SAN ANTONIO (BP) —Prayer will be the the focus of the Southern Baptist Convention's June 12-13 annual meeting in San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
Each of the SBC's five sessions will have a prayer focus.
“The central focus for my presidency and therefore for this meeting is to seek from the Lord spiritual awakening—his Holy Spirit's revival,” said SBC president Frank Page. “And that is always prefaced by and enabled by and empowered by prayer.”
A second key facet of this year's convention will be the unveiling of a general outline for a 10-year evangelistic strategy in the SBC, said Page.
The North American Mission Board's newly-elected president, Geoff Hammond, has become part of the planning process, Page said, and “it looks like we will be able to unveil a general outline of a 10-year evangelistic strategy which brings associations, state conventions, NAMB and other entities into a true focus in calling churches not just to win souls but, better, showing them how.”
The evangelistic strategy will be “flexible, multifaceted,” Page said. It will encompass “the more traditional people within our convention and the more contemporary or non-traditional people, old and young, various styles and philosophies of evangelism and church planting, Calvinists, non-Calvinists, various people groups ethnically and various groups from the geographical areas across our country.”
Among the other highlights of the convention:
• The 300th anniversary of Baptist associations will be marked during Tuesday morning's session.
• Page will deliver his presidential address to close out Tuesday morning's session. Rob Zinn, senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, Calif., will deliver the convention message Wednesday morning.
• The International Mission Board's presentation will be Tuesday evening and the North American Mission Board's Wednesday evening.
Also in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting:
• In “Crossover San Antonio,” hundreds of Southern Baptists will hit the streets of the metropolitan area June 9 to share the gospel via door-to-door evangelism, block parties and an international festival featuring dozens of ethnic groups showcasing their cultures, food, dress, music, dance and art.
• The SBC Pastors' Conference once again will feature breakout seminars that will include nearly 10 topics and feature two roundtable discussions on a host of issues. The Pastors' Conference begins Sunday evening, June 10. The Pastors' Wives session of the Pastors Conference will take place on Monday beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the convention center's Lila Cockrell Theatre.
• The 2007 Woman's Missionary Union Missions Celebration and annual meeting will kick off at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 10, at First Baptist Church in San Antonio with a joint celebration with directors of missions for the 300th birthday of Baptist associations in America.
For the fifth consecutive year, online registration is available to churches for their messengers. Churches can register their messengers online at www.sbc.net to avoid waiting at the counter upon arrival at the convention.
Childcare (birth-3 years) and children's conferences (ages 4-12) have been planned for the San Antonio meeting, with registration information available at www.sbc.net, the Southern Baptist Convention's website.