Baptist World Alliance

Template:Baptist The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, 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, becoming Christianity's seventh-largest communion (see list of Christian denominations by membership).

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

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 Thomas Grantham, the Baptist Messenger and leading divine (theologian) of Lincolnshire, proposed the concept of a congregation of all Christians in the world that are "baptised according to the appointment of Christ."<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> 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."<ref name=":0" />

It was, however, only in 1904 when such a 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In October 1904, the Baptist Union of Great Britain passed a resolution to invite a Congress to meet with them in 1905.<ref>Erich Geldbach, Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139</ref> 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 meetings and programs are held in the times between Congresses.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2003, the International Baptist Convention, an international association of English-speaking churches, became a member.<ref> William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2021, p. 314</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, the Argentine Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded South African Pastor Paul Msiza as BWA President.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President, baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020</ref>

Statistics

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.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved July 24, 2024</ref> However, some churches and members may be counted more than once if they belong to more than one Baptist association, each being members of the BWA.<ref>Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 361</ref><ref>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</ref>

Beliefs

The communion has a Baptist confession of faith.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, Beliefs, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022</ref>

Structure

The BWA 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.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, Regional Fellowships, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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
Template:Ill	1975–1980	Hong Kong
Duke Kimbrough McCall	1980–1985	USA
Noel Vose	1985–1990	Australia
Template:Ill	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.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

Affiliated organizations

Global Baptist Mission Network

The Global Baptist Mission Network has 23 member mission organizations.<ref>Ken Camp and Eric Black, BWA launches Global Baptist Mission Network, baptiststandard.com, USA, July 5, 2023</ref><ref>Baptist World Alliance, Global Baptist Mission Network, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>

BWAid

BWAid supports humanitarian aid projects.<ref name="baptistworld.org">Baptist World Alliance, BWAid, Relief & Community Development, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>

BFAD

BWA Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD) brings together 30 Baptist humanitarian agencies.<ref name="baptistworld.org"/>

Ecumenical relations

The Baptist World Alliance is involved in ecumenical dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council, among others.<ref>Geoffrey Wainwright, Paul McPartlan, The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, Oxford University Press, UK, 2021, p. 175</ref> 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.<ref>Angelo Maffeis, Ecumenical Dialogue, Liturgical Press, USA, 2005, p. 44-45</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 divided these denominations.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of Baptist confessions
• List of Baptist World Alliance National Fellowships
• World Evangelical Alliance
• Believers' Church

External links

• Template:Official website