View source for North American Baptist Conference

{{Short description|Association of Baptists}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
|name = North American Baptist Conference
|abbreviation=NAB
|image =
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|caption =
|main_classification = [[Protestantism|Protestant]] 
|orientation = [[Baptists|Baptist]]
|theology = [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] 
|polity = [[Congregationalist polity|Congregational]]
|founded_date = 1851
|founded_place = 
|leader_title = 
|leader_name = 
|separated_from = 
|separations = 
|area = [[United States]]
|congregations =
|members = 
| website =  {{Official URL}}
}}
{{Baptist}}
'''North American Baptist Conference''' (NAB) is a [[Baptists|Baptist]] [[Christian denomination]] in the [[United States]] and in [[Canada]]. It is affiliated with the [[Baptist World Alliance]]. The headquarters is in [[Roseville, California]].

==History==
The roots of the NAB go back to 1839, when Konrad Anton Fleischmann began work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with German immigrants.<ref> William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2021, p. 227</ref> Fleischmann was a Swiss separatist and held to believer's baptism and regenerate church membership. In 1843, the first German Baptist Church was organized in the city of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. This was the oldest church affiliated with the ''North American Baptist Conference''. German Baptist Churches were organized in [[Illinois]], [[Missouri]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Ontario]], and [[Wisconsin]] in the 1840s and early 1850s. The churches organized a conference in 1851 in Philadelphia, named the "Conference of Ministers and Helpers of German Churches of Baptized Christians, usually called Baptists."<ref> William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 417</ref> Another conference was formed in 1859 in [[Springfield, Illinois]]. The first German Baptist church in [[Canada]] was established by August Rauschenbusch in [[Ontario]] in 1851. The ''General Conference of German Baptist Churches in North America'' was formed in 1865 at [[Wilmot, Ontario]], and meets every three years for fellowship and to conduct business. The Conference has changed from originally being German-language churches to primarily using the English language. The Conference adopted its present title in 1944, removing the reference to its ethnic identity.<ref> Gordon L. Heath, Dallas Friesen, Taylor Murray, '' Baptists in Canada: Their History and Polity'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2020, p. 67</ref> In 1970 the form of organization of the North American Baptist Conference was restructured into 21 smaller units called "Associations."

According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 53,000 members and 405 churches.<ref> Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/ Members], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>

==Schools==
It has two schools - the [[Kairos University]] in [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]] in the United States and [[Taylor College and Seminary]] in [[Edmonton, Alberta]] in Canada.<ref> W. Glenn Jonas Jr., ''The Baptist River'', Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 219</ref>

==See also==
*[[Baptists in Canada]]
*[[Baptists in the United States]]
*[[Converge (United States)|Converge]], formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|https://nabconference.org/}}
*[http://www.nabarchives.org/ Official Archives] - North American Baptist Archives
*[https://www.kairos.edu/legacy-partners/sioux-falls-seminary/ Sioux Falls Seminary] 
*[https://www.kairos.edu/legacy-partners/taylor-seminary/ Taylor College and Seminary] 
*[https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/group-profiles/groups?D=589 Profile on the Association of Religion Data Archives website]

{{US baptist denominations}}
{{Baptist World Alliance Members}}
{{National Association of Evangelicals}}

[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1865]]
[[Category:Members of the National Association of Evangelicals]]
[[Category:Baptist denominations in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States]]