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Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot.
The Baptist Union was founded by 45 Particular Baptist churches in 1813 in London. [1] In 1832, it was reorganized to include the New Connection General Baptist Association (General Baptist churches) as a partner. [2] In 1891, the two associations merged to form a single organization. [3] General Baptists and Particular Baptists work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891. [4] The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908.
In 1922, Edith Gates became the first woman ordained pastor in the Convention. [5]
In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against, as the first female General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain to commence in September 2013. She was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included "I believe that our union is ready for generational change... It is time to cast off the institutional mindset that has served us well in the past, and embrace a new way of being for the 21st century." [6]
Also in 2013, the union publicly re-branded itself as "Baptists Together" and introduced a new logo to reflect the change (although it is still known in an official capacity by its former name, the Baptist Union of Great Britain). [7]
According to a census published by the denomination in 2023, it claimed 1,897 churches and 99,475 members. [8]
The Fellowship of British Baptists and BMS World Mission brings together in ministry the churches that are members of the Baptist Union of Scotland, Wales, the Irish Baptist Networks, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) [9] because of its work to promote young people's personal and social development.
The union maintains membership with Christian ecumenical organisations such as Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Conference of European Churches, and the World Council of Churches.
The Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (later the Baptist Missionary Society, and now BMS World Mission) was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller (1754–1815), John Sutcliff (1752–1814), and William Carey (1761–1834). [10] [11]
The union has a Baptist confession of faith. [12] It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. [8]
The Union is a partner of 4 theological seminaries, namely South Wales Baptist College, Northern Baptist College, Bristol Baptist College and Spurgeon's College, and a university college, Regent's Park College. [13] In March 2024, the St Hild Centre for Baptist Ministry, previously an affiliated centre of Northern Baptist College, entered membership with the Baptist Union of Great Britain in its own right. [14]
The principal of the Union is the General Secretary. A number of paid staff provide leadership and practical support from the Union's headquarters in Baptist House, Didcot, in areas such as finance, ministerial accreditation, and legal support.
Since 2001, churches in membership with the Baptist Union of Great Britain have been organised into 13 Regional Associations:
Regional Association teams, led by a number of Regional Ministers and a senior Regional Ministry Team Leader (RMTL), oversee and facilitate ministry in local churches. This may include pastoral support for ministers, signposting regional events, organising regional conferences, and supporting churches without a minister.
At the Baptist Union Assembly in April 1971, Michael Taylor, then Principal at the Northern Baptist College, asserted, "I believe that God was active in Jesus, but it will not do to say quite categorically: Jesus is God." The statement bred controversy, and some charged him with denying the Deity of Christ. [15] [16] [17] [18] Nigel G. Wright, later Principal of Spurgeon's College, commenting on the affair, claimed the, "Spectre of theological downgrade had lingered within the denomination throughout the 20th century," alluding to the Downgrade Controversy of a century earlier. [15]
In 2020, the Ministerial Recognition Committee received a letter from 70 members of the Union asking that the rules be changed to allow ministers in same-sex marriages to no longer be guilty of gross misconduct. The request was referred to the national Council, who discussed it in March 2022 and initiated a process of consultation whereby ministers and churches in membership with the Union were asked their thoughts on the proposed change. [19] During this time a group formed, initially known as 'Baptist Ministers for Orthodox Marriage' and later 'Evangelical Baptists', who campaigned against the change in rules. [20] The results of the consultation were presented to Council, who decided against the change in March 2024 with a vote of 65% against:
Council has concluded that our Ministerial Recognition Rules concerning marriage and ministry will remain unchanged. Therefore, an accredited minister should not themselves be in a same-sex marriage. Nonetheless Council reiterates that sexual orientation is no bar to accreditation. Furthermore, Council upholds the liberty of the local church to appoint ministry according to their governing documents.
— Baptist Union Council, March 2024, https://www.baptist.org.uk/Groups/418844/Council_Statement.aspx
Baptists form a major branch of evangelical Protestantism 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 United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it had approximately 37,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
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.
Independent Baptist churches are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.
Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or Ministères Baptistes Canadiens is a federation of four regional Baptist Christian association of churches in Canada. The federation is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in Mississauga, Ontario.
The Baptist Churches of New Zealand is a Baptist Christian denomination in New Zealand. Its headquarters are in Auckland, and it is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance.
The Myanmar Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches. The headquarters is in Yangon.
The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. Its first pastor was William Rider; other notable pastors and preachers include Benjamin Keach, John Gill, John Rippon and C. H. Spurgeon. The Tabernacle congregation still worships under its present pastor, Peter Masters.
The Union of French Baptist Churches in Canada is a Baptist Christian association of 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 Baptist Union of Southern Africa is a Baptist Christian denomination in South Africa. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa. The headquarters is in Roodepoort in Gauteng province
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological education, Biblical studies and practical ministry training.
Spurgeon's College is an evangelical Baptist theological college in South Norwood, London, England, United Kingdom. It is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Baptists missionary work in Canada began in the 1760s. United Empire Loyalists and more recent arrivals from England and the U.S. formed the core and foundation of the Baptist denomination in Canada.
Derek John Tidball is a British theologian, sociologist of religion, and Baptist minister. From 1995 to 2007 he was the principal of London Bible College which later took the name London School of Theology.
The Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine or All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists(AUC ECB) (Ukrainian: Всеукраїнський союз церков євангельських християн-баптистів (ВСЦ ЄХБ)) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Ukraine. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Kyiv.
Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population is Protestant. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world. Baptists comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only Maryland having a sizable Catholic population due to Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.
Edward Joshua Poole-Connor was an evangelical preacher and Christian leader whose ministry spanned a most turbulent period in British church life, from the time of Charles Spurgeon to the 1960s, and whose record and analysis of its events has been widely observed.
The Jamaica Baptist Union is a Baptist Christian denomination, 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.
The Bahamas National Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Bahamas. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Nassau.
