Baptist and Reflector
NASHVILLE — As one would expect, Tennessee led the way in number of messengers (2,012) registered for the Southern Baptist Convention, held June 15-16 at the Music City Center in Nashville.
The messenger count totaled 15,726, the largest attended convention since 11,959 messengers attended the SBC annual meeting in 2000 in Orlando. The number also far exceeded the 11,641 messengers who attended the last SBC held in Nashville in 2005.
This year’s annual meeting was one of the first major events held in Nashville since COVID-19 hit the nation last year. The 2020 annual meeting in Orlando last year was canceled.
The SBC annual meeting was a welcome relief to the city of Nashville which suffered a dramatic drop in tourism in 2020. “The Music City Center is thrilled to be hosting the Southern Baptist Convention, one of the largest events in the nation since the convention industry had reopened post pandemic,” said Charles Starks, president and CEO of the Music City Center.
In addition to the registered messengers, the annual meeting also drew 3,856 guests and 1,892 exhibitors for a total of 21,474 attendees.
Tennessee was followed by the following states in number of total messengers: Georgia, 1,596; Alabama, 1,151; Texas, 1,125; Kentucky, 1,040; North Carolina, 984; Florida, 981, and Mississippi, 700. B&R
