DALLAS (BP) — Registration bag in hand, walking shoes on, mind regulated for all things spiritual in the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting exhibit hall, 250,000 square feet with more than 250 exhibitors.

Messengers retrieve from their registration bag a card marked Scavenger Hunt and let the game begin.

Make all 30 stops, including recording a 30-second video at the Cooperative Program (CP) booth on what the CP means to you — remembering to get your card punched 30 times — and be entered to win one of 10 grand prize packs that Jonathan Howe, SBC Executive Committee vice president for convention administration, describes as enormous.

“Every prize pack will have 30 pieces in it. It’s a massive prize pack,” he said. “You’re not just getting a T-shirt. You’re getting all kinds of stuff.”

Thirty ministries including all SBC entities contributed prizes in quantities of 10 each, Howe said, items in the value range that would be cost prohibitive in mass quantities common to booth giveaways.

While Exhibit Hall Manager Rachel Gulledge brands the hall “the funnest room at the annual meeting,” Howe believes the scavenger hunt brings the added advantage of further engaging messengers and exhibitors in conversation.

“It makes it less about stopping by a booth to grab something,” Howe said. “It’s not just transactional. You’re actually going to have a conversation with people. It helps the exhibitors because people aren’t just stopping by to take stuff and leave.”

The hall is open Sunday, June 8, from 3-7 p.m.; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. June 9 and 10; and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. June 11.

All SBC entities and many sub-entities are among the many exhibitors.

GuideStone Financial Resources

With the SBC annual meeting in its hometown, GuideStone will have more staff than normal onsite to assist messengers with retirement and insurance check-ins and offer early sign-ups for Mission:Dignity Sunday materials. Visitors can also fill out postcards for Mission:Dignity recipients.

In addition to giveaways of highlighters and Mission:Dignity devotionals, daily giveaways at the booth will include, while supplies last:

• June 8 (Sunday): Bandanas
• June 9: Children’s activity books and pickleball sets
• June 10: Baseball hats and copies of “A Psalm for Unseen Servants,” a new book by GuideStone President Hance Dilbeck
• June 11: Wallets and copies of “The Spirit Code,” the newest book by President Emeritus O.S. Hawkins.

GuideStone’s popular wellness booth will be open Sunday afternoon through Wednesday, offering blood pressure and grip strength checks, plus helpful information on skin cancer prevention and healthy sleep habits.

Attendees who complete an account review, write a Mission:Dignity postcard and participate in a wellness check-in can be entered in a drawing for a gift card toward a custom pair of Lucchese boots.

International Mission Board (IMB)

Proclaiming a mission of reaching the nations together, IMB invites Southern Baptists to join in carrying out the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations. Visitors to IMB’s booth will see the impact of IMB’s cooperative work with the Southern Baptist family, receive a T-shirt and learn how local churches can become involved in IMB work.

North American Mission Board (NAMB)

“It’s all about the gospel” will be the theme of NAMB’s booth featuring the board’s four ministry pillars of evangelism, church planting, compassion ministry and chaplaincy. Meet NAMB missionaries, learn about the four pillars of ministry and see how local churches can join NAMB in reaching North America with the gospel.

Also on tap, a celebration of Annie Armstrong’s legacy of galvanizing support for missions among Southern Baptists, recognition of the Cooperative Program’s centennial and T-shirts for booth visitors.

Send Relief

Send Relief will highlight its work spreading the gospel globally while actively serving as the Southern Baptist compassion ministry. Send Relief creates opportunities for gospel conversations that lead to eternal life change. Stop by the booth and learn specific mission opportunities available to you and local churches, and grab a Send Relief T-shirt.

SBC Abuse Prevention & Response

New to the exhibit hall this year is a debut booth from the SBC Executive Committee’s Abuse Prevention & Response Department. The booth will be a place for anyone to connect with the EC on its recent work to support the abuse prevention efforts of Southern Baptist churches, said Jeff Dalrymple, department director.

“We are looking forward to sharing with Southern Baptists about our newly updated SBCabuseprevention.com website and all of the various tools we’ve added to that virtual ‘toolbox’ from an aggregation of state convention resources, to a vendor directory,” Dalrymple said. “We want Southern Baptists to know that they don’t have to take on the task of preventing and responding to abuse alone. We stand ready to help and support the good work they are doing in their state conventions and churches.”

Dalrymple encourages messengers and guests to stop by the booth for answers to any pertinent questions.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS)

Campfire ceramic mugs and Texas-themed spices including barbecue sauce, hot sauce and seasoning are among giveaways awaiting visitors to Southwestern’s booth, with select items packaged with illustrations of “chief cook,” President David S. Dockery.

In celebration of the CP centennial, the Baptist Faith and Message (1925) and the Southern Baptist heritage of Southwestern, the seminary will honor the legacy of its second president L.R. Scarborough in these historical developments by releasing a revised and expanded edition of “The L. R. Scarborough Treasury.” Stop by the booth for a free copy.

Also at the booth, learn about free electronic resources being released during the annual meeting, including “Sermons from the Psalms,” and the special blog series, “Better Together: Southern Baptist Cooperation and the Gospel.”

The entire seminary faculty will be present during the SBC annual meeting and many will stop by the booth to greet visitors.

While there, register for the free seminar luncheon set for Wednesday, June 11, noon-2 p.m. in the convention center, where free copies of “Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition” will be distributed.

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS)

Grab exclusive giveaways at the NOBTS and Leavell College booth, as well as the related Women’s Expo booth, and greet admissions personnel for updates on curricula, degrees and delivery systems.

The annual Alumni & Friends luncheon, June 11 at the convention center, will highlight NOBTS and Leavell College’s commitment to train the next generation of worship leaders. Crescent City Worship, a collaborative team of students, faculty, alumni and friends will perform. Crescent City Worship writes and records music, leads worship and creates resources to encourage the church.

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) 

Midwestern Seminary will give away 3,000 T-shirts from its custom “For the Church” state T-shirt series. Flash giveaways will feature custom Owala water bottles and Dallas-themed “For the Church” hats.

Gateway Seminary

Gateway will highlight gratitude for the centennial of the Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message (1925), and will spotlight students and alumni serving in ministry. Giveaways will include a canvas bag, with prospective students receiving a backpack upon the completion of an application.

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) and Boyce College

The Southern Seminary and Boyce College exhibit gives a glimpse of what it’s like to study there, featuring the campus setting, trusted theological training and its faculty. Stop by the booth to learn more about degree programs, meet faculty and grab Boyce College and Southern Seminary merchandise.

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS)

The Southeastern booth will immerse visitors in its culture of open spaces that facilitate conversation and community. Screens will offer glimpses of Southeastern campus life and Great Commission culture.

Meet members of Southeastern’s admissions team, faculty, administration, alumni and students, and receive giveaways including free books.

Lifeway Christian Resources

The Lifeway Village, which debuted at the 2024 annual meeting in Indianapolis, will return this year offering such perks as free coffee and a free resource for the first 600 visitors.

Free resources will include “Heaven,” a seven-session Bible study by Jennifer Rothschild; “Together,” a six-session study by Ben Mandrell; “The Church History Handbook,” the “CSB Jesus Daily Bible,” and the “CSB Grace Bible for Kids,” a new resource for children with special needs, featuring a new font for children living with dyslexia.

Among items for purchase, Spanish resources will be in big supply at the village, given its location in Dallas, Lifeway said.

Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)

Explore four kiosks representing the ERLC’s areas of work. Each kiosk will contain free theological and practical guides to use in local churches. View four videos showing the work ERLC has done for the good of Southern Baptist churches and spotlighting Southern Baptist influence in our communities, states and our nation’s capital.

The ERLC helps Southern Baptist churches by helping you understand the moral demands of the gospel and apply Christian principles to moral and social problems and questions of public policy. The ERLC promotes religious liberty in cooperation with churches and other Southern Baptist entities.

Southern Baptist Foundation

Visit the Foundation’s booth to learn about its investment and estate planning services. While there, register to win a jersey signed by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, get one of the foundation’s $100 roll of mints, a battery-operated fan, and guess the amount in the giant soda bottle filled with cash to win it.

The Southern Baptist Foundation has inspired individuals since 1947 to invest in Christian causes that are shining His light into darkness.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)