SCBaptists concluded their 2024 Annual Meeting on Nov. 12 at Columbia First Baptist Church by focusing on sending missionaries and starting new churches. 

After greetings from Jeff Iorg, President and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, SCBaptist President Wes Church recognized the 2025 Convention Officers; Ryan Pack, 2025 President-Elect; Mark Bishop, Vice President; and Randy Jackson, Registration Secretary.  

Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee Awards

In their report, the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee presented three awards. The E. A. McDowell Award recognizes an individual who exemplifies Christian action in the public arena—politics, government, or community action. This year, the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee honored Tim and Jody Cross for their work with their refugee ministry, Open Arms Refugee. Open Arms welcomes and assists refugees arriving through the Refugee Resettlement Program by connecting them with local churches in order to support them, create community, and help them become self-sufficient. 

Secondly, the Impact Your World Award recognizes one church in the Convention that demonstrates a commitment to social and moral concerns. This year’s award was presented to Reconcile Community Church in Greenville, represented by Pastor Will Broadus. “As one of the most diverse church communities in our state, Reconcile believes that as people grow closer to Jesus, they will want to serve the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable,” presenter Brandon Blair said.  

Lastly, the Public Service Award recognizes a public official who is representing Christian ideals through their role in the public square. This year, the award was presented to Representative Mike Burns. Representative Burns advocated for legislation focused on protecting minors, including the Do No Harm Bill, the Child Online Safety Act, and the Save Women’s Sports Act. 

Sending Missionaries and Starting New Work

In his report, Send Team Leader Ken Owens emphasized the great need before SCBaptists to reach the lost near and far with the Gospel. “Today, 8.4 billion people live on planet earth, and 3.4 billion of them still live in unreached people groups with limited or no access to the Gospel,” Owens said. He shared that “most Europeans are now considered unreached,” and that estimates say only one or two percent are evangelical Christians. He also shared about the Palmetto Collective, a two-year program that equips college juniors and seniors to be missional leaders of the Gospel. “In just a few years, 40% of the 67 Palmetto Collective graduates are now serving with either the International Mission Board or the North American Mission Board,” Owens said.  

Start Team Leader Cliff Marshall shared a story of a Summerville resident, C.J., who met Daniel Norman at his son’s basketball practice. Norman is the worship pastor at Kingdom Church, a church plant in Hanahan. While the boys played basketball, Norman began to have intentional conversations with C.J. “Through several Gospel conversations and family dinners, C.J. began to understand his need for a Savior, and then made the choice to follow Jesus,” Marshall shared. “After seeing his dad choose to follow Jesus, C.J.’s son, Elijah, also committed his life to Christ.” Marshall emphasized that SCBaptists continue to partner to plant new churches across the state to reach neighbors, coworkers, and classmates “just like C.J.” 

Committee and Ministry Partner Highlights

History Committee Chair Paul Noe shared about some recent developments in SCBaptist life. This year, SCBaptists celebrated 30 years at their Stoneridge Drive location with the opening of a time capsule. According to Noe, the capsule contained letters from former Executive Director-Treasurers, a program for the groundbreaking ceremony, a copy of the 125^th–anniversary issue of the Baptist Courier, and other historical documentation. “Remember that history is ‘his’ story,” Noe shared.  

Messengers and guests also heard from Jess Archer, Executive Director-Treasurer of the South Carolina Woman’s Missionary Union (SCWMU). She highlighted four vital characteristics of the SCWMU: learn about missions, pray for missions, support missions, and do missions. Archer shared that, because of the generosity of SCBaptists, over $1,998,000 was given to the Janie Chapman Offering for State Missions in 2023. These funds directly support the Convention ministry priority teams.  

Remaining Steadfast in Sending and Celebrating

Wes Church hosted a panel on missions with Tommy Meador, pastor at Northwood Baptist, Judd and Debbie McKinnon, missionaries with the International Mission Board, and Charlie Swain, SCBaptist’s Next Generation Strategist. Debbie shared that, with global crises, “more than ever before we have seen firsthand more openness to the Gospel. People have lost hope, and we bring true hope,” she said. For Swain, the biggest challenge to calling out missionaries is that SCBaptists have “abandoned pipelines to missions,” stating that many churches no longer teach missions education to children and students.  

Bryant Wright, President of Send Relief, gave the final message of the meeting, encouraging SCBaptists to remain strong in their call to spread the Gospel to the nations. Final numbers showed that there were 774 registered messengers and 54 guests in attendance. 

In closing, Chuck Sprouse officially took over as the 2025 SCBaptist President. He announced that the theme for the 2025 Annual Meeting: “Celebrate!” Sprouse said, “We will celebrate what God has called us to do together, and I pray that we will have much to celebrate.” The meeting will take place on Nov. 10-11 at Taylors First Baptist Church.