ORLANDO, Fla. — Interest in
the Great Commission Resurgence helped fuel a great attendance resurgence at
the 2010 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention June 15-16 in
Orlando, Fla.
This year’s unofficial
messenger count was 11,070, compared to last year’s 8,790, SBC registration
secretary Jim Wells told Baptist Press.
Wells said a family-friendly
convention site like Orlando was likely another big draw.
If the unofficial count
holds, this year’s messenger tally will be the third-highest total in recent
years:
-
8,790 in Louisville
(2009)
- 7,277 in
Indianapolis (2008)
- 8,630 in San Antonio
(2007)
- 11,639 in
Greensboro, N.C. (2006)
- 11,641 in Nashville
(2005)
In Orlando, host state
Florida tallied 1,886 messengers this year, a huge jump over last year’s 393,
and 600 more than the next-largest delegation — Georgia with 1,266.
As for next year in Phoenix,
Wells said he is anticipating a dip in attendance.
The unofficial
state-by-state messenger registration numbers show North Carolina with 829
messengers. Other states were: Alaska, 16; Alabama, 869; Arkansas, 332;
Arizona, 30; California, 117; Colorado, 49; Connecticut, 5; Washington, D.C.,
12; Delaware, 8; Florida, 1,886; Hawaii, 16; Iowa, 27; Idaho, 11; Illinois,
207; Indiana, 143; Kansas, 64; Kentucky, 670; Louisiana, 298; Massachusetts, 3;
Maryland, 127; Maine, 2; Michigan, 59; Minnesota, 12; Missouri, 295;
Mississippi, 447; Montana, 10; Nebraska, 8; New Hampshire, 6; New Jersey, 20;
New Mexico, 38; Nevada, 39; New York, 52; Ohio, 169; Oklahoma, 285; Oregon, 2;
Pennsylvania, 41; Puerto Rico 13; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 630; South
Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 868; Texas, 529; Utah, 10; Virginia, 361; Vermont, 8;
Washington, 12; Wisconsin, 10; West Virginia 87; Wyoming, 15.
Official totals for the 2010
annual meeting will be available at the end of June, Wells said.