What Happened in Orlando: A Recap of the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on June 9–10 for the 2026 Annual Meeting. It was a consequential two days. Messengers elected a new president, approved a historic budget, took the first step toward a major constitutional change, embraced a denomination-wide push in disability ministry, and adopted eleven resolutions. Here's a walk-through of the major actions for those of us back home who couldn't be on the floor.

The official record of the meeting—including the full text of every resolution and report referenced below—is maintained on SBC.net, and ongoing coverage is available from Baptist Press, the SBC's official news service.

A new president and a historic budget

Florida pastor Willy Rice was elected president of the SBC during the Tuesday afternoon session. In his press conference after the final gavel, Rice framed his role as representing the churches rather than any one entity or committee.

Messengers also approved a $186 million Cooperative Program Allocation Budget for 2026–2027. The most-discussed line in that budget directs 51 percent of national Cooperative Program receipts to the International Mission Board, fulfilling a recommendation made earlier by the Great Commission Resurgence Evaluation Task Force. In all, messengers approved every one of the twelve recommendations brought by the Executive Committee, covering disability ministry, budgets, governance, and future meeting locations. (Baptist Press, "Southern Baptists approve historic budget, new president, constitutional change".)

The Mohler "Truth and Unity Amendment"

The most-watched action of the meeting was a proposed constitutional amendment brought by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which he titled the "Truth and Unity Amendment." The amendment clarifies that a cooperating church does not affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of pastor, elder, or overseer—including preaching to the gathered congregation in a pastoral capacity. Mohler pointed to language modeled after the 1689 Baptist Confession and argued the amendment simply writes the convention's long-held convictions, already expressed in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, into the SBC Constitution.

Procedurally, messengers first voted on June 9 to suspend Standing Rule 6, which normally would have referred the motion to the Executive Committee for a year before any vote. Suspending the rule let messengers take up the amendment in Orlando rather than waiting until 2027. After a floor debate that was cut short when a messenger called the question, the amendment cleared its first reading the morning of June 10 by a vote of 6,028 in favor to 2,026 against—roughly 74.7 percent, comfortably past the two-thirds threshold required for a constitutional change.

Because amendments to the SBC Constitution must pass by a two-thirds vote at two consecutive annual meetings, the measure will come back for a second and final vote at the 2027 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis before it can be added to the Constitution. This comes one year after a similar effort (the "Law Amendment") fell short of the needed margin, so the lopsided result drew significant attention. Asked about the vote afterward, Mohler said he was thankful, noting that in a gathering that large he considered nearly 75 percent a remarkably high figure. (Baptist Press, "Truth and Unity Amendment receives initial two-thirds approval".)

The Disability Ministry Task Force recommendations

One of the meeting's most warmly received moments came when the Disability Ministry Task Force, chaired by Tom Stolle (executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware and the father of an adult son with special needs), presented its report. The 12-member task force had been commissioned by the Executive Committee following motions at the 2025 Annual Meeting, building on a request first raised back in 2024.

Stolle made a striking case for the work, noting that if all the people on the planet affected by disability were gathered into one nation, it would be the third-largest country in the world, and that families affected by disability are likely among the largest unreached people groups anywhere. He observed that while churches are generally good at being kind, families are looking for genuine accessibility and belonging—not to be treated as a ministry project.

Messengers adopted the report. Its recommendations include:

• Adding disability ministry specialists and consultants to the teams at SBC entities

• Adding accessibility options to existing curriculum and writing new curriculum

• Increasing and promoting resources and training across state conventions, mission boards, and policy arenas

• Developing evangelism tools and strategies aimed at individuals and families affected by disability

• Offering seminary certificate programs, classes, and degrees in disability ministry

• Adding a Disability Ministry Sunday to the SBC Calendar of Activities, observed the second Sunday of July beginning in 2027

• Keeping the task force together as an advisory team and resource for entities and state conventions

Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg called it one of his best days in SBC leadership, and Stolle called it the best day he'd had as a Southern Baptist in his entire life. The SBC has gathered ongoing tools for churches at sbc.net/disabilityministry. (Baptist Press, "'We can't leave them behind,' says Disability Ministry Task Force Chairman Tom Stolle".)

The 2026 Resolutions

Messengers adopted eleven resolutions. As SBC polity reminds us, resolutions are non-binding expressions of the opinion and concern of the messengers gathered in a given year rather than directives to any entity—but they remain a meaningful snapshot of what Southern Baptists want to affirm and emphasize. More than 40 resolutions were submitted this year, and the Committee on Resolutions drew on 18 of them to craft the final eleven. The full text of each is posted on SBC.net (linked below).

1. On the 250th Anniversary of the United States and the Baptist Contribution to Religious Liberty — Honors the Baptist forebears, including figures like Isaac Backus and John Leland, who contended for religious liberty and helped secure the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment, and calls Southern Baptists to pray for national revival and a faithful public witness. Full text on SBC.net

2. On Appreciation for the City of Orlando — Thanks the host city for welcoming Southern Baptists with hospitality, professionalism, and a spirit of service. Full text on SBC.net

3. On Appreciation for Bivocational and Volunteer Pastors — Gives thanks for the enduring ministry of bivocational and volunteer pastors who have labored faithfully to advance the gospel across the generations. Full text on SBC.net

4. On the Church's Opportunity for Evangelism, Discipleship, and Care for Persons with Disabilities and Their Families — Calls churches to joyfully welcome and include persons with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities and their families, noting that such families often attend less regularly because of barriers to access and belonging, and urges churches of every size to develop or expand plans for inclusion. Full text on SBC.net

5. On Assisted Suicide and the Sanctity of Life — Reaffirms the convention's opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide in all its forms, rejects euphemisms such as "medical aid in dying" and "death with dignity," warns that such laws tend to expand beyond their original limits, and encourages palliative and hospice care alongside a compassionate, faithful presence to those who suffer. (A floor amendment from Glenn LaRue of Ohio, adding language on eternal realities, was accepted.) Full text on SBC.net

6. On Political Violence and Speech — Condemns the use or threat of violence for political ends as an assault on the sanctity of life and the rule of law, warns against rhetoric that dehumanizes opponents, and calls Southern Baptists to live as peacemakers and ambassadors for Christ. Full text on SBC.net

7. On Immigration, Human Dignity, and the Rule of Law — Affirms the dignity of immigrants and refugees as image-bearers while upholding the rule of law, and encourages Southern Baptists to strengthen faithful gospel ministry and Christ-centered community among people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Full text on SBC.net

8. On Finishing Well in Life and Ministry — Encourages pastors and ministry leaders toward perseverance and faithful endurance over the long course of a life and ministry. Full text on SBC.net

9. On the Office and Function of Pastor/Elder/Overseer — Calls churches to teach and uphold the biblical pattern of church leadership, reaffirming that the office is reserved for men who meet the qualifications of character and conduct in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9. (A proposed amendment regarding church governance structures was defeated.) Full text on SBC.net

10. On Antisemitism — Condemns the surge in antisemitism since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks—including violence, harassment, and conspiracy theories that falsely accuse Jewish people of controlling media, finance, or politics—and calls Southern Baptists to combat it through biblical teaching, friendship, public witness, and prayer for the salvation of Israel. Full text on SBC.net

11. On the Nature and Importance of the Physically Gathered Church in a Digital Age — Affirms the responsible use of digital tools as an aid to ministry while insisting they cannot fulfill the biblical functions of the gathered church or replace the personal ministry of pastors and members. Full text on SBC.net

(Baptist Press, "America 250, immigration, assisted suicide among issues addressed in SBC resolutions".)

Looking ahead

Between a new president, a mission-forward budget, a first-reading constitutional amendment, a fresh denominational commitment to disability ministry, and a slate of resolutions touching life, leadership, and witness, Orlando gave Southern Baptists plenty to pray over and act on. The next chapter comes in Indianapolis in 2027, where the Truth and Unity Amendment faces its decisive second vote. Until then, the work of these decisions belongs to the local church—where it always has.

Sources: All resolution texts and the official meeting record are drawn from SBC.net. Reporting on the meeting's actions is drawn from Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.