CONVENTION: CAPE WILL PLAY HOST TO MISSOURI BAPTISTS

Cape Girardeau will host its largest convention of 1992 when the Missouri Baptists hold their annual gathering.

The Rev. Roy Jones said Monday he believes that it may have been 15 years since the organization has held a convention in Cape Girardeau. The Baptist minister is director of missions for the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association, composed of churches in Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger, St. Francois, Stoddard and Scott counties.

"Because it has not been in Southeast Missouri for 10 or 15 years, we're anticipating a good response from this region," Jones said of the Missouri Baptist Convention, slated for Oct. 26-28 at the Show Me Center.

"It's a lot of work to put it together, but there's the pleasure of being the host for Baptists across the state."

The convention represents all Southern Baptists in Missouri, he said. Jones said attendance at the event will range between 2,000 and 3,000 people.

Missouri, Jones said, has 1,900 Baptist churches and each church can send one representative referred to as a "messenger" per 100 members. Every church is entitled to at least one messenger, with a maximum limit of 15.

The marketing coordinator for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, Laurel Adkisson, acknowledged that this will be the largest convention slated for Cape Girardeau this year. But in terms of trade shows, Adkisson said, the Midwest Forest Products Trade Show later this year will draw 3,000 to 5,000 people.

This will mark the third time the trade show has been held in Cape Girardeau. The show will be held at the Show Me Center, Sept. 24-26. Adkisson said the show is held in Cape Girardeau every other year.

Also, on Sept. 12-13, the CASA Select Soccer Tournament will be held, an event usually attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, Adkisson said.

Jones said that during the 1980s the Baptists generally rotated their state conventions among St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Lake of the Ozarks. He said the Baptists' executive committee, the decision-making body between conventions, decided a couple of years ago to change the practice. Next year's convention will be held in Joplin, according to Jones.

Members of the executive committee told him that the change was partly made to provide better representation for Baptists in this area, said Jones. Jones said that Bootheel cities like Kennett and Caruthersville are pretty far from St. Louis, "which during the '80s would have been the closest place for them to attend a convention."

The Rev. Rodney Travis, the first vice president of the Missouri Baptists and an executive committee member, said he felt Cape Girardeau would be an excellent place for the convention.

"The Show Me Center is going to be great and I think there will be enough housing. Overall, I think it will be really good, and I think Cape Girardeau is a good place for people to come and get to know," said Travis, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jackson.

The Rev. Herschel Hobbs of Oklahoma, an author and pillar in Southern Baptist life, will speak at each session during the convention, said Travis. Sessions will be held the evening of Oct. 26 and in the morning, afternoon and evening on Oct. 27 and 28.

Speakers will also include Gerald Davidson of Arnold, president of the Missouri Baptist Convention; Wallace Jones of the St. Louis County city of Bridgeton and pastor of Fee Fee Baptist Church in St. Louis; Tillie Bergen of Arlington, Texas, who will speak on church growth; Birmingham, Ala., resident William O'Brien, who will deliver an inspirational message; and Vernon Armitage of Liberty, pastor of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty. Armitage will talk about church growth in Missouri.