November 10, 2025
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The messenger count has already surpassed 1,200 for the Georgia Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, which begins Sunday at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta.
Georgia Baptists from across the state will gather to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the state’s largest religious organization, made up of some 1.4 million people.
The gathering will be steeped in two centuries of Georgia Baptist history not just in the main auditorium but also in the halls where history kiosks will allow attendees to get a glimpse of what life was like in the state’s frontier churches and in various other eras.
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The three-day event will begin with a send-off for the latest crop of International Mission Board missionaries being deployed overseas.
On Tuesday, messengers will also elect a new president to replace Kevin Williams who is finishing up his second term, which is the maximum allowed in Georgia.
Fayetteville pastor Josh Saefkow, a champion of the Cooperative Program and current chairman of the Georgia Baptist Executive Committee, will be nominated to replace Williams.
Buford First Baptist Church Lead Pastor Stephen Fountain said he intends to nominate Saefkow, who has been pastor of Flat Creek Baptist Church since 2016.
Five others have been announced as potential nominees for vice president. That includes Thomson First Baptist Church Pastor David Lambert, McConnell Memorial Church of Hiawasee Lead Pastor Steve Taylor, Church 180 of Hampton Pastor Anthony Wilson, Macon Korean Baptist Church Pastor Daniel Chon, and Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo of Jonesboro Pastor Rubén Torres.
Williams said people from congregations from across the state will also be celebrating two centuries of working together to get the gospel into every community.
“Every church in the state should be represented for such a momentous milestone as this,” Williams said.
The Georgia Baptist Convention holds a business meeting each November. People attend from across the state, drawn as much by the fellowship, preaching, and singing as by any business matters on the agenda.
Some of Georgia’s best preachers will be in the pulpit at this year’s annual meeting, including two legendary Georgia pastors, Wayne Robertson of Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, and Josh Smith of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Bogart.
Tony Evans, the familiar voice on the Urban Alternative radio program that’s carried on more than 1,400 stations, will also speak at this year’s annual meeting.
For some 40 years, Georgians have been listening to Evans on radio. Williams said he's excited that they’ll be able to hear him in person at this year’s annual meeting.
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