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The General Association of General Baptists is an association of Baptist Christian churches in the United States. It is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals and the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters are located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where they operate Stinson Press.
A distinct belief is the general atonement (that Christ died for all persons).
Though theologically similar to the General Baptists in England and early America, this body of General Baptists arose in the Midwestern United States in the 19th century through the work of Benoni Stinson (1798-1869), a United Baptist minister first in Kentucky and then in Indiana. Stinson was ordained in Kentucky in 1821, and evidently was already leaning toward or embracing Arminian theology. Shortly after he moved to Indiana, in 1822 the Wabash District Association decided to divide into two bodies, for convenience sake. Stinson's church would be in the new body, and he labored to have a statement that "the preaching that Christ tasted death for every man shall be no bar to fellowship" would be included in the articles of faith. The next fall, in 1823, the Liberty Baptist Church of Howell, Indiana was organized with 33 members, and Elder Stinson was called as pastor. Three other churches were soon organized, all in the Evansville, Indiana area. In October 1824, representatives from these four churches came together and organized the Liberty Association of General Baptists. This appears to be the first time the name "General" was officially associated with this movement. A number of General Baptist local associations were organized from 1824 to 1870. During this period, some attempts were made by the Liberty Association to correspond with the northern Free Will Baptists, but this appears to have eventually proved unsatisfactory to both parties. In 1870, a convention was called to meet with Harmony Church, Gallatin County, Illinois, with the idea of organizing a general association comprising all the annual General Baptist associations. Delegates from Liberty, Mt. Olivet and Ohio associations gathered and formed the General Association of General Baptists.
According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 47,193 members and 793 churches. [1]
The official denominational publication is The General Baptist Messenger. The General Association oversees publication of Sunday School literature, a home mission board, a foreign mission board, and the Oakland City University in Oakland City, Indiana.
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 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational.
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.
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) of the early 19th century. The pioneers of this movement were seeking to reform the church from within and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."
Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists are part of a larger sub-group of Baptists that is commonly referred to as "anti-mission" Baptists. This sub-group includes the Duck River and Kindred Baptists, Old Regular Baptists, some Regular Baptists and some United Baptists. Only a minuscule minority of Primitive Baptists adhere to the Two-Seed doctrine. The primary centers of Two-Seedism were in Northern Alabama, Arkansas, Eastern Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. As of 2002, five churches or congregations of this faith and order still existed in Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, and Texas.
The Separate Baptists in Christ are a denomination of Separate Baptists found mostly in United States.
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.
The Old Regular Baptist denomination is one of the oldest in Appalachia with roots in both the Regular and Separate Baptists of the American Colonies and the Particular Baptist of Great Britain. This group has seen a marked decline in its membership during the last two decades. Part of the decline may be attributable to orthodox biblical interpretations like a dress code where men must wear long pants, not shorts, and women must wear long dresses. Other such interpretations include women not being allowed to cut their hair or speak publicly on church business, although women can frequently shout while praising. Members who do not comply with the strict dress code and norms face being "churched", i.e., being kicked out of the congregation and possibly shunned. The Old Regular Baptist Faith and order with her many branches and factions still remains the dominant Faith in some rural Central Appalachian Counties along or near the Kentucky Virginia border. In most churches, the congregation maintains a collection of photographs of deceased members.
Though the annual meeting of this group is denominated The General Association of The Baptists, they are most widely known as the Kindred Associations of Baptists. Other names associated with these churches are the Baptist Church of Christ, The Baptists, and Separate Baptists. The primary location of the churches is middle Tennessee and northern Alabama. Members from this association form the largest body of Baptists in Moore County, Tennessee.
The National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB) is a national body of Free Will Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, organized on November 5, 1935 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Association traces its history in the United States through two different lines: one beginning in the South in 1727 and another in the North in 1780. The "Palmer line," however, never developed as a formal denomination. It consisted of only about three churches in North Carolina. The NAFWB is the largest of the Free Will Baptist denominations.
Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is an association of Baptist Christian churches in the United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals. The headquarters are in Orlando, Florida. The current president of Converge is John K. Jenkins.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), more commonly known as the Texas Baptists, is a Baptist Christian denomination in the U.S. state of Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. Texas Baptist offices are located in the city of Dallas, though convention staff are located across the state. According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 2,038,53 members and 5,375 churches
The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is an association of Baptist Christian churches based in the United States. It is a predominantly African American Baptist denomination, and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The National Baptist Convention of America has members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Africa. The current president of the National Baptist Convention of America is Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is an association of Baptist Christian churches in the United States, established after the conservative resurgence within The Southern Baptist Convention. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, and headquartered in Decatur, Georgia. According to a census published in 2023, the CBF claimed 1,800 churches and 750,000 members.
The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC) is an association of Baptist Christian churches in the Philippines. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and is headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City. CPBC was founded in 1900 as the oldest and first organized union of Baptist churches in the Philippines. This occurred after the country opened to Protestant American missions in 1898, following Spain's transfer of the Philippine islands to the United States.
The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gospel, establish churches and give support and ministry to the unchurched and destitute." In the 19th century, the Society was related to the Triennial Convention of Baptists. Today it is part of that Convention's successor, the American Baptist Churches, USA, and is the successor by merger of several 19th century Baptist organizations related to missions and education, including publications (1824), women (1877), and education (1888)
Oakland City University (OCU) is a private university affiliated with the General Baptist Church and located in Oakland City, Indiana. It is the only General Baptist Church-affiliated college or university in the United States. Founded in 1885, it has slowly grown to the present student enrollment of about 1,200 on the main campus and, counting all sites, about 2,000 total.
Daniel Parker was an American minister in the Primitive Baptist Church in the Southern United States and the founder of numerous churches including Pilgrim Primitive Baptist Church at Elkhart, Texas, the location of the Parker family cemetery. As an elder, Parker led a group who separated from that church and formed the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists. Parker is one of the earliest documented proponents of the doctrine of Serpent Seed among Protestant Christianity.
The National Baptist Convention of Mexico is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Mexico. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Mexico City, Mexico.