November 8, 2025
BRANSON, Mo. – During their 191st annual meeting, Missouri Baptist Convention messengers celebrated their Great Commission partnership and were challenged to reach and baptize 8,000 new believers across the state in 2026. They also urged churches to continue fighting for the life of the unborn, and they adopted a task force report regarding the "office of the pastor, specifically as it relates to a woman’s role in ministry.”
Coming from 478 churches, 1,365 Missouri Baptist messengers and 361 guests gathered at the Branson Convention Center for the meeting Oct. 27-28.
During his annual address, MBC Executive Director Wes Fowler thanked Missouri Baptists for their cooperation and for their sacrifice in supporting the Cooperative Program and Missouri Missions Offering (MMO). He reported that, during the past 100 years, Missouri Baptists have contributed $775 million to the CP.
“When we cooperate,” he said, “we can accomplish great things for the Lord in Missouri, across our nation, and across the world.”
“The Cooperative Program is not the mission of the Missouri Baptist Convention,” he added. “It never has been, and it never will be. … Our mission is to help churches fulfill the Great Commission.”
The CP has immense value because it fuels this mission, he said.
Why, he asked, does Missouri Baptist cooperation matter? It matters, he answered, because in the state of Missouri, with a total population of 6.245 million people as of 2024, an estimated 4.2 million people are lost. This means that 45,267 people died without Christ last year—that is, on average, 3,772 lost men and women per month, and 124 per day.
“If we’re going to weep, let us weep over the lost,” Fowler said, fighting off tears. “It means that five Missourians every hour die lost.
“So why does any of this matter? I’d say because we’re surrounded by lostness. … They need to hear the gospel.”
On a positive note, Fowler reported that baptisms in the state rose by 9.6 percent in 2024, with a total of 7,486 reported baptisms. Fowler challenged Missouri Baptists to win 8,000 new believers to the Lord in 2026 and baptize them.
“We haven’t had 8,000 baptisms since 2015,” he said. “I believe we should pray for 8,000 baptisms in 2026. Will you join me in this prayer? Will you cry out to the Lord for professions of faith and baptism? Will you commit to evangelism? … Will you share your faith unashamedly and with boldness?”
During their business session, Missouri Baptist messengers adopted a Credentials Committee task force report regarding the “office of the pastor, specifically as it relates to a woman’s role in ministry.” The report, released to messengers in writing prior to the annual meeting, can be accessed here.
Responding to the messengers’ adoption of the report, MBC president Wesley Vance said, “In a day when Southern Baptists are seeking clarification, Missouri Baptists overwhelmingly affirmed their historic commitment to the office of pastor/elder/overseer as being reserved for men. They affirmed both the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and provided a framework for the Credentials Committee to evaluate the partnership of local churches with the Missouri Baptist Convention.”
The task force was formed in response to a 2024 motion offered by Jeremy Sells, a messenger from First Baptist Church, Scott City, Mo. He moved that the task force “provide guidelines to the Credentials Committee for evaluating a church’s position on Baptist identity including the office and function of pastor/elder/overseer being limited to men as qualified by Scripture, and report a recommended process to the messengers of the 2025 Annual Meeting for approval for immediate implementation.”
In their report, the task force concluded: “In accordance with The Baptist Faith & Message 2000, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is reserved for biblically qualified men. The title ‘pastor,’ regardless of qualifier, denotes this biblical office and should be reserved for those fulfilling its teaching, spiritual, and leadership responsibilities. We encourage Missouri Baptist churches to align their practice and terminology with this theological clarity and integrity.”
The task force also recommended changes to the Credentials Committee Rules and Procedures. According to these changes, MBC-affiliated churches must hold “a faith, practice, or polity that is compatible with The Baptist Faith & Message (current edition), including reserving the office and function of pastor, exclusively for biblically qualified men.” The changes also provide a process for addressing questions about whether a church is qualified for affiliation.
The task force moved that MBC messengers “adopt the credentials committee task force report on the Sells motion, affirming the findings and conclusions of the task force. Upon adoption, the recommended amendments to the Credentials Committee Rules and Procedures will be forwarded to the Executive Board for review and approval.”
Messengers overwhelmingly voted to accept the report. Read the full task force report here.
Missouri Baptist messengers also adopted a resolution calling churches to continue their fight to protect the unborn. The resolution comes nearly a year after Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment that, according to the MBC resolution, “enshrined abortion” through all nine months of pregnancy and “invalidates all existing legislative pro-life protections.”
MBC messengers resolved:
In other resolutions, messengers also addressed immigration, education, protecting minors from pornography on social media, and the importance of public-school chaplains.
Messengers also re-elected their current slate of officers for a second term. MBC officers include MBC President Wesley Vance, executive pastor at Crossway Baptist Church, Springfield, Mo.; First Vice President Brian Jump, pastor of Forest Park Baptist Church, Joplin, Mo.; Second Vice President Justin Perry, pastor of First Baptist Church, Viburnum, Mo.; and Recording Secretary Richard Young, pastor of South Haven Baptist Church, Belton, Mo.
In other business, Missouri Baptist messengers approved a 2026 CP goal of $15 million.
The approved CP budget sets aside 6 percent of the total CP giving for “shared expenses,” which are allocated for annuity protections, CP promotion, and The Pathway.
From the remaining CP budget, 36.84 percent is allocated for Missouri Baptist missions and ministries. Additionally, 23.16 percent is allocated for Missouri Baptist entities, including the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Hannibal-LaGrange University, Missouri Baptist University, and Southwest Baptist University.
The remaining 40 percent is allocated for Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries. Any CP receipts above the budgetary goal will be split evenly between MBC and SBC ministries.
Other 2026 offering goals approved by the MBC messengers include: $825,000 for the Missouri Missions Offering (for distribution in 2027); $4 million for the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions; $2.2 million for the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions; and $150,000 for the World Hunger Funds.
The 2026 MBC annual meeting will take place at the St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, Mo., on Oct. 26-27.
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This article appeared in The Pathway.
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