From the opening tailgate party Monday, November 11, to the closing worship service Wednesday, November 13, BGAV’s annual meeting participants enjoyed 48 hours of fun, fellowship, worship, learning, and networking around the theme, “Free Indeed.”

“I am so thankful for the last couple of days,” commented April Kennedy, a minister at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, “…time to be equipped, to worship, to focus on strengthening connections that will help move the church forward, to be reminded of the gift of the freedom of Christ. It was what I needed in this moment of serving the church and so much more!”

First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia—a BGAV-participating congregation—graciously hosted the event, generously providing countless hours of assistance and local leadership both during and prior to the gathering. The church’s recently renovated worship space offered a warm, hospitable setting for worship, exhibits, and breakout sessions.

For a second consecutive year, attendees could choose to participate in a track for Next Gen leaders, with sessions specifically addressing topics related to ministry with young people in church. This year, two additional tracks allowed participants to opt for special focus areas including Pastoral Wellness and Disaster Response and Church Security.

Also for a second year, all messengers from participating churches were able to vote electronically. Fourteen messengers on site chose to vote by paper ballot, a provision for in-person messengers who prefer the traditional method. Electronic voting allows for a majority of the votes to be counted instantly, showing the results to all who use it in real time.

For those who didn’t get to attend this year’s event (or for those who were there but want to see it again!), BGAV’s annual meeting website currently offers several videos for you to watch, according to your areas of interest. These videos, along with highlight photos, are also linked below!

An Invitation for 2025

Each year, BGAV’s Annual Meeting takes place in a different region to offer opportunities for diversity in attendance and for church clergy and lay leaders to experience areas different from the ones in which they reside.

Next year’s annual meeting will be held in historic Abingdon, VA, at Highland Fellowship Church’s beautiful campus, November 10-12, 2025. Don’t miss the incredible fall foliage and warm fellowship of southwest Virginia, a place like no other in the Commonwealth—as BGAV moves into 2025 around the theme, “Mission Forward.”

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Video Recordings

Check out video recordings of our 2024 meeting including messages from speakers, special worship selections from our guest musicians, Wednesday memorial service, Executive Director’s report, Treasurer’s report, bonus content only shown on the livestream, and full-day livestream recordings. View all 2024 videos.

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2024 Meeting Articles

• BGAV’s Faison challenges members to live ‘free’

• BGAV elects officers, approves budget for 2025

• BWA’s Brown shares about ‘greatest anniversary’ with BGAV messengers

• BGAV messengers hear business, task force report on women in ministry in 2nd session

• BGAV annual meeting opening session focused on worship

• BGAV kicks off 201st meeting, another year of online voting

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Photos from the Meeting

Visit BGAV's Facebook page for a variety of photos from the 2024 annual gathering!