Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only, and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also 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 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word Southern in "Southern Baptist Convention" stems from its having been organized in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, by white supremacist Baptists in the Southern United States who were supportive of enslaving Americans of African descent and split from the northern Baptists.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its congregations, including modernist, charismatic and evangelical orientations. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814. From 1907 to 1950, it was known as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention.
Venture Church Network is a Christian association of churches in the United States with each local congregation being autonomous and responsible for their own way of functioning.
Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal establishment is widely linked to the English theologian, Thomas Helwys who led the Baptist movement to believe in general atonement. He was an advocate of religious liberty at a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous and punishable by death. He died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of Protestant dissenters under King James I.
Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is an evangelical Baptist Christian denomination of the Swedish Baptist tradition in United States that emerged out of Lutheranism. The denomination as an institution emerged in the late 19th Century. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals. The headquarters is in Orlando. The current president of Converge is John K. Jenkins.
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.
William Bell Riley was an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor.
Protestants in Myanmar make up 3% of that nation's population, many of them Baptists. Most Christians are from the minority ethnic groups such as Karen, Lisu, Kachin, Chin, and Lahu. An estimated 0.1 per cent of the Bamar population is Christian.
Baptists in the United States make up a large number of all Baptists worldwide. Approximately 15.3% of Americans identify as Baptist, making Baptists the second largest religious group in the United States. Baptists adhere to a congregationalist structure, so local church congregations are generally self-regulating and autonomous, meaning that their broadly Christian religious beliefs can and do vary. Baptists make up a significant portion of evangelicals in the United States and approximately one third of all Protestants in the United States. Divisions among Baptists have resulted in numerous Baptist bodies, some with long histories and others more recently organized. There are also many Baptists operating independently or practicing their faith in entirely independent congregations.
North Greenville University is a private Baptist university in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The institution awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The seminary has been an innovator in theological education, establishing one of the first Ph.D. programs in religion in the year 1892. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to a newly built campus in downtown Louisville and moved to its current location in 1926 in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. In 1953, Southern became one of the few seminaries to offer a full, accredited degree course in church music. For more than fifty years Southern has been one of the world's largest theological seminaries, with an FTE enrollment of over 3,300 students in 2015.
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 Arizona Southern Baptist Convention (ASBC) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the state of Arizona. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Alabama Baptist Convention is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the state of Alabama formed in 1823. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO), now known simply as Oklahoma Baptists, is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the convention is made up of 41 Baptist associations and around 1,750 churches as of 2020.
The history of the Baptist movement in the state of Alabama predates Alabama statehood.
The Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention (MWBC) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, the convention is made up of 6 Baptist associations and around 150 churches as of 2010.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention, is a primarily African American Evangelical Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. It is also the largest predominantly Black Christian denomination in the United States and the second largest Baptist denomination in the world.
