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Baptist World Alliance

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Baptist World Alliance
ClassificationEvangelical Christianity
OrientationBaptist
General Secretary and CEOElijah M. Brown, since 2018
PresidentTomás Mackey, since 2020
Region134 countries
HeadquartersFalls Church, Virginia, U.S.
OriginJuly 1905; 119 years ago (July 1905)
London, United Kingdom
Congregations178,000
Members51,000,000
Missionary organizationGlobal Baptist Mission Network
Aid organizationBWAid
Official websitebaptistworld.org
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Baptism at Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain, 2015.
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The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international Baptist association of Christian churches with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world.

The BWA was founded in 1905 in London during an international congress of Baptist churches. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia, United States. It is led by General Secretary and CEO Elijah M. Brown and by President Tomás Mackey.

History

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Believer's baptism of adult by immersion at Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Show on the life of Jesus at City Church, affiliated to the Brazilian Baptist Convention, in São José dos Campos, Brazil, 2017.
Chümoukedima Ao Baptist Church building in Chümoukedima, affiliated with the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (India).

The roots of the Baptist World Alliance can be traced back to the seventeenth century when Baptist leader Thomas Grantham proposed the concept of a congregation of all Christians in the world that are "baptised according to the appointment of Christ."[1] Similar proposals were put forward later such as the call of John Rippon in 1790 for a world meeting of Baptists "to consult the ecclesiastical good to the whole."[1]

It was, however, only in 1904 when such congregation became a reality. John Newton Prestridge, editor of The Baptist Argus, at Louisville, Kentucky called for a world gathering of Baptists. John Howard Shakespeare, editor of The Baptist Times and Freeman, London, endorsed the proposal.[2][3][4] In October 1904, the Baptist Union of Great Britain passed a resolution to invite a Congress to meet with them in 1905.[5] At the Congress, a committee was formed, which proposed a Constitution for a World Alliance. The Baptist World Alliance was founded in London, during this first Baptist World Congress in July 1905. Every five years since, the BWA holds a Baptist World Congress in different locations around the world, and multiple international meeting and programs are held in the times between Congresses.[6][7][8][9]

The gathering was referred to as an "alliance" and not a council in order to establish the nature of the dialogue as a meeting. This means that the body wields no authority over participating churches or national Baptist unions, serving only as a forum for collaboration.[10]

In 2003, the International Baptist Convention, an international association of English-speaking churches, became a member. [11]

In 2004, the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention voted to withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) over issues regarding the alleged adoption of liberal stances such as the inclusion of conventions that allow same sex marriage as well as perceived anti-American sentiment, which were partly attributed to Alliance Secretary General Denton Lotz's visits to Fidel Castro in Cuba.[12][13][14] A year later, two state denominational members of the Southern Baptist Convention—the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Baptist General Convention of Texas—affirmed their continued support and applied for membership in the Alliance, and were subsequently admitted.[15]

In 2020, the Argentine Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded South African Pastor Paul Msiza as BWA President.[16]

Statistics

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According to a census published by the association in 2024, the BWA has 266 participating Baptist fellowships in 134 countries, with 178,000 churches and 51,000,000 baptized members.[17] These statistics may not fully representative, however, since some churches in the United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, possibly causing a church and its members to be counted by more than one Baptist association, if these associations are members of the BWA.[18][19]

Beliefs

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The Alliance has a Baptist confession of faith.[20]

Structure

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The Alliance is divided into six regional or geographical fellowships: North American Baptist Fellowship, Caribbean Baptist Fellowship, Latin American Baptist Union, European Baptist Federation, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, and All-Africa Baptist Fellowship.[21] Each regional fellowship is served by an Executive Secretary.

List of general secretaries

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In the initial stages of the Baptist World Alliance, the role of General Secretary was split into two geographical regions. In 1928, these positions were merged into a single general secretary role.[22]

Name Term Country
Eastern or European Secretaries
John Howard Shakespeare 1905-1924 United Kingdom
James Henry Rushbrooke 1925-1928 United Kingdom
Western or American Secretaries
John Newton Prestridge 1905-1913 United States
Robert Healy Pitt 1913-1923 United States
Clifton Daggett Gray 1923-1928 United States
General Secretaries
James Henry Rushbrooke 1928-1939 United Kingdom
Walter O. Lewis 1939-1948 United States
Arnold T. Ohrn 1948-1960 Norway
Josef Nordenhaug 1960-1969 Norway
Robert S. Denny 1969-1980 United States
Gerhard Claas 1980-1988 Germany
Denton Lotz 1988-2007 United States
Neville Callam 2007-2017 Jamaica
Elijah M. Brown 2018-present United States

List of presidents

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Name Term Country
John Clifford 1905–1911 UK
Robert Stuart MacArthur 1911–1923 USA
Edgar Young Mullins 1923–1928 USA
John MacNeill 1928–1934 Canada
George Washington Truett 1934–1939 USA
James Henry Rushbrooke 1939–1947 UK
Charles Oscar Johnson 1947–1950 USA
Fred Townley Lord 1950–1955 UK
Theodore Floyd Adams 1955–1960 USA
Joao Filson Soren 1960–1965 Brasil
William Tolbert 1965–1970 Liberia
Carney Hargroves 1970–1975 USA
David Wong [de] 1975–1980 Hong Kong
Duke Kimbrough McCall 1980–1985 USA
Noel Vose 1985–1990 Australia
Knud Wümpelmann [de] 1990–1995 Denmark
Nilson do Amaral Fanini 1995–2000 Brasil
Billy Kim 2000–2005 South Korea
David Coffey 2005–2010 UK
John Upton 2010–2015 USA
Paul Mzisa 2015–2020 South Africa
Tomás Mackey 2020– Argentina

Baptist World Congress

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Baptist World Congresses have been held every few years since 1905.[9][23][24][25]

No. Year City Country
1. 1905 London  GBR
2. 1911 Philadelphia  USA
3. 1923 Stockholm  SWE
4. 1928 Toronto  CAN
5. 1934 Berlin  DEU
6. 1939 Atlanta  USA
7. 1947 Copenhagen  DNK
8. 1950 Cleveland  USA
9. 1955 London  GBR
10. 1960 Rio de Janeiro  BRA
11. 1965 Miami Beach  USA
12. 1970 Tokyo  JPN
13. 1975 Stockholm  SWE
14. 1980 Toronto  CAN
15. 1985 Los Angeles  USA
16. 1990 Seoul  KOR
17. 1995 Buenos Aires  ARG
18. 2000 Melbourne  AUS
19. 2005 Birmingham  GBR
20. 2010 Honolulu  USA
21. 2015 Durban  ZAF
22. 2021 (Online) Online N/A
23. 2025 Brisbane  AUS

Affiliated organizations

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Global Baptist Mission Network

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The Global Baptist Mission Network has 23 member mission organizations.[26][27]

BWAid

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BWAid supports humanitarian aid projects.[28]

BFAD

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BWA Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD) brings together 30 Baptist humanitarian agencies.[28]

Ecumenical relations

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The Baptist World Alliance is involved in ecumenical dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council, among others.[29] One series of International Conversations between the BWA and the Catholic Church took place from between 1984 and 1988 moderated by the Reverend Dr David T. Shannon, sometime President of Andover Newton Theological School, and the Most Reverend Bede Heather, Bishop of Parramatta.[30] While this dialogue produced the report called Summons to Witness to Christ in Today's World, the second phase did not push through because of opposition from within the Baptist World Alliance itself.[31] Negotiations continued, however, so that a series of consultations transpired from 2000 to 2003. During this period the Baptists and Catholics discussed important doctrines that divide these denominations.[31] These second series of conversations resulted in formal meetings between 2006 and 2010. The current Co-Moderators are Paul Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford and formerly Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, and Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Williams, Michael; Shurden, Walter (2008). Turning Points in Baptist History: A Festschrift in Honor of Harry Leon McBeth. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0881461350.
  2. ^ Lord, Townley F. (2007). Baptist World Fellowship: A Short History Of The Baptist World Alliance. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-548-44182-4.
  3. ^ Wardin, Albert W., ed. (1995). Baptists Around the World: A Comprehensive Handbook. Broadman & Holman. ISBN 0-8054-1076-7.
  4. ^ Leornard, Bill J. (1994). Dictionary of Baptists in America. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0-8308-1447-7.
  5. ^ Erich Geldbach, Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139
  6. ^ Johnson, Robert E. (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches. UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 238.
  7. ^ Brackney, William H. (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. US: Scarecrow Press. p. 59.
  8. ^ Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. US: ABC-CLIO. p. 297.
  9. ^ a b Pierard, Richard V. (1 October 2010). "The Baptist World Congress of 1905 and the Emergence of Black American Baptists on the International Scene". Baptist Quarterly. 43 (8): 494–505. doi:10.1179/bqu.2010.43.8.004. ISSN 0005-576X. S2CID 162270005.
  10. ^ Johnson, Robert (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-52187781-7.
  11. ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2021, p. 314
  12. ^ "SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain". Baptist Press. 15 June 2004.
  13. ^ "Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance". Washington Post.
  14. ^ Olsen, Compiled by Ted (1 June 2004). "Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance". ChristianityToday.com.
  15. ^ Herald, Religious (8 August 2005). "Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member". Baptist News Global.
  16. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President, baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020
  17. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved July 24, 2024
  18. ^ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 361
  19. ^ Paul Finkelman, Cary D. Wintz, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century Five-volume Set, Oxford University Press, USA, 2009, p. 193
  20. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Beliefs, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
  21. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Regional Fellowships, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
  22. ^ Pierard, Richard V. (2005). Baptists Together in Christ 1905-2005.
  23. ^ McKinney, Blake (March 2018). ""One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" in the Land of ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer: The Fifth Baptist World Congress (Berlin, 1934)". Church History. 87 (1): 122–148. doi:10.1017/S0009640718000823. ISSN 0009-6407. S2CID 165401185.
  24. ^ Deweese, Charles W. (1 January 2008). "E. Y. Mullins and Baptist World Congresses". Baptist History and Heritage. 43 (1): 4. ISSN 0005-5719.
  25. ^ "Gathering Global Baptists for More than 100 Years". Baptist World Alliance Website. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  26. ^ Ken Camp and Eric Black, BWA launches Global Baptist Mission Network, baptiststandard.com, USA, July 5, 2023
  27. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Global Baptist Mission Network, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
  28. ^ a b Baptist World Alliance, BWAid, Relief & Community Development, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
  29. ^ Geoffrey Wainwright, Paul McPartlan, The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, Oxford University Press, UK, 2021, p. 175
  30. ^ Angelo Maffeis, Ecumenical Dialogue, Liturgical Press, USA, 2005, p. 44-45
  31. ^ a b Cassidy, Edward (2005). Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue: Unitatis Redintegratio, Nostra Aetate. New York: Paulist Press. pp. 68. ISBN 0809143380.
  32. ^ "Baptist—Roman Catholic International Conversations". Centro Pro Unione. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
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