page_title: Southern Baptist Convention
section_title: Missions agencies
hierarchical_section_title: Southern Baptist Convention / Missions and affiliated organizations / Missions agencies
caption_attribution_description: English: Galveston, TX, October 10, 1008 -- Volunteers with the Southern Baptist Convention prepare gallons of stew for mid-afternoon meals. American Red Cross and Salvation Army vehicles transport 30,000 meals to residents and recovery workers every day. Photo by Greg Henshall / FEMA
context_page_description: The Southern Baptist Convention is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States, smaller only than the Roman Catholic Church according to self-reported membership statistics.
  The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention stems from it having been organized in 1845 at Augusta, Georgia, by Baptists in the Southern United States who split with northern Baptists over the issue of slavery, with Southern Baptists strongly opposed to its abolition. After the American Civil War, another split occurred when most freedmen set up independent black congregations, regional associations, and state and national conventions, such as the National Baptist Convention, which became the second-largest Baptist convention by the end of the 19th century.
  Since the 1940s, the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted from some of its regional and historical identification. Especially since the late 20th century, the SBC has sought new members among minority groups and to become much more diverse.
context_section_description: The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845 primarily for the purpose of creating a mission board to support the sending of Baptist missionaries. The North American Mission Board, or NAMB, (founded as the Domestic Mission Board, and later the Home Mission Board) in Alpharetta, Georgia serves missionaries involved in evangelism and church planting in the U.S. and Canada, while the International Mission Board, or IMB, (originally the Foreign Mission Board) in Richmond, Virginia, sponsors missionaries to the rest of the world.
  Among the more visible organizations within the North American Mission Board is Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. In 1967, a small group of Texas Southern Baptist volunteers helped victims of Hurricane Beulah by serving hot food cooked on small "buddy burners." In 2005, volunteers responded to 166 named disasters, prepared 17,124,738 meals, repaired 7,246 homes, and removed debris from 13,986 yards. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief provides many different types: food, water, child care, communication, showers, laundry, repairs, rebuilding, or other essential tangible items that contribute to the resumption of life following the crisis—and the message of the Gospel. All assistance is provided to individuals and communities free of charge. SBC DR volunteer kitchens prepare much of the food distributed by the Red Cross in major disasters.
  Baptist Men is the mission organization for men in Southern Baptist Churches, and is under the North American Mission Board.
  The Woman's Missionary Union, founded in 1888, is an auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, which helps facilitate two large annual missions offerings: the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (for North American missions) and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (for International missions).
caption: Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief volunteers prepare food in Galveston, Texas, October 10, 2008
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Galveston, TX, October 10, 1008 -- Volunteers with the Southern Babtist Convention prepare gallons of stew for mid-afternoon delivery.  Seventy vehicles from the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army transport meals to thousands of residents and recovery workers every day.  Photo by Greg Henshall / FEMA", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2008:10:10 23:01:16", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "564", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1390", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7491", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:10:10 12:29:25", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:10:10 12:29:25", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "228255/32768", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "25", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3888", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1264", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3888000/877", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "432000/97", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}