With Crestwood Baptist Church in Des Moines serving as the host congregation, 127 messengers and 26 guests from 48 churches were registered.
Messengers re-elected the convention's current officers by acclamation: Ted Keys, pastor of Community Southern Baptist Church in Waterloo, as president; Eugene Guthrie, pastor of Crestwood Baptist Church in Des Moines, first vice president; Eric Schumacher, pastor of Northbrook Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, second vice president; and Jean Johnson, a member of Rolling Hills Community Church in Fort Dodge, secretary.
Music was provided by the choir of Community Southern Baptist Church in Waterloo.
In his presidential address, Ted Keys spoke from Isaiah 55 about going forward in faith.
"You have got to believe you can do what you think you cannot do," Keys said. "... His Word is true. Whatever God speaks, God will follow through to do."
Bob Rodgers, vice president for Cooperative Program and stewardship at the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said Iowa Baptists have provided more than $5 million for missions through the Cooperative Program. With 2 Corinthians 8:1-10 as his text, Rodgers commended Iowa Baptists for supporting the Great Commission with their tithes and offerings.
Also at the convention, new ministers in the state were recognized: Mike Brogan, pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Shenandoah; Luke Snowden, pastor of Corner Stone Baptist Church in Altoona; Herbert Thompson, pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Oelwein; and Les Leftwich, pastor of Pioneer Southern Baptist Church in Denison.
Messengers approved resolutions affirming their state convention leaders and staff members.
A 2011 budget of $1,875,128 was adopted, down 1.2 percent from the current year. Iowa Baptists will continue to forward 20 percent of $560,000 in anticipated Cooperative Program receipts to national and international missions and ministries.
During his address, Jimmy Barrentine, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Iowa, referred to Psalm 121:1-8, saying that when all is said and done, God promises believers that all will be well with their souls.
Though the Southern Baptist Convention has experienced friction during the past year with the adoption of the Great Commission Resurgence report and implications from that decision remain unclear, Barrentine said he believes churches will continue to provide support for God's work in Iowa.
Barrentine said he is grateful for churches that provide financial support and volunteers for missions, and he commended the staff for their efforts at advancing the Kingdom.
Richard Harris, vice president for the sending missionaries group of the North American Mission Board, closed the meeting by urging messengers to share the Gospel. He told stories of people being saved through the efforts of various Christians, including a bulldozer driver who came to know the Lord and now is a pastor.
The annual meeting was preceded by a two-day minister's retreat featuring R. Philip Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as the keynote speaker. During the meeting, the missions partnership between the Baptist Convention of Iowa and the Tennessee Baptist Convention was reaffirmed for another two years.
The Baptist Convention of Iowa has 105 affiliated churches and missions with more than 12,000 members.
Next year's annual meeting will be Nov. 4-5 at the Holiday Inn and Suites Northwest in Des Moines.
Based on a report by Richard Nations of the Baptist Convention of Iowa.
Copyright (c) 2010 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
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