Orlando was also the “site” of the canceled 2020 annual meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SBC decided in March 2020 to not only cancel the meeting but also not to reschedule.
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Then-SBC president J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, said he was “saddened” to make the announcement, but the decision was compelled by the significant number of COVID-19 cases.
The Alabama Baptist published in its March 24, 2020, edition that almost 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection had been reported worldwide, with more than 17,000 deaths. In the United States, more than 46,000 confirmed cases had been reported, with almost 600 deaths; the numbers continued to increase significantly each day.
Read more stories from the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando
“We are a people committed to keeping the gospel above all,” Greear said, “and our sole purpose in coming together is to support one another in that mission, catalyzing our collective mission efforts. This year, our unusual circumstances mean we can best meet that goal by not meeting together.”
Prior to 2020, the last time the SBC Annual Meeting was canceled was 1945, during World War II, when the United States government banned meetings of groups larger than 50 people. The SBC was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, but instead skipped a year.
