Citywide worship gathering to conclude annual meeting in Austin

AUSTIN This year’s Southern Baptists of Texas Convention annual meeting in Austin will conclude Tuesday night, Nov. 15, with a citywide prayer and worship gathering designed to refresh and renew church leaders and members. 

The free event, starting at 6:40 p.m. at Great Hills Baptist Church, will feature a prayer emphasis, musical worship led by Christian recording artist Jeremy Camp and a message by Gregg Matte, pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church. 

SBTC President Nathan Lino said the event is open to all Austin-area evangelical churches and “has the potential to draw many believers from all over the city for encouragement in kingdom work.”

“We want the kingdom of light to be greater and the kingdom of darkness smaller as a result of the SBTC annual meeting coming to town,” Lino said.

The prayer emphasis will be led by Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, and the Austin Prayer Network. Jeremy Camp will perform a free concert following the evening session.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Two panel discussions during the annual meeting, Nov. 14-15, will address the challenges of pastoral ministry and growing concerns surrounding religious liberty in America.

On Monday, following the evening session, a late night panel discussion moderated by FBC Georgetown pastor Kevin Ueckert will focus on “Real Talk: The Struggle to Stay Encouraged in Life and Ministry.”

Panelists will include pastors David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Matt Carter of The Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, and John Powell of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Humble.

During the Tuesday morning session, there will be a special panel on religious liberty with pastors and denominational leaders discussing ways individuals and churches can engage the culture on this vital issue. Phillip Bethancourt, executive vice president for the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, will moderate the panel. Joining him will be Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary; Erik Stanley, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom; and Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin.

For more information on the 2016 SBTC Bible Conference and Annual Meeting, visit sbtexas.com/am16.