The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions. In 1845, the Southern Baptists separated from the Triennial Convention in order to support slavery, which the southern churches regarded as "an institution of heaven". During the 19th and most of the 20th century, it played a central role in Southern racial attitudes, supporting racial segregation and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy while opposing interracial marriage. Beginning in the late 1970s, a conservative movement began to take control of the organization. By the 1990s, this movement had succeeded in taking control of the leadership of the SBC. In 1995, the organization apologized for its history. Since the 1940s, it has spread across the United States, with tens of thousands of affiliated churches and 41 affiliated state conventions.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 originally as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention. 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 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States, established after the fundamentalism controversy 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 Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and in 2005 was one of the largest seminaries in the world. It is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and the National Association of Schools of Music to award diplomas and bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
Richard Albert Mohler Jr. is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast The Briefing, where he daily analyzes the news and recent events from an evangelical perspective.
L. Paige Patterson served as the fifth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., from 1992 to 2003, as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from 1998 to 2000, and as the eighth president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, from 2003 until his firing in 2018.
John Steven Gaines is an American Southern Baptist pastor, and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is currently serving at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, one of the largest congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention and has visited Israel 16 times. On Sunday, July 10, 2005, the Pastor Search Committee of Bellevue Baptist Church presented Dr. Steve Gaines to the church congregation. At the conclusion of the services the Bellevue family overwhelmingly voted to call Steve Gaines as the seventh Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church. Gaines succeeds the longtime Bellevue pastor Adrian Rogers.
Jennings Ligon Duncan III is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor. He is Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
Mark E. Dever is a theologian and the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks, a Christian ministry he co-founded "in an effort to build biblically faithful churches in America. Dever also taught for the faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge and also served for two years as an associate pastor of Eden Baptist Church in Cambridge."
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.
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.
Johnny M. Hunt is an American evangelical Christian pastor, author, and who served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was also formerly senior pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, in Woodstock, Georgia. He was the first Native American president of the SBC. He previously served as the Senior Vice President of the Evangelism & Leadership division of the North American Mission Board—the church planting and domestic evangelism arm of the SBC—speaking nationally to church leaders and congregants about sharing the Christian Gospel.
Thomas Kennedy Ascol is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, and president of Founders Ministries. He is currently the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, where he has served for 37 years as of June 2023.
James David "J.D." Greear is an American Baptist pastor. He is the pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina. Greear has authored several books, including 12 Truths & a Lie (2023), Essential Christianity (2023), Just Ask (2021), What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (2020), Above All (2019), Not God Enough (2018), Gaining by Losing (2015), Gospel (2011), Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart (2013), Jesus, Continued… (2014), and others. He also hosts Summit Life, a 30-minute daily radio broadcast and weekly TV program. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A, serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition, and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2018 to 2021.
Morris H. Chapman was elected president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee on October 1, 1992. In September 2009 he announced that he would retire from this position effective September 30, 2010.
Cecil John Miller, usually known as Jack Miller, was an American Presbyterian pastor, seminary professor, church planter, and missionary. He served as pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, taught practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and is the founder of World Harvest Mission, now Serge.
Jann Aldredge-Clanton is an ordained Christian minister, author, teacher, and chaplain, who leads workshops and conferences throughout the United States. She has authored eleven books, six songbooks, a children's musical, and a children's songbook. She has also published many articles in publications such as Christian Feminism Today, The Journal of Pastoral Care, The Christian Ministry, and Patheos. She specializes in feminist theology and inclusive worship resources.
Voddie Tharon Baucham, Jr. is an American pastor, author, and educator. He serves as Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.
G3 Ministries is a 501(c)(3) organization and a Reformed Baptist ministry in the United States. The ministry organization was formally formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is most widely known for hosting the G3 Conference that has been held since 2013. The ministry says that its goal is to educate, encourage, and equip local churches with sound biblical theology. The Founder and current President of the organization is Josh Buice.
