By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Messengers will be challenged with the theme of “Connect” during the 2026 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, hosted by Trinity Baptist Church, Lake Charles, Nov. 10.
“We anticipate having a great Annual Meeting,” Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn told the Baptist Message. “Trinity, Lake Charles, is a great venue to host us and they are exciting about having us. We hope people will come for the Pastor’s Conference on Monday and stay through the day on Tuesday. Our president, Kirk Jones, has a great vision for this meeting regarding connecting every report to an immediate action. We are excited to have Dr. Jeff Iorg lead us in Bible Study. I will be sharing a vision that propels us for the next seven years.”
Jones, pastor with Fellowship Church, Prairieville, echoed the thought, urging Louisiana Baptists to attend.
“As Louisiana Baptists gather on November 10, we will continue with our theme to connect,” he said. “Over the last year as the LBC leadership has spent time with the leaders and pastors in our state, the need for connection with one another and with our collective work has risen up as our greatest need.
“This year we will hear reports from all of Cooperative Program supported ministries and entities including a panel with NAMB and IMB,” he continued. “Every entity and ministry will present your church a practical and meaningful opportunity to engage with the ministry supported by your church’s giving.
“My desire at the convention is not for us to simply hear about the good things that are going on and the struggles perhaps our ministries are facing, but for every church to engage in connected and personal partnership within our CP supported ministries,” he said. “This is ultimately what it means to be a part of the Louisiana and Southern Baptist Conventions. It means to be a cooperating church. Cooperating churches give but they also engage and take part in the ministries that take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, through new church plants in our state, or to children in the foster system.
“God is at work through us, but for our churches to have a healthy and vibrant commitment to this cooperative work they need real opportunities to connect with one another and to engage in these ministries,” he added. “We hope you will come ready to listen with an open heart and lead your church to engage in what God is doing.”
BUDGET PROPOSAL
As part of the business of the annual meeting, the Cooperative Program budget will be presented for consideration by messengers.
The 2027 financial plan is based on Cooperative Program contributions of $17,397,201, an increase of 2.79 percent. Cooperative Program projections are based on actual receipts from August 2025 through July 2026. The allocation formula for distributing CP gifts between Southern Baptist entities and Louisiana Baptist causes remains unchanged, 62.87 percent to support ministries in the state and 37.13 percent forwarded to fund national entities.
OTHER BUSINESS
Other highlights of the meeting will include messages by Horn, Jones and Chris Craig, pastor with First Baptist Church, Ruston.
Additional items on the agenda include a Bible study led by Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee; reports by the Convention’s entities; other updates on state missions; elections of officers; and consideration of motions and resolutions.
Meanwhile, messengers will vote on substantive changes to key governing documents. The proposed amendments were adopted by the LBC Executive Board on Sept. 29, and would modify the LBC Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Business and Financial Plan, as well as the LBC Executive Board’s Articles of Incorporation.
The proposed amendments are published separately in this edition of the newspaper and can be viewed online via LouisianaBaptists.org/amendments.
At press time, only one candidate has been announced for LBC office: Kirk Jones will be nominated for a second term as president.
NOTEABLES
Gatherings for Nov. 9 include:
— Discipleship collaborative, 11:45 a.m., South Hall E/F
— Ladies fellowship lunch, 12 p.m., Student Center
— Minister of missions lunch, 12 p.m., Chapel
— Worship Collective roundtable, 12 p.m., Parlor
— African American fellowship, 5:15 p.m., South Hall E/F
— Young pastors fellowship dinner, 5:15 p.m., TBA
— NOBTS alumni dinner, 5:15 p.m., Fellowship Hall
— SWBTS alumni dinner, 5:15 p.m., Chapel
— Asian fellowship dinner (by invitation), 5:15 p.m., Parlor
— Church insurance road show, 7 p.m., North Venue
— Rural/small church pastors dinner, 5:15 p.m., Student Center
Gatherings for Nov. 10 include:
— Discover church planting breakfast, 7 a.m., Eggs Up Grill, Lake Charles
— Hispanic pastors breakfast, 6:30 a.m., Parlor
— Retiree/bi-vocational lunch, 12 p.m., Parlor
— SEND Network Louisiana lunch, 12 p.m., Fellowship Hall
— Next Generation roundtable lunch, 12 p.m., South Hall E/F
