Once a year, churches affiliated with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention send messengers from their congregations. During the annual meeting, these messengers establish the agenda, hear reports, and vote on the budget, resolutions, motions, and officers—shaping the future of their cooperative ministry. The meeting also features preaching, worship, ministry exhibits, and networking opportunities.
Annual Meeting 101
Download PDFThe Annual Meeting
Convention President
Each year at the annual meeting, messengers from affiliated churches elect a convention president. Presidents play an essential role in the life of the convention. The president and other officers become ex-officio members of the SBTC Executive Board. Additionally, the president collaborates with staff and other appointed leaders to determine the theme and program for the annual meeting. The president also appoints committees and moderates the meeting sessions. A president may serve two consecutive one-year terms.
Other Officers
The convention elects two additional officers: a vice president and a secretary. The vice president assists the president, acts as his delegate when needed, and serves on the Credentials Committee. The convention secretary oversees and certifies business items submitted during the meeting and serves on the Credentials Committee. The president appoints parliamentarians to help maintain the orderly conduct of convention business and to protect the rights of all messengers as they participate. You will often see them on stage, standing beside the president during business sessions.
Motions & Resolutions
Motions are submitted by registered messengers during designated times for introducing business. Motions are formal requests for the convention to take binding action, such as proposing a new initiative or a bylaw change. Introduced motions are evaluated by the Committee on Order of Business for parliamentary validity. The committee then assigns the motion to a standing committee or the convention’s executive board, or it can schedule the motion for discussion and a vote by messengers.
Resolutions reflect the opinions of messengers on timely issues. They do not direct the convention or its churches to take action; rather, they encourage action or attitudes, affirm individuals or actions, express agreement or disagreement with an action or cultural trends, or otherwise state an opinion deemed consistent with a biblical worldview. The resolutions committee reviews submissions prior to the meeting, recommending those most appropriate for consideration by messengers, usually on the second day of the annual meeting.
Committees
A lot of work happens behind the scenes to bring everything together for the annual meeting. Many people serve on committees related to the event.
Committee on Order of Business (COOB)
This committee is nominated by the Committee on Nominations and elected by convention messengers. COOB assists the president and convention staff in planning the annual meeting program, time, location, speakers, and other related elements. They also direct items of business submitted during the meeting to the appropriate committee or back to the messengers for consideration and voting, as applicable.
Resolutions Committee
This committee, appointed by the president, does most of its work before the meeting begins. It consider resolutions on timely issues and beneficial to the work of the convention. Once a slate of resolutions has been prepared, it is submitted to the messengers for consideration and vote.
Registration Committee
This committee, appointed by the president, helps messengers register onsite and supplies them with ballots, reports, and other necessary tools.
Tellers Committee
The Tellers Committee, appointed by the president, receives and counts ballots if necessary. The Tellers Chairman reports the results of the vote to the messengers.
Credentials Committee
The Credentials Committee is nominated by the Committee on Nominations and elected by messengers. It works throughout the year, considering churches that have submitted affiliation applications and offering recommendations on which the SBTC Executive Board votes. During the annual meeting, committee members assist in answering questions regarding the qualification of a messenger or sending church.
Executive Board
The board, nominated by the Committee on Nominations and then elected by convention messengers, is on stage during the convention, making a report and recommending an annual budget and other major items of business to the convention. The board has members from all quadrants of the state, laypeople and pastors, and members from smaller churches and larger churches. They conduct the business of the convention in between annual meetings. This board, for example, exercises regular oversight of the work of the convention staff during their three plenary meetings and several committee meetings.
Committee on Committees
The Committee on Committees, appointed by the president, has the critical task of recommending members for the Committee on Nominations. The committee aims to involve more people in the essential work of filling vacancies on boards and standing committees.
Committee on Nominations
This committee, recommended by the Committee on Committees and elected by convention messengers, recommends people to fill open slots on the Executive Board, the boards of SBTC-cooperating entities and standing and procedural committees that serve the convention.
Becoming A Messenger
Affiliated churches select messengers to attend on their behalf. Messengers can be any member of the affiliated church. We do not refer to them as delegates because they act according to their own consciences and discernment rather than representing an agenda from their congregations. According to the SBTC Constitution, Article IV, Section 3, each affiliated church may send 10 messengers to the annual meeting. Messenger registration is available online or in person at the annual meeting. Messengers are entitled to vote, make motions, and speak to convention business.
Guests at the Meeting
Only registered messengers to the annual meeting can participate in convention business, but guests from affiliated churches, non-affiliated churches, and out-of-state visitors are welcome to attend.
