Mississippi Baptists Close Their 190th Annual Meeting: A $32.2 Million Budget Passes and Baptisms Hit a Ten-Year High
Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, Madison County, Mississippi, hosted the 190th Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Baptist Convention on October 27-28, bringing together 823 registered messengers and 330 guests from across the state for worship, fellowship and convention business.
Messengers approved a 2027 Cooperative Program budget of $32,204,114, an increase of $1,104,114 over 2026. The share allocated to national and international Cooperative Program ministries rises to 40 percent, from 39.5 percent, with the remaining 60 percent going to church retirement and protection, Mississippi agencies and institutions, and the convention board. The entire slate of 2026 officers was reelected for 2027, led by President Andrew Chesteen, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, New Albany.
Evangelism figures presented at the meeting show that Mississippi Baptist churches recorded 9,306 baptisms in 2025, the highest number since 2016, following five consecutive years of increase, with one baptism for every 19 people in average worship attendance. A survey of pastors, however, found that only 7 percent ranked evangelizing as the top priority in their ministry, and the convention's Evangelism Task Force challenged churches to build Gospel conversations into how they actually spend their time.
The meeting also celebrated 50 years of Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief. Director Hubert Yates recognized current and former volunteers and challenged Mississippi Baptists to invest in the ministry's future through new volunteers and engaged churches; a resolution marking the anniversary was among four resolutions passed.
R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, delivered three messages during the convention. The 191st Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 25-26, 2027, at First Baptist Church, Jackson.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于 Jackson 的密西西比浸信会公会大楼（资料图）。Michael Barera 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Mississippi Baptist Convention building in Jackson (file photo). Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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