected messenger will receive a messenger booklet and voting ballots upon checking in at the Annual Meeting. Messenger pre-registration is open for churches to register their elected messengers prior to the Annual Meeting, allowing for a quick and easy on-site check-in process.
For more information on becoming a messenger or questions related to the online pre-registration process, please contact the Executive Office at 405/942-3800 Ext. 4528.
Online pre-registration is open and available on the SBC Workspace website.
To access pre-registration visit www.sbcworkspace.com and login with your church username and password.
For complete information on the 2019 Annual Meeting, including information on childcare and a list of hotels located near Quail Springs, visit www.bgco.org/annualmeeting.