Baptists are a branch of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 as the Northern Baptist Convention, and named the American Baptist Convention from 1950 to 1972. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.
Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international Baptist association of Christian churches with an estimated 51 million people in 2024 with 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world.
Australian Baptist Ministries is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Australia. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church in Sydney. The headquarters is in Belmont. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance.
The Baptist Union of Scotland is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Scotland. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is north of the M8 in the Port Dundas areas of Glasgow.
General Baptists are Baptists who hold the general or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, which distinguishes them from Reformed Baptists.
The Union of French Baptist Churches in Canada is an association of Baptist Christian churches for French-speaking Canadians. Headquarters is in Fulford, Quebec. The union is one of four regions of Canadian Baptist Ministries and is a member of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
The Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABCI) is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Israel. It is a member of the European Baptist Federation, the Baptist World Alliance and the Evangelical Alliance of Israel.
Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches. The theory postulates an unbroken lineage of churches which have held beliefs similar to those of current Baptists. Groups often included in this lineage include the Montanists, Paulicians, Cathari, Waldenses, Albigenses, Lollards, and Anabaptists. However most scholars agree that the Baptists originated within 17th-century puritanism, meaning it is not accepted by scholars as factual.
Beginning in 1979, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) experienced an intense struggle for control of the organization. Its initiators called it the conservative resurgence while its detractors labeled it the fundamentalist takeover. It was launched with the charge that the seminaries and denominational agencies were dominated by liberals. The movement was primarily aimed at reorienting the denomination away from a liberal trajectory.
The positions of the Baptist churches about homosexuality are varied. They range from liberal to fundamentalist or moderate Conservative and neutral.
An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe.
The Triennial Convention was the first national Baptist denomination in the United States. Officially named the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions, it was formed in 1814 to advance missionary work and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In a dispute over slavery and missions policy, Baptist churches in the South separated from the Triennial Convention and established the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. This split left the Triennial Convention largely Northern in membership. In 1907, the Triennial Convention was reorganized into the Northern Baptist Convention, which was renamed American Baptist Churches USA in 1972.
The Baptist Centre is a building which houses the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland (ABC), its departments and the Baptist Theological Centre which includes the Irish Baptist College (IBC), the Irish Baptist College Library and the Irish Baptist Historical Society Archives.
David Samuel Dockery is the President of the International Alliance for Christian Education. He is also Distinguished Professor of Theology and on April 19, 2023 was elected the 10th President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Formerly he served as Trinity International University's 15th president. He was elected to that presidency on February 28, 2014.
The Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, formerly the Baptist Union of Western Canada, is an association of Baptist Christian churches in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Headquarters is in Calgary, Alberta. The union is one of four components of Canadian Baptist Ministries.
The Arizona Southern Baptist Convention (ASBC) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern/Great Commission Baptists.
William Clarke Whitford was an American educator, legislator, and pastor of the Seventh Day Baptist Church from Wisconsin.
The Jamaica Baptist Union is an association of Baptist Christian churches, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1849 in Jamaica. The headquarters is in Kingston, Jamaica. The president of the union is Rev. Dr. Glenroy Lalor.
