Skip to main content

Site Selection Committee for Future Conference Ministry Development in Mississippi

(see related articles below)

A Conference Site Selection Committee was appointed by the President of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board to specifically search for the most desirable and accessible site for developing a conference center for all Mississippi Baptists. Their findings and recommendations will be brought to the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board and upon their agreement and support will be brought to the 100-member Mississippi Baptist Convention Board for any action that will be taken. As the Committee is presently in the fact-finding stage, no timetable has yet been established for the Committees final report.

The Committee values the input of Mississippi Baptists. We want to hear from you:

Click here to submit general comments or location ideas to the Conference Site Selection Committee

Or send us a letter at the following address:

Conference Site Selection Committee
Attn. Dr. Lloyd Sweatt
1512 Hatley Road
Amory, MS 38821

If submitting a location idea, please be certain to include an accurate description of the location, property size, name of current owner, and their contact information. Please note that while all recommendations and referrals will be reviewed by the Conference Site Selection Committee, no commissions or fees will be paid for the information or any subsequent action taken by the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

Most importantly, the Committee solicits your prayers, as we seek to glorify God through this decision making process.

Site Committee announced

A Site Selection Committee for Future Conference Ministry Development in Mississippi was announced by Clarence Cooper, outgoing president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and pastor of Emmanuel Church, Grenada, on October 31 during the second day of the 2007 MBC annual meeting at First Church Jackson.

Cooper tapped Lloyd Sweatt, pastor of Meadowood Church, Amory, to serve as chairman. Joining Sweatt on the committee are:

Cooper told messengers the Site Selection Committee is charged with specifically searching for the most desirable and accessible site for developing a conference center for Mississippi Baptists.

The committees findings will be brought to the MBCB Executive Committee, Cooper said, and if the Executive Committee agrees to support the committees findings, the matter will be brought before the full 100-member convention board.

Gulfshore Assembly, which was owned by MBCB and located on the Gulf Coast shoreline at Henderson Point near Pass Christian, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Messengers to the 2006 MBC annual meeting voted to sell the Henderson Point property, and it is currently on the market.

Articles

Guest Opinion from the February 21, 2008, Baptist Record

Selecting a new site

By Lloyd Sweatt, pastor
Meadowood Church, Amory
Chairman, Conference Site Selection Committee

Thank you for allowing me to share with Mississippi Baptists what your Conference Site Selection Committee (CSSC) is doing regarding the Lords leadership in selecting a future site for a conference facility.

The CSSC consists of Weldon Aultman, Indianola; Buddy Huff, Jackson; Bobby Kirk, Doddsville; Mark Mayo, Carthage; Gary Richardson, Oxford (president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board); LaRue Stephens, Long Beach; Rebecca Williams, Madison; along with Micky Dalrymple, Columbus (president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention); and Clarence Cooper, Grenada (immediate past president of Mississippi Baptist Convention).

Your CSSC is charged with specifically searching out the most desirable and accessible site for developing a conference center for Mississippi Baptists.

Gulfshore Assembly was located on a piece of land called Henderson Point in Harrison County. The piece of land was used as a major resort at the turn of the 20th century and later as a training facility for the U. S. Merchant Marine. Mississippi Baptists purchased the land in the 1950s. Hurricane Camille in 1969 destroyed some of the property, thus requiring the assembly to be rebuilt in early 1970s. Many are aware of the recent destruction and devastation on Henderson Point caused by Hurricane Katrina.

God used Gulfshore Assembly in a beautiful way. Some on this committee struggled with the task of studying conferencing in our state as well as deciding whether to rebuild or relocate what was known as Gulfshore Assembly. We heard testimonies of how God used the piece of land located at Henderson Point to bring individuals to saving faith in our Lord, to call individuals to ministry, to call individuals to the mission field, and to renew commitments to our Lord.

The task of your CSSC is enormous. The charge before us is, How do we take the testimonies, the experiences of what God did at Henderson Point, to another piece of land? This task at times can seem overwhelming.

Where do we locate a piece of land that God will use to touch lives? In Genesis 12:1, the Lord charged Abram with these words, Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that I will shew thee. In Hebrews 11:8, we discover that it was by faith that Abraham, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

I believe that what we do will not have the same impact, nor set the course of a nation, as did Abraham but what we do will have an impact and set the course of an individual who could change the course of our nation.

Our journey together is not only a physical journey; it is a faith journey. I have asked the CSSC members to:

What can you do to assist this committee? Pray! Pray for the committee members, our MBC leaders, and for camps and conferencing in our state. Participate! Offer suggestions of places and pieces of land that you see. You can do this in two ways:

If submitting a location idea, please be certain to include an accurate description of the location, property size, name of current owner, and their contact information. Please note that while all recommendations and referrals will be reviewed by the Conference Site Selection Committee, no commissions or fees will be paid for the information or any subsequent action taken by the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

Most importantly, the committee solicits your prayers as we seek to glorify God through this decision-making process.