by Layci Clifford

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Something important happens when churches come together.

Not just to worship. Not just to learn. But to pause, reflect, and decide together what comes next.

That is the heart behind BGAV’s Annual Meeting 2026, happening November 9–11 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

From the outside, Annual Meeting may look like a conference or convention. In reality, it offers something more. Each year, pastors and ministry leaders from across Virginia and beyond gather in one place to celebrate what God has done and to help shape the direction ahead.

Over the course of a few days, attendees share stories of changed lives and impacted communities. Conversations spark new ideas and renew vision. Relationships deepen and remind participants that they belong to something much bigger than their own local context.

Together, churches also make decisions that influence how BGAV moves forward.

This year’s theme, Heart for the Not Yet, calls churches to look ahead with expectation — not simply hoping for what could be, but committing together to the work still in front of them. The theme points toward people and places not yet reached, stories not yet written, and the impact still to come across the Commonwealth.

This is why gathering matters.

BGAV’s Annual Meeting offers more than sessions and speakers. It gives ministry leaders the opportunity to show up, listen, contribute, and leave aligned with others carrying the same mission into their own communities.

And when someone is not in the room, everyone feels it.

Not simply because people miss that person, but because every voice matters. Every ministry context matters. The stories churches carry, the challenges they navigate, and the ways God works in their communities all help shape how BGAV moves forward together. When churches are absent, the conversation loses something important.

For many attendees, Annual Meeting becomes a moment of clarity — a reminder of purpose and a renewed sense of direction for the year ahead.

And perhaps just as importantly, it is a chance to be in the room where it happens.

Rev. Layci Clifford is the event planner for BGAV’s Annual Meeting.

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