Last week we held the 186th Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in Somerset, Ky. First Baptist Somerset was a great and gracious host church. Its pastor, Ryan Coffey, church staff and members were outstanding. There were 830 messengers in attendance with 313 guests and 362 churches represented.
It was an incredible celebration highlighting many of the ways Kentucky Baptists are advancing the gospel together.
Here are some of my takeaways from our time together:
1. It is great to reconnect with friends and ministry colleagues. One of the great things about any Kentucky Baptist gathering is watching people connect, reconnect and enjoy relationships new and old. Seeing pastors and church members laughing and enjoying each other blesses my heart. Ministry was never meant to be a solo endeavor and one way God provides strength for the work is through healthy relationships with ministry colleagues.
2. The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a blessed state convention. From Dr. James Carroll’s president’s address to Dr. Hershael York’s convention sermon, I could not help but thank the Lord for the gifted leaders He has raised up and positioned in Kentucky. One of my favorite gatherings was the 40 Under 40 luncheon for leaders in Kentucky under the age of 40 years old. This was the second such gathering, and more than 50 people attended. This signals that the future is bright for our work together.
3. We have an incredible history and even brighter future. The Church Multiplied initiative has potential to be used by God to be a gospel game changer in our state. In 1837 there were roughly 500 United Baptist Churches in Kentucky. Today there are 2,350 affiliated Kentucky Baptist churches. We hit a plateau of over 2,500 around the year 2000 and we have an open door to expand again in the next decade. We do not need fewer churches. We need more gospel-advancing churches reaching the 3.8 million people in the commonwealth not connected to any Christian faith family.
4. We need everyone all-in at this crucial time. I am encouraged that the number of disengaged churches has fallen from over 600 to under 550 in the past couple of years. Sixty-seven churches that had been disengaged from Cooperative Program giving for an average of 7.2 years have re-engaged and sent more that $100,000 to fund missionaries, church planting, foster care, disaster relief and more. This is exciting news! While we rejoice over this, we also strive for the day when every KBC church will be a fully engaged, thriving, gospel-advancing church. That is the vision that gets me out of bed in the mornings.
5. We need more churches reaching more people with the gospel. One of the great wins that we can celebrate together is the multi-language church planting work that has seen 98 churches planted in Kentucky representing 20 different languages. One of those in a Congolese church in Louisville with more than 400 people in attendance. As the nations continue to pour into Kentucky, we must continue to reach them for Christ, and it will take greater multi-language church planting to do so.
6. We have godly officers leading our work. President James Carroll, along with the other convention officers, did a stellar job leading the annual meeting. I expect the newly-elected president, Randy McPheron, and our new slate of officers to do the same. There will be new challenges coming our way as we strive to advance the gospel together in a fractured, ever-changing world — but we can meet those challenges together.
7. God is using Kentucky Baptists to advance the gospel. Since 1980, there have been 637,709 people baptized through Kentucky Baptist churches. My favorite part of the annual meeting was when all those present who had been saved or baptized through the ministry of a Kentucky Baptist church were recognized. By my best estimate, 60 plus percent of those in attendance rose to their feet. What amazing fruit God has brought through the faithful efforts of Kentucky Baptist pastors, evangelists, deacons, Sunday school teacher, mothers and fathers and others reaching generations with the gospel.
God has used Kentucky Baptists to advance the gospel together in Kentucky and around the world. May He be pleased to do so in an even greater way in the year ahead.
Thank you, Kentucky Baptists, for being the best state convention of churches anywhere in the country. I love you all and count it a great honor to serve alongside you as we help churches reach Kentucky and the world for Jesus.
Dr. Todd Gray 