RICHMOND, Va. — About a third of eligible churches were represented at the Nov. 9-10 meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia — a percentage that has remained fairly stable for several years despite variations in overall attendance at the annual event.
Some 875 messengers attended the BGAV's annual meeting in November, held this year at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Va. (Photo by Alice Rusher)
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Of the BGAV’s 1,400 affiliated congregations, 964 meet the financial contribution requirements necessary to send at least one “messenger,” or representative, to the annual meeting. Of those, 331 churches, or 34.34 percent, were represented at the 2010 meeting in Hampton, Va., according to statistics gathered from the registration process.
A total of 875 messengers attended this year’s annual meeting — the second lowest figure since 1975. For the past five years, messenger registration has hovered at around 1,000, though it has dipped as low as 850. Last year 984 messengers attended.
Those figures contrast with the 4,646 messengers who attended the 1990 meeting, when theological controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention spilled over into state Baptist conventions and inflated attendance figures. Since the end of conflict in the mid-1990s, attendance at annual meetings of both national and state organizations — including the BGAV — has dwindled.
But during the first decade of the 21st century, despite dips in overall registration, about one-third of the BGAV’s eligible churches have been represented at annual meetings, according to official records. Depending on their level of financial contributions, churches may send anywhere from one to 15 messengers.
This year, about 55 percent of messengers identified themselves as laypersons and about 45 percent as ministers.
According to BGAV officials, if every eligible church sent its maximum allowed number of messengers, total registration would be a whopping 18,844 — though no observer expects such a scenario to occur.
Next year’s BGAV meeting is scheduled for Nov. 8-9 in Richmond, Va.
Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Religious Herald.