Alabama Baptist congregations are asked to watch for information from the State Board of Missions regarding registration of messengers to this year’s State Convention meeting. Information was sent by U.S. mail on September 30 to each local church with instructions on how to pre-register messengers through an online process.

What does it mean to be a messenger?

The Alabama Baptist Convention consists of members known also as messengers. Messengers are members of Southern Baptist churches cooperating with the Convention. Messengers are elected annually by the church where they are members and sent to the annual convention as their churches representative.

How many can a church send?
There are actually two formulas to determine this:

Numerical Basis: Every church is allowed one messenger. One additional messenger is allowed for every two hundred, or fraction thereof, members in excess of two hundred.

Financial Basis: One messenger is allowed from each church for any part of the first one thousand dollars contributed to the Alabama Baptist State Convention during the Convention’s preceding fiscal year. One additional messenger is allowed for the next one thousand dollars above the first one thousand dollars contributed to the work of the Convention, and one additional messenger for each two thousand dollars contributed to the work of the Convention above the first two thousand dollars.

No church will have more than twenty‑five messengers though.

How do you become one?
Contact your Southern Baptist church and ask to be sent as a messenger to the Alabama Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Every church is autonomous and decides how their messenger allotment will be filled. Many will hold a business meeting before the convention for the church to vote on those wishing to be considered as messengers.