The Gathering: One Body, One Heart, One Mission
By Sharon Mager
OCEAN CITY, Md. — The Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s 189th Annual Meeting, The Gathering, was held at the Ashore Oceanfront Resort & Beach Club on Nov. 10–11. The theme was unity, based on Psalm 133:1: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
Jeremy Dickson, director of Church Strengthening, leads a panel with Kris Buckman, Youth & Kids Consultant; Jess Senasack, state director of collegiate ministry; Melody Knox, women’s ministry consultant / WMU executive director; and Somer Phoebus, director of communications/women’s ministry Consultant/pastors’ wives care coordinator. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
Messengers approved a $6.85 million 2026 budget, including $2.81 million for Skycroft Conference Center, with a 63/37 split between BCM/D and Southern Baptist Convention ministry partners. Ministry priorities will continue to center on church strengthening, formation and health, mobilization and planting, and missional impact.
Leaders also highlighted “The Big Five,” a slate of 2026 events designed to equip and encourage churches: the Revive Women’s Conference, the Refueled Men’s Conference, the Church Leaders Conference (CLC), the Student Leader Conference (SLC), and The Gathering.
Additional new focus areas next year include revitalization and a new seniors ministry led by Melody Knox, executive director of Maryland/Delaware WMU.
Unity
The meeting emphasized unity and celebrated what God has done in 2025 through worship, testimony, prayer, and updates from BCM/D’s four ministry teams. Staff shared about men’s, women’s, and student ministries, disaster relief, church multiplication, compassion and disability ministries, abuse prevention, and more. (See team reports here)
State Director of Church Planting Jamie Caldwell opened the Monday session, noting that Scripture calls unity “good and pleasant” — a rare pairing in a world full of things that are good but not pleasant. “Like broccoli,” he joked. “Let’s just be honest. I’m not a fan of the broccoli. I never have been… But I understand that it’s good for me. God says unity isn’t just good. It is good and it is well. It is pleasant.”
BCM/D Prayer Leader/ Canvas Church Pastor Richard Pope (left) prays for a large group who responded to a call to share the gospel with someone suffering from poverty. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
Referring to Psalm 133, Caldwell said, “It is good and it is pleasant when brothers dwell in unity when God’s people live together. What a beautiful promise.” But, he explained, the psalm’s “dwelling” is active and chosen. “Unity is more than proximity,” he said. “It has to be a choice that we make, a collective passion and affection that says we care enough about something bigger than all of us, that we lean into it together.” He closed the session with the first of several group prayer times.
Election of Officers
Messengers elected three new officers, all directors of missions:
• President Ron Blankenship of the Montgomery Baptist Association and interim pastor of Georgia Avenue Baptist Church
• First vice president John Mackall of the Mid-Maryland Baptist Association and pastor of CrossLife Community Church
• Second vice president Greg Kame of the Arundel Baptist Association and pastor of Glen Burnie Baptist Church
Mike Fillis, pastor of Fenwick Island Baptist Church, will continue serving as recording secretary, and his wife, Beth Fillis, serves as interim assistant recording secretary.
Executive Director’s Address
Executive Director Tom Stolle emphasized the theme of “One,” celebrating God’s work through the four ministry teams and Skycroft Conference Center.
BCM/D Executive Director Tom Stolle said, “The BCM/D isn’t just staff. It’s all of us — this partnership, this family, this network of churches that God has brought together for His purposes.” (Photo by Sharon Mager)
He pointed to Ephesians 4:16: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (NLT)
Stolle also read 1 Corinthians 12:14: “For the body does not consist of one member but many,” (ESV), explaining that all parts of the body of Christ are essential. “We have different gifts, different talents, and different thoughts — and yet God makes us one. Isn’t that amazing?” he said.
“That’s what I see in our Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware family,” he added. “The BCM/D isn’t just staff. It’s all of us — this partnership, this family, this network of churches that God has brought together for His purposes.”
President’s Address
Outgoing BCM/D President Fred Caudle, pastor of The Church @ St. Charles and director of missions for the Potomac Baptist Association, preached from Psalm 133.
“This psalm is a song of ascents, of worship,” he said. “The people of God would sing as they made their way to Jerusalem. People coming from the tribes from the north and from the south and from the hills and the valleys. They came together in one place, one voice, one purpose…to worship the Lord God Almighty. And David says, Behold, look at that!
Outgoing President Fred Caudle says, ““See, when God’s people dwell together in unity, heaven takes notice. So should we, but I believe the community will too.” (photo by Sharon Mager)
“I wonder if the communities where our churches gather, and where we cooperate together in associations and in state conventions, if people in their homes could see us come together in unity, that they’d say, ‘Look at that!’ “What if our next generation can look at the church and they can say, ‘Behold, look at that!’
“That’s what I want. That’s worth paying attention to! See, when God’s people dwell together in unity, heaven takes notice. So should we, but I believe the community will too.”
The 2026 BCM/D meeting will be Nov. 9–10, with the location to be determined.
Visit our website to learn how the BCM/D can help strengthen and equip your church!
Feature photo: One of many group prayer sessions during BCM/D’s “The Gathering” (Photo by Sharon Mager)