Come ReJoice, ReClaim, and ReJesus with Us!

Come join us November 8–9, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia, at the 188th BGAV Annual Meeting!

This year’s theme is ReJoice. ReClaim. ReJesus. We will ReJoice through congregational song and a celebration dance. We will ReClaim the proud heritage that is ours as Virginia Baptists. And our featured speaker, Alan Hirsch, will share from his book, ReJesus, about the role that Jesus played in defining missional movements. Join us for a time of renewal, revival, and relationships!

Visit our Media page to download publicity materials to promote the annual meeting in your church or view photos and videos from our most recent meetings!

 

Registration Now Open!

Visit the Registration page to get information on how to register messengers and visitors for this year's meeting using our new registration system! As always, it’s possible to register by mail for those churches with limited or no internet service. Simply fill out the printable registration forms and mail them back to us by October 14.

 

Biblical Basis for This Year's Theme

ReJoice (Romans 5:2-8, The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

ReClaim (Isaiah 61:1-3, 9-11, The Message)
1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace—a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—and to comfort all who mourn, To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom,a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory.

9-11 Your descendants will become well-known all over.Your children in foreign countries will be recognized at once as the people I have blessed." I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.

ReJesus (Matthew 16:13-19, NIV)
13-19  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”