Baptist Church

The name of the Baptist church or Baptist denomination comes from the conviction that followers of Jesus Christ are commanded to be immersed in water as a public display of their faith, and thus most adherents reject infant baptism. While the term Baptist has its origins with the Anabaptists, the denomination itself is more closely linked to the English Separatist movement of the sixteenth century.

Organizationally, Baptist churches operate on the Congregational governance system, giving autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Baptists traditionally have avoided the "top-down" hierarchy of Episcopalianism which is found in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and many other churches. However, Baptist churches will often associate in denominational groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention USA, Conservative Baptist Association of America, American Baptist Churches USA, American Baptist Association (Landmark Baptists), among others.

Baptists usually are considered Protestants, although some Baptists reject that association.

Both Roger Williams and his compatriot in working for religious freedom, Dr. John Clarke, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."

History

Baptists generally believe that the New Testament churches were of baptist character. In other words, Jesus and his disciples were all baptized as adults, and so were the members or the primitive Christian church. The modern-day Baptist churches are thus restorers of New Testament practices.

The modern Baptist movement, however, is descended either from the sixteenth-century Anabaptists and/or from the English Separatists of the seventeenth century. The Anabaptists were comprised of widely scattered churches in Europe who rejected infant baptism. They therefore "re-baptized" their members as adults. Anabaptists held to many of teachings of modern-day Baptists, such as believer's baptism by immersion and freedom of religion.

Some historians see the Anabaptists and Baptists as one and the same people. Others, pointing to differences between the Anabaptists of continental Europe and the English Baptists—such as the Anabaptists' commitment to pacifism—see the Anabaptists only as influencing the later Baptists, rather than being directly connected to them.

The Separatists were English Protestants in the century who considered it their duty to totally separate from the Church of England (in contrast to other Puritans who sought to purify the Church of England from within). In 1608, to avoid persecution, John Smyth led a group of separatists to the more tolerant Dutch Republic where a distinctive Baptist faith emerged among these English émigrés. Open debate among them, together with close contact and interaction with continental Anabaptists, led the congregation to question the meaning and practice of baptism. John Smyth became convinced that baptism should be for conscious Christian believers only, and not for infants. The other English émigrés agreed. Meanwhile, Thomas Helwys and a dozen or so others began to formulate the earliest Baptist confessions of faith: 27 articles included in "A Declaration of Faith of English people remaining at Amsterdam in Holland" (1611). Helwys and 12 Baptist émigrés returned to England, and in 1612 they founded a Baptist congregation in Spitalfields, London. They became known as the General Baptists and subscribed to an Arminian theology, which rejected Calvinist doctrines of predestination. In 1616, Henry Jacob led a group of Puritans in England to establish the Particular Baptists, with a more strictly Calvinist theology.

The Baptist church in America

The person probably most responsible for the development of the modern Baptist denomination, however, was Roger Williams in Rhode Island in 1638. When the Great Awakening swept across the American countryside, it encouraged people to adopt a more independent stance with regards to religious matters. This proved beneficial for newer, more radical churches like the Baptists.

Baptists adopted an anti-creedal theology in which all authority stems from the Bible. Common characteristics include: baptism of mature adults rather than children, baptism via full immersion, religious revivals, and the independence of local churches. So strong was this independent streak that the first national Baptist organization in the United States was not created until 1814. In 1845, however, the American Baptists split over slavery.

Although Baptist churches can be found all over the world, in most places they are not as well organized as they are in America. For the most part, the individual churches are scattered widely—so much so, in fact, that it often makes more sense to talk about the continent—wide Baptist organizations rather than national or regional organizations.

The majority of Baptists worldwide reside in the United States, an estimated 47 million. Acording to a poll in the 1990s, about one in five in the United States claims to be a Baptist. American Baptists are represented in more than 50 separate groups. Ninety-two percent of Baptists are found in five of those bodies—the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC); and the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).

Although Baptist churches are located throughout the USA, the great majority of Baptists live in the southern United States, and the Baptist church has historically exerted a powerful influence in that region of the country. Major Baptist organizations in the U.S. are:

Alliance of Baptists: The Alliance of Baptists is a fellowship of Baptist churches and individuals espousing moderate-to-liberal theological and social stances. The Alliance was formed in 1987 by congregations in schism from the Southern Baptist Convention as a result of the 1980s fundamentalist/moderate controversy. The Alliance of Baptists is perhaps the first instance among Baptists in the U.S. in which moderates were compelled to establish their own organization, rather than taking over an existing organization. The Alliance maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C. As of 2007, some 125 congregations are affiliated with the Alliance; a preponderance of them are in southern Atlantic states such as Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. The Alliance is more sparsely found in the central South and Texas; in those areas, Alliance congregations are found almost exclusively in metropolitan areas.

American Baptist Association: The American Baptist Association (ABA) is an association of independent Landmark Baptist churches fellowshipping to carry out missions, benevolence and education. The ABA has developed a distinctive structure, though similar in principle and covenant with some SBC organization. The ABA is more oriented to the local church. Most churches participate in local and state associations in addition to the national body. Churches support local, state, interstate, and foreign missionaries, a publishing house, several seminaries (each sponsored by a local church), youth camps, etc. The numerical strength of the American Baptist Association is in the Old Southwest – Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas – but there are several churches in California and Florida. Also there are several participating churches and missions in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. Initially a midwestern and southern movement, now there are at least a few ABA participating churches in most of the United States. Mission work has expanded the association worldwide. In 2000, there were 225,479 members and 1,867 churches in the US.

Baptist General Conference: The Baptist General Conference (BGC) is a national evangelical Baptist body with roots in Pietism in Sweden and inroads among evangelical Scandinavian-Americans, particularly persons located in the American Upper Midwest. From its small beginning among Scandinavian immigrants, the BGC has grown to a nation wide association of autonomous churches with at least 17 ethnic groups and missions in 19 nations. In 2006, the BGC had 194,000 members in 950 churches in the United States. These churches are also organized into 13 district bodies - Columbia, Florida/Caribbean, Great Lakes, Heartland, Iowa, Mideast, Michigan, Minnesota, Midwest, Northern California, Northwest, Northeast, Rocky Mountain, and Southwest. There are a further 105 churches in Canada organized into 5 district bodies. These congregations cooperate together nationally through the Baptist General Conference of Canada.

American Baptist Churches USA: The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a group of Baptist churches within the United States; the denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Northern Baptist Convention, it was established in 1907. It is currently the fourth largest group of Baptists in the United States and it is also the most liberal. It consists of a federated body of otherwise independent churches which are united in their belief in adult baptism (by immersion) and the independence of local congregations. The ABCUSA should not be confused with the conservative American Baptist Association. The organization is usually considered a "mainline" denomination, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its congregations. The ABCUSA is a member of the National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. In 2006, the denomination had approximately 1.4 million members in 5780 churches.

Conservative Baptist Association: The first organization of Conservative Baptists was the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (CBFMS), now called WorldVenture, formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. The Conservative Baptist Association of America was organized in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1947. The Association now operates under the name CBAmerica. The Conservative Baptist Association emerged as part of the continuing fundamentalist/modernist controversy within the Northern Baptist Convention. The forming churches were fundamental/conservative churches that had remained in cooperation with the Northern Baptist Convention after other churches had left, such as those that formed the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. CBAmerica is a network of churches and ministries, committed to evangelization and church planting. Though they work in cooperation, each individual church is autonomous. Conservative Baptists also cooperate with institutions of higher learning in the field of education, as well as promoting youth and women's ministries. In 2003, the Association has over 1200 churches and over 200,000 members.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc. (CBF)—"a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice." CBF is not a denomination but rather a fellowship of churches and Christians. Valuing autonomy and freedom, CBF does not have or exercise authority over its partnering churches and individuals. In contrast to the Southern Baptist Convention there are a number of philosophical and theological differences. For example, in its 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, the Southern Baptist Convention has stated women should not serve as pastors. However, the belief that God calls both men and women into ministry—including that of pastor—was one of the founding principles of CBF. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship claims approximately 1,900 partner churches. It has an operating budget of $17.05 million for 2006-07, funded through financial gifts from individuals and churches.

National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.: The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (or NBCA) is an African-American Baptist body organized in 1915 as the result of a struggle to keep the National Baptist Publishing Board of Nashville independent. Those rejecting a proposed new charter, incorporation, and ownership of the publishing board withdrew from the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. With about 1,700,000 members in 6,716 churches, it is currently the second-largest black denomination in the United States, next to the Church of God in Christ. Along with other independent African-American Baptist churches, it was created by free slaves after the Civil War and have long played an important role in the political and social lives of African-Americans. Freed slaves were attracted to Baptist churches because of their evangelistic zeal, accessible theology, and an ecclesiology that emphasized individual freedom (political and spiritual) from white authority.

Progressive National Baptist Convention: The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) is a convention of African-American Baptists emphasizing civil rights and social justice. The PNBC has followed a path of political activism, supporting groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and methods such as affirmative action. Famous civil rights leaders who were members of the PNBC include Martin Luther King, Benjamin Mays, Ralph David Abernathy, and Gardner C. Taylor. The Convention bills the progressive concept as "fellowship, progress, and peace." The PBNC has partnered with the predominantly white American Baptist Churches in the USA since 1970 and is a member of the National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. In 1995, one study asserted the Convention had 741 affiliated churches, while another claimed they had over 2,500,000 members in 2000 churches. A number of the churches are dually aligned with the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.

Southern Baptist Convention: The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based Christian denomination consisting of numerous agencies and agencies including six seminaries, two mission boards and a variety of other organizations such as: the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Church, which can act for the SBC ad interim between annual meetings; Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission, Southern Baptist Foundation and GuideStone Financial Resources. Established in 1845 in order to preserve a religious foundation for human slavery, the SBC originally did not interfere in other theological matters, but has grown to be among the most theologically conservative Baptist groups and affirms a fundamentalist outlook toward the Bible to which its member churches are supposed to adhere.

There are more Southern Baptist congregations in America than of any other religious group, including the Roman Catholic Church (although in terms of members there are three times more Catholics in the United States than Southern Baptists). The SBC claims to have more than 16.3 million members in 44,000 churches throughout the US. One internal study by the SBC shows that on average, 38 percent of the membership number (6,138,776 members, guests and non-member children) attend their church's primary worship meeting. It has 1,200 local associations, 41 state conventions and fellowships covering all 50 states and territories of the United States. Through their "Cooperative Program," Southern Baptists support thousands of missionaries in the United States and worldwide (over 10,000 in 2005).

Independent Baptist Churches: There are several million Baptists in America who are “unaccounted for.” This means that they are not members of a known Baptist organization. Baptists have traditionally been suspicious any ecumenical movements designed to mediate theological differences between denominations, even when it comes to other Baptists, so it’s only to be expected that there will be Baptist churches who continue to be under the radar of religious surveys.

International Baptist churches

There are over 43 million Baptists outside of the United States, with worldwide congregations totalling nearly 300,000. Large populations of Baptists also exist in Asia, Africa,and Latin America, notably in India (2.4 million), Nigeria (2.3 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1.9 million),and Brazil (1.5 million). In England, where modern Baptists got their start, their numbers have been reduced to a few tens of thousands.

The one country outside of the United States where Baptists play a very public role is Russia, but that is also the country where their position is the most vulnerable. Baptists believe in evangelization, but the Russian Orthodox Church objects strongly to “outsiders” who take away adherents.

Distinctive Beliefs

The most distinctive doctrine of the Baptist churches if the rejection of infant baptism. Traditional churches, because of the doctrine of Original Sin affected even innocent children, baptize infants in order to prevent them from going the Hell in case of early death. Baptists insist that baptism is only for those who have come to faith through a conscious, voluntary commitment. Nowhere in the New Testament, they point out, do we read of infants being baptized. Today, the controversy over infant baptism continues, with the Catholic church and and many Protestant denominations considering the absence on infant baptism in the Baptish churches to be a heresy.

Baptist churches do not have a central governing authority. Therefore, beliefs are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another, especially beliefs that may be considered minor. However, on major theological issues, Baptist distinctive beliefs are held in common among almost all Baptist churches. Baptists share so-called "orthodox" Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. These would include beliefs about one God, the virgin birth of Jesus, his vicarious atoning death and bodily resurrection, the Trinity, grace, the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the dead, evangelism, and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church "covenants" which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs. Baptists generally, but not in all cases, believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment.

Most Baptist traditions also believe in the "Four Freedoms" articulated by Baptist historian Walter B. Shurden:

• Soul freedom: the soul is competent before God, and capable of making decisions in matters of faith without coercion or compulsion by any larger religious or civil body
• Church freedom: freedom of the local church from outside interference, whether government or civilian (subject only to the law where it does not interfere with the religious teachings and practices of the church)
• Bible freedom: the individual is free to interpret the Bible for himself or herself, using the best tools of scholarship and biblical study available to the individual
• Religious freedom: the individual is free to choose whether to practice their religion, another religion, or no religion; Separation of church and state is often called the "civil corollary" of religious freedom

The label Protestant is rejected by some Baptists (primarily those in the Landmark movement) because in their view Baptists have existed separately since the early church days. Those holding this view maintain that Baptists have never been a part of the Roman Catholic church, and as such are not "protesting" against Catholicism. Further, they point out that Baptists have no direct connection to any of the Reformationists like Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli.

Other Baptists accept the Protestant label as a demographic concept that describes churches who share similar theologies of sola scriptura, sola fide, the priesthood of all believers and other positions that Luther, Calvin, and other traditional reformers held in contrast to the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s.

Worship style

File:POCBaptist.JPG

Rural Baptist church in Port O'Connor, Texas

The focus of Baptist church services is the proclamation of the Word of God through the weekly sermon.

The general worship service is usually preceded by a time of Sunday School during which the people divide into separate classes (usually based on age) for study of the Bible. After the Sunday school, the whole church meets for a period of worship (though a growing number of churches have a separate worship service for the children). Some churches even have Sunday school after a service, but this is only in the case of a church having two or more services a day.

The worship service generally consists of a sermon preceded by a time of worship through singing. Prayers are offered intermittently throughout the service and an offering is usually taken sometime during the service. An "invitation" is usually offered after the sermon to allow public response to the message by confession of faith, request for baptism or church membership, or the expression of an intention to walk more closely with the Lord.

The music in Baptist churches varies from traditional hymns, to southern gospel, to the more contemporary rock and charismatic music styles.

Baptist churches are careful to emphasize that worship is not limited to the Sunday gathering, but is a lifestyle of love and service to Christ and dedication to God's truth as revealed in the Scriptures. Most Baptist churches expect the members to carry the message of the gospel into the world among their family and friends.

Membership

Only those people who are baptized members of a local Baptist church are included in the total number of Baptists. Most Baptist churches do not have an age restriction on membership, but will not accept as a member a child that is considered too young to fully understand and make a profession of faith of their own volition and comprehension. In such cases, the pastor and parents usually meet together with the child to verify the child's comprehension of the decision to follow Jesus. There are instances where a person makes a profession of faith, but fails to follow through with believers' baptism. In such cases, they are considered "saved" but not a church member until baptized. If children and unbaptized congregants were counted, world Baptists may number over 120 million.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Hiscox, Edward T. Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches: A Guide to the Administration of Baptist Churches, Kregel Classics, 1980. ISBN 978-0825428609
• Hobbs, Herschel H. What Baptists Believe, B&H Publishing Group, 1964. ISBN 978-0805481013
• Maring, Norman H. A Baptist Manual of Polity and Practice, Judson Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0817011710
• McNutt, William Roy. Polity and Practice in Baptist Churches, The Judson Press, 1948. B000QXTH28
• Norman, R. Stanton. The Baptist Way: Distinctives of a Baptist Church, B&H Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 978-0805431520

External links

• A comprehensive independent Baptist Church Web Portal and Church Search Engine
• American Baptist Historical Society
• Baptist History and Heritage Society
• Doctrinal and Historical Information on Baptists
• Map of USA showing Percentage of Baptist Population in each county
• various resources and services, including The Journal of Baptist Studies, a peer-reviewed, electronic journal

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