Annual meeting needs major overhaul, study committee asserts

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting needs an extreme makeover in focus and format, the chair of a study committee told the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

Only 502 churches sent messengers to the 2009 annual meeting in Houston, said Kyle Henderson, chair of the committee appointed to study ways to increase participation at the event. The number of eligible churches sending no messengers to the annual meeting grew from 3,722 in 2006 to 3,836 in 2009.

“We can’t stay here. We’re got to do something different,” said Henderson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Athens.

Noting he has attended state convention annual meetings for about 25 years, he pointed to the lack of young church leaders present in recent years.
“I used to be the youngest guy at the meetings,” he said. “And I kind of still am.”

The study committee Henderson chairs developed a report and series of recommendations to be considered by messengers at the 2010 BGCT annual meeting in McAllen.

“We believe we are at the beginning of a great new adventure,” the report states. “We believe that our gatherings will be kingdom meetings that will influence the world. We believe people will look forward to these events, that they will be equipped and encouraged, and will leave with a sense of purpose of mission.

“We believe that there should be a sense of urgency in pursuing this renewed vision of our annual meetings. The gap between the number of churches attending and the possibility of churches attending has grown too large to ignore. We believe we must respond now.”

The study committee recommends two measurable goals focused on the number of churches participating in the annual meeting rather than the number of people in attendance—double the percentage of participating churches by 2013 and involve every Texas Baptist church at least once every five years.

Key recommendations include:

• Showcase one area of ministry each year. Focus on a different theme annually, rotating between five key areas—evangelism/missions, education/discipleship, advocacy/care, Baptist identity and Baptist community.

• Gather the Texas Baptist family. Every fifth year, for the Baptist community emphasis, schedule “The Gathering”—a three-day event that would bring together Texas Baptist ethnic groups and interest groups. Schedule the 2013 meeting in summer to appeal to vacationing families, and then evaluate the change.

• Involve institutions in innovation. Consider a multi-site event in 2017 using video simulcast technology, involving as many Texas Baptist institutions as possible.

“Many people have called for the use of technology, simulcast broadcasting and regional meetings. We believe we need to make the commitment to innovate in this area,” the report says.

“Through the use of our education institutions who frequently use this technology, we believe that we can have a creative, productive, life-changing event that could be a model for the future. It would take work, but we can do it.”

• Plan beyond the current year. Coordinate and plan the annual meeting starting 18 months in advance of the event to secure speakers, gather resources, facilitate institutional cooperation and build momentum.

• Add value. “People go to learn. They want to hear the best information, the best speakers and the most innovative approaches,” the report says.

• Move business discussion out of the general sessions. Schedule breakout sessions for detailed discussion of business. “The process of representative governance means that most of the decisions have been made in a deliberative way by the time they reach the convention,” the report says. “This system still allows for broad final input, while not dominating the main sessions of the meeting.”

• Abolish resolutions. “Few things have taken as much time and produced as few results as the process of resolutions,” the report says. “We tend to argue, put our worst foot forward and then produce statements of which the churches are largely unaware.”

• Lengthen the meeting to three days. “We think Texas Baptists need more time together,” the report says. “It is also a historical reality that our meetings have been much longer and were much better attended when they were longer.”

• Shorten individual presentations. Increase the number of presenters.

• Schedule a local ministry event. “We could help the cause of evangelism if we left the places we visit better than we found them,” the report says.

• Make time for fellowship. Schedule time for informal networking. Increase the time available in the exhibit halls.

• Look outside. “Reach outside of Texas Baptist life to bring fresh insights and draw an increasingly diverse crowd,” the report says.

The committee also suggests the convention give consideration in the future to moving to locations outside downtown areas, to where lodging would be more affordable, and consider a mid-week schedule, rather than beginning on a Monday.