Art Faulks of Southside Baptist Network in McDonough, Ga., worships during a service at the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders annual conference in 2023.
DALLAS — Several groups affiliated with Southern Baptists plan to meet concurrently with the June 8-11 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
It’s a convenient time to meet, saving money for participants by not having a separate meeting elsewhere, and it’s a great time to mix and mingle — and network — with the most involved (since they attend the SBC annual meeting) Southern Baptists from across the nation.
FoNAC’s largest gathering of the year “offers a vital space to listen, learn, and engage with the authentic voices of Native believers and others from a wide array of cultures,” Gary Hawkins told Baptist Press. Hawkins is executive director of the Fellowship of Native American Christians (FoNAC). “It is an opportunity to deepen understanding, confront misconceptions, and witness how the message of Jesus Christ is being faithfully lived and shared within disparate cultures and indigenous communities.”
Associational leaders
The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders (SBCAL) is to meet for its 65th annual conference at The Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 8, and from 9 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Monday, June 9. The registration fee May 1 through May 31 is $189; Members $151.
The Conference theme is The Fruitful Mission Strategist, based on Titus 3:5. Keynote speaker is Hance Dilbeck. Dilbeck is president of GuideStone Financial Resources. Other speakers include Brandon Moore, North American Mission Board (NAMB) replant specialist; Jonathan Dodson, founder of Gospel-Centered Discipleship; and Will Heath, consultant and founder of Shera.
Joe Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, is to lead worship.
The main agenda items consist of recognizing an Associational Missions Strategist of the Year, election of officers, and celebrating SBCAL’s 65th anniversary as well as President Ray Gentry’s 10th Anniversary.
“Associational Mission Strategists (AMS) should attend the 2025 SBCAL annual conference to be inspired, encouraged, and equipped, and to join us in celebrating 65 years of God’s blessings,” Gentry told Baptist Press. “They should also come to see who receives our first annual AMS of the Year Award.”
Baptist World Ministries
The Fellowship of Baptist World Ministries is to gather for its 25th annual meeting at 8 a.m. Monday, June 9, in Ballroom D1 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas.
Reservations are required for the no-cost breakfast meeting for adults only, and may be made at fbwministries.org. Seating is limited.
“Go! Make Disciples!” is the theme for the event. Several FWBM members will be giving five-minute testimonies of their recent work, President Eric Ramsey told Baptist Press. He is pastor of First Baptist Church of Checotah, Okla.
“Members of the Fellowship of Baptist World Ministries are ordinary believers with a passion to go into all the world to make disciples,” Ramsey said. “The testimonies will be inspirational and will encourage you to follow God’s leadership in your life to go and make disciples.”
Southern Baptist Evangelists
The Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (COSBE) will join the Conference of Texas Baptist Evangelists (COTBE) Saturday afternoon, June 7, for a special Evangelist Family Reunion Luncheon and Fellowship at The Cooper Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Dallas.
“This will be a wonderful time of reconnecting with friends and family who serve in full-time or bivocational evangelistic ministry prior to the SBC annual meeting,” COSBE secretary Amy Stockwell told Baptist Press. “COSBE will not be hosting a special event this year due to budget constraints.”
The Texas group will host the national group, with COTBE President Don Thornton of Fairfield, Texas, and Vice President Ruben Hernandez of Richardson, Texas, leading out in the day’s events. Special music will be provided by Thornton, Amy Stockwell of Katy, Texas, and others from the Texas group.
COSBE President Royce Williams of Rocky Mount, N.C., and Vice President Derek Keiser of Amherst, Va., along with other officers and members of the national group, will be available to meet and greet SBC annual meeting attendees at their booth in the Exhibit Hall at the annual meeting beginning Sunday late afternoon and continuing throughout the meeting.
Southern Baptist Evangelists are to convene Sunday afternoon at The Cooper for their annual business meeting and election of officers before gathering at their booth in the Exhibit Hall. To learn more about COSBE ministries see their website at sbcevangelist.org.
Fellowship of Native American Christians
Native Americans and those interested in America’s original people group are invited to participate in FoNAC’s 13th annual meeting since it was formally organized in 2012.
The no-cost gathering is set for 10 a.m.-noon Monday, June 9, in the Arts District 1 room on the second floor of the Dallas Omni Hotel.
“Native Voices — doctrinally sound; culturally relevant — sharing Jesus Christ” is the theme of the gathering; Acts 16: 9-10 is the Scripture reference.
Warren “Junior” Pratt, pastor of Cushing (Okla.) Indian Baptist Church and a member of FoNAC’s executive board, is to bring a message. Missionary Evangelist Phillip Lawrence of Tahlequah, Okla., is to lead in worship.
Representatives from state Baptist associations, state conventions, IMB and NAMB are invited to see and hear about ministry opportunities among Native Americans throughout the nation, Executive Director Gary Hawkins said.
“Many people — Christians in particular — hold limited or misinformed views of indigenous peoples across North America, often overlooking the richness of our cultures, languages, histories and spiritual traditions,” Hawkins said. “This event is an opportunity to shed some light on all that and to discover ministries that would benefit from partners serving with them.”
In addition to Pratt’s message, FoNAC’s annual meeting presided by President Jordan Kanuho, pastor of Belvin Baptist Church in Okmulgee, Okla., is to include ministry updates, such as indigenous video productions, culturally relevant resources for VBS, evangelistic tracts and Native American songs and dances by The Tribe of Judah Dance Ministry.
Slavic Baptists
The Pacific Coast Slavic Baptist Association (PCSBA) plans a fellowship dinner from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, in Room A-117 of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas. Registration is open for the potentially no-cost meal, though sponsors are still being sought.
PCSBA’s annual meeting is set for Oct. 24-25 at First Slavic Baptist Church in Sacramento, Calif. Details are to be finalized by late May, President Ivan Mileyev told Baptist Press. A Slavic pastors’ conference is set for Aug. 23 at First Slavic Baptist Church in Sacramento, where “We have a lot of [Slavic] churches,” Mileyev said.
Missions are to be a major component of both gatherings, with Spain, Europe, Argentina, Paraguay and Ukraine, as well as North America, on the agenda. The business sessions are to include elections with terms lasting two years. Reports are to be presented by PCSBA department leaders. Celebratory worship services are set for Friday and Saturday evenings.
“We are focused on different areas of the world, to unite and encourage mission-minded churches doing something together,” the president said. At the PCSBA annual meeting, “We will be making decisions that will affect the whole community of Slavic churches across five states. We are living in a time of transition between generations.”
Messianic Fellowship
The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship is to have a virtual meeting in the weeks after the SBC annual meeting, Chaplain Ric Worshill told Baptist Press. He is executive director of the Messianic Fellowship.
“Most of our members are not able to attend the SBC annual meetings again this year,” Worshill said. “Many of them are small house churches.
“We will have a team of leadership attending and working the SBC Executive Committee All Nations Booth in the Exhibit Hall,” the chaplain/executive director continued. “We will have a meal leadership meeting while we are in Dallas at a place to be determined. Gwenn and I will arrive on June 5 to start work with our Executive Committee responsibilities.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
