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IMB Sending Celebration, CP100 reception among highlights at this year’s annual meeting
In Acts 11:19-30, God’s Word presents a beautiful picture of multiplication: As followers of Jesus scattered because of increasing persecution, God used their circumstances to spread the gospel in all the places they traveled. Along the way, those disciples “proclaimed the good news about the Lord Jesus” to Jews and Greeks alike.
As a result, Scripture says, “large numbers of people were added to the Lord.”
The theme of this year’s Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting is “Mobilize to Multiply,” based on that passage in Acts 11. The meeting will be held Oct. 27-28 at Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock.
For more than a quarter century, SBTC churches have been faithful to the command to make disciples in Texas and around the world—not only in going, but in giving through the Cooperative Program. Each year’s annual meeting provides opportunities for messengers to celebrate all that God has done over the past year, network with other pastors and church leaders, and help direct the future of convention work.
This year’s meeting will also include several special events. Three of the Southern Baptist Convention’s entity heads—SBC Executive Committee President/CEO Jeff Iorg, North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell, and International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood—will be present on Monday night. Ezell will speak during a church planting commissioning service, while Chitwood will lead an IMB Sending Celebration where the next wave of missionaries from SBC churches will be sent out to take the gospel to the nations.
Later that evening, a reception will be held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program. Messengers will have an opportunity to meet future IMB missionaries at the reception. On Tuesday, SBTC President Danny Forshee will moderate the President’s Lunch Panel featuring Chitwood and SBTC Missional Ministries Associate Colin Rayburn on the topic of, “How your church can engage with the IMB.”
The annual meeting will also feature the launch of a new SBTC network, the Shepherds Collective, for lead/senior pastors.
SBTC officer nominations announced
Michael Criner, senior pastor of First Rockwall, has announced his intention to nominate Caleb Turner, senior pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, as president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention at its annual meeting in October.
Turner has been Mesquite Friendship’s senior pastor since 2023, having previously served as the church’s equipping/teaching pastor, assistant pastor, and co-pastor.
“If you were to visit [Mesquite Friendship] on a Sunday, you would find a church that is in love with the Lord, but a church that trusts their pastor,” Criner said. “ … I believe [Turner] has the strength of character, wisdom, and leadership experience to serve well as our president.”
Turner has held multiple leadership positions in Southern Baptist life, including his service as a trustee for the North American Mission Board. He was also the youngest person and first African American to serve as chairman of the SBTC’s executive board.
Turner said he would be grateful for the opportunity to serve as president, if elected.
“It is my belief that the SBTC is the greatest state convention in the country,” he said. “God has used godly, capable, and gifted men to lead our convention, and it would be an honor to follow in their footsteps.”
Mesquite Friendship gave $205,100 through the Cooperative Program in 2023 and $181,650 in 2024.
Turner and his wife, Tamera, have three children: Caden, Cason, and Camden. Turner’s father, Terry—Mesquite Friendship’s founding pastor—served as SBTC president from 2011- 2013.
Ed Johnson III, lead pastor of Harvest Fellowship Baptist Church in DeSoto, will be nominated to serve as SBTC vice president, having served in the role this past year. A bivocational pastor, Johnson also serves on the convention’s executive board and will be nominated by Averri LeMalle, senior pastor of The Church at Jersey Village. The convention vice president fulfills the duties of the president in the president’s absence or when requested to do so by the president.
Amy Hinote, a member of First Baptist Church Justin and the wife of its pastor, Beaux Hinote, will again be nominated to serve as convention secretary. She will be nominated by Kason Branch, senior pastor of Creekstone Church in North Richland Hills. The convention secretary’s duties include receiving copies of motions offered for consideration at the SBTC Annual Meeting.
The secretary and vice president also serve on the credentials committee, as outlined in Article III of the convention’s constitution and bylaws.
Meals & Events
Meal registration is required at sbtexas.com/am25.
At a Glance
Messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting will gather for a powerful time of prayer, worship, and fellowship at Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock on Oct. 27-28.
Sagemont Church, Houston
11300 S. Sam Houston Pkwy E Houston, TX 77089
Main Sessions
Monday evening 6:15-9:00 p.m.
SBC greetings
Jeff Iorg, president/CEO, SBC Executive Committee
Church Planter Commissioning & NAMB greetings
Kevin Ezell, NAMB president
IMB Sending Celebration & Message
Paul Chitwood, IMB president
Tuesday morning 9:00-11:35 a.m.
Messages by SBTC President Danny Forshee & SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick
Tuesday afternoon 1:30-4:00 p.m.
Messages by Carl Bradford, associate professor of evangelism, SWBTS & dean of Texas Baptist College, Fort Worth, and Luis Soto, executive director of Convention of Southern Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico
Sesión en Español
Sunday, Oct. 26
5:30-6:45 p.m. Fellowship
7:00-8:30 p.m. Session
Monday, Oct. 27
10:00-11:55 a.m. Breakout sessions
12:00-2:00 p.m. Lunch*
* Registration is required
ANNUAL MEETING MEALS
Monday, Oct. 27
12:00 p.m.
Almuerzo en Español
Lunch con un testimonio especial por
Luis González, Director de SBTC En Español.
Executive Pastors & Administrators Network Lunch
“Protecting the Mission: Insurance Insights for Today’s Church Leaders”
Speaker: Mike Wierick, Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation
Join us as we discuss the factors driving rising premiums, how to make your church more insurable, and what some churches are doing to address insurance challenges.
4:30 p.m.
Resourcing Churches Dinner
“What Is So Strategic About Soul Care?”
Speaker: Mark Dance, Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention
Sprinting through church responsibilities week after week without stopping to reflect or rest leads to stress. How can we serve our families and ministries faithfully without trying to be the hero of both? At this dinner, Mark will explore three practical ways to take soul care seriously so we can lead from a place of health and sustainability.
Shepherds Collective Dinner
The Shepherds Collective is a new network for lead pastors in Texas. Panelists Danny Forshee and Ben Lacey will discuss preaching topics such as staying fresh, addressing cultural narratives, and the role of the Holy Spirit. Every attendee will get a free Shepherds Collective T-shirt.
9:00 p.m.
CP100 Reception
Food and fellowship for everyone. Come celebrate 100 years of kingdom impact through the Cooperative Program and meet our new IMB missionaries. Although admission is free, please sign up so we know you are planning to attend.
Tuesday, Oct. 28
7:30 a.m.
Southern Seminary Breakfast
Southwestern Seminary Breakfast
SBTC Disaster Relief Taco Truck (Free)
11:45 a.m.
President’s Lunch Panel
“How Your Church Can Engage with the IMB”
Speakers: Danny Forshee, Paul Chitwood, Colin Rayburn
Join us for an engaging and insightful lunch panel focused on how churches can actively participate in global missions. This panel will offer practical strategies, inspiring stories, and actionable steps to help advance the mission in Texas and around the world.
Resolutions
A resolution allows convention messengers to express consensus on a current issue. While resolutions are non-binding on convention churches, they add substance to current conversations in Baptist life and the culture at large. Any member of an SBTC church may submit a proposed resolution to the resolutions committee for consideration. The resolutions committee considers these submissions when preparing resolutions to present to messengers at the annual meeting.
The 2025 resolutions committee will receive proposed resolutions from Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, until Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. A proposed resolution must include a name, church membership, phone number, and email address. Please review the format of previous SBTC resolutions at sbtexas.com/resolutions. All proposed resolutions must be emailed to Jenna Griffis at jgriffis@sbtexas.com.
