By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
It’s a historic year for Alabama Baptists — possibly the first time the state has hosted the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in your lifetime, or at least since you were old enough to go.
Thinking about going to Birmingham to see what it’s all about while it’s so close to home? Here are some things you need to know:
Schedule
The main SBC meeting will stretch throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, June 11–12. Morning sessions will run 8 a.m.–12:15 p.m. both days, and afternoon sessions will run 2:30–6:15 p.m.
Location
The meeting will be at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in downtown Birmingham at 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North. To find out more about the venue visit bjcc.org.
Registration
Two ways to attend are as a messenger or as a messenger’s guest. Messengers to the meeting get to vote and have a part in determining the direction of the SBC.
To become a messenger your church must cooperate with the SBC and it must vote to send you as its representative. Contact your pastor to find out how that’s handled at your church.
Anyone can attend the meeting as the invited guest of a messenger, but you still must register your attendance and obtain a badge.
Both messengers and guests are encouraged to preregister at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19 and bring your confirmation email or preregistration number to the registration area at the BJCC when you arrive at the meeting.
For messengers especially this saves a lot of time — you can print out your messenger card and bring it with you instead of standing in a long line and then filling it out manually on the day of the meeting.
Child care
Preschool child care is offered for a fee, along with a kids’ event for ages 5–12 directed by Giant Cow Ministries. You must preregister for both ahead of time — no onsite registration will be available. May 25 is the registration deadline for the kids’ event.
Register at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19/childrenyouth.
Youth
If you’ve got teens Youth on Mission will provide hands-on missions projects June 11–12 for grades 7–12. Register and pay at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19/childrenyouth.
Submitting resolutions
During the meetings, messengers can present motions from the floor for the SBC to consider. A motion is a call to action, according to the SBC website. A resolution, on the other hand, isn’t a directive — its intent is to communicate something. Resolutions have “traditionally been defined as an expression of opinion or concern.”
If you’re interested in submitting a resolution for consideration you can do that at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19/resolutions up until 15 days before the meeting starts.
Related events
A variety of other gatherings will be happening in conjunction with the annual meeting, ranging from seminary alumni fellowships to a panel on sexual abuse.
To find out what’s available and when and where these meetings are happening visit http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19/events.
One connected event is the Pastors Conference, which will be held on the Sunday night and Monday before the SBC annual meeting (June 9–10) at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.
To read about the event and the lineup of speakers visit sbcpc.net.
For more information about the 2019 SBC annual meeting go to sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19.
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