The Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention gathered on December 9, 2024, at the SCBaptist building in Columbia to conduct its final meeting of the year.

Led by Chairman Stephen Cannon, the day included committee meetings, ministry updates, staff recognitions, and planning for the year ahead.

Chuck Sprouse, 2025 Convention President, shared words of encouragement and introduced the officers elected at the 2024 Annual Meeting. SCBaptists unanimously elected Randy Jackson, Executive and College Pastor of Northwood Baptist Church, as Registration Secretary. Mark Bishop, Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church Landrum, was elected Vice President. Finally, Ryan Pack, Pastor of Riverland Hills Baptist Church, was elected 2025 President-Elect.

Sprouse introduced the theme for the 2025 Annual Meeting as “Celebrate,” saying, “We replicate what we celebrate.” The annual meeting will take place on November 10-11 at Taylors First Baptist Church.

Ministry Partner Reports

Michael Bryant of Charleston Southern University (CSU) and Danny Nicholson of Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries provided updates. Highlights from CSU included 35 students coming to know Christ through campus ministry programs, 540 students gathering weekly for on-campus Bible studies, and 88 students serving with the North American Mission Board or in an international setting.

Nicholson shared highlights from the campaign launch of “For The Dreams of Children,” part of a 10-year strategic vision to lead in healing and ministry for vulnerable children and families. They announced a $2 million gift from Larry and Jerry Anne Faulkenberry to support the creation of a Healing and Trauma Center that will address trauma through research, education, and care. The event also announced Mike and Suzie Kocak’s $2 million donation that will fund The Kocak Campus in Charleston, Connie Maxwell’s first major expansion outside Greenwood.

Board Member Recognition and Elections

Wolfe acknowledged the service of Executive Board members whose terms conclude at the end of the year.

One of the key actions of the meeting was the election of 2025 Executive Board officers. Board members voted to fill the roles of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary, with results as follows:

• Chairman: Stephen Cannon
• Vice Chairman: Keith Shorter
• Secretary: Donna Gilmore

Committee Reports and Closing Remarks

The Operations Committee, led by Nathan Catoe, and the Budget, Finance, & Audit Committee (BFA), chaired by Talmadge Tobias, presented reports highlighting progress and financial updates.

Catoe shared that three requests were approved by BFA: two for updates at Camp McCall and one for repairs at Winthrop University’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry building.

In his Executive Director-Treasurer report, Tony Wolfe shared that “trends are headed in the right direction on every front,” including baptisms, collegiate ministries, university enrollment, African American engagement, and more. “This upward trend is a good start, but it’s just a start,” Wolfe said. “We need to see explosive reengagement in all of our cooperative mission fields.” He shared that 2025 is about leveraging momentum, citing the recently announced Give+Go, a holistic initiative that challenges SCBaptists to increase evangelistic engagement and Cooperative Program investment.

The Executive Board reconvenes on April 29 in Columbia.