Baptist World Alliance
Baptist World Alliance | |
---|---|
U.S. | |
Origin | July 1905 London, United Kingdom |
Congregations | 176,000 |
Members | 51,000,000 |
Missionary organization | Global Baptist Mission Network |
Aid organization | BWAid |
Official website | baptistworld |
Part of a series on |
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The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international Baptist association of Christian churches with an estimated 51 million people in 2023 with 253 member bodies in 130 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world. It is the eighth largest Christian communion.[citation needed]
The BWA was founded in 1905 in London during an international congress of Baptist churches. Its headquarters are in
and by President Tomás Mackey.History
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.
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 2004, the messengers of the
In 2020, the Argentine Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded South African Pastor Paul Msiza as BWA President.[15]
Statistics
According to a census published by the association in 2023, the BWA has 253 participating Baptist fellowships in 130 countries, with 176,000 churches and 51,000,000 baptized members.[16] 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.[17][18]
Beliefs
The Alliance has a
Organisational structure
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.[20] Each regional fellowship is served by an Executive Secretary.
List of general secretaries
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.[21]
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
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 | 1975–1980 | Hong Kong |
Duke Kimbrough McCall | 1980–1985 | USA |
Noel Vose | 1985–1990 | Australia |
Knud Wümpelmann | 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
Baptist World Congresses have been held every few years since 1905.[9][22][23][24]
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
Global Baptist Mission Network
The Global Baptist Mission Network has 23 member
BWAid
BWAid supports humanitarian aid projects.[27]
BFAD
BWA Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD) brings together 30 Baptist humanitarian agencies.[27]
Ecumenical relations
The Baptist World Alliance is involved in
See also
- List of Baptist confessions
- List of Baptist World Alliance National Fellowships
- World Evangelical Alliance
- Believers' Church
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0881461350.
- ISBN 978-0-548-44182-4.
- ISBN 0-8054-1076-7.
- ISBN 0-8308-1447-7.
- ^ Erich Geldbach, Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139
- ^ Johnson, Robert E. (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches. UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 238.
- ^ Brackney, William H. (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. US: Scarecrow Press. p. 59.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. US: ABC-CLIO. p. 297.
- ^ S2CID 162270005.
- ISBN 978-0-52187781-7.
- ^ "SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain". Baptist Press. 15 June 2004.
- Washington Post.
- ^ Olsen, Compiled by Ted (1 June 2004). "Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance". ChristianityToday.com.
- ^ Herald, Religious (8 August 2005). "Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member". Baptist News Global.
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President, baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
- ^ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 361
- ^ 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
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Beliefs, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Regional Fellowships, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ Pierard, Richard V. (2005). Baptists Together in Christ 1905-2005.
- S2CID 165401185.
- ISSN 0005-5719.
- ^ "Gathering Global Baptists for More than 100 Years". Baptist World Alliance Website. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Ken Camp and Eric Black, BWA launches Global Baptist Mission Network, baptiststandard.com, USA, July 5, 2023
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Global Baptist Mission Network, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
- ^ a b Baptist World Alliance, BWAid, Relief & Community Development, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
- ^ Geoffrey Wainwright, Paul McPartlan, The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, Oxford University Press, UK, 2021, p. 175
- ^ Angelo Maffeis, Ecumenical Dialogue, Liturgical Press, USA, 2005, p. 44-45
- ^ ISBN 0809143380.
- ^ "Baptist—Roman Catholic International Conversations". Centro Pro Unione. Retrieved 11 August 2009.