American Baptist Churches USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Classification | Protestant |
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| Orientation | Mainline |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| Associations | National Council of Churches; World Baptist Alliance |
| Geographical area | United States |
| Origin | May 17, 1907 Washington, D.C. |
| Branched from | Triennial Convention |
| Merge of | Free Will Baptist General Conference 1911 |
| Congregations | 5,780 |
| Members | 1.4 million |
| Official Website | www.abc-usa.org |
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered a mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its congregations, including evangelical orientations.
In 2006, the denomination had approximately 1.4 million members[1] in 5,780 churches. The ABCUSA is a member of the National Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches.
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[edit] History
The ABCUSA descends from the Triennial Convention, the first American Baptist foreign missions organization formed in 1814. Baptists in the South withdrew support from the Triennial Convention, largely over issues surrounding the slavery controversy, and formed the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in 1845.
The Triennial Convention was loosely structured, and the SBC offered Baptists a more centralized organizational structure for carrying on missionary and benevolent work as opposed to the loosely associated societies, such as the American Baptist Home Mission Society (org. 1832), American Baptist Publication Society (org. 1841), American Baptist Education Society (org. 1888), etc which the work of the Triennial Convention was divided among. Each society was independent of the others, which sometimes led to overlapping or duplication of services, and competition for funding. The majority of churches in the North continued to work through these societies for missions and benevolence until the formation of a unified convention in 1907.
The Northern Baptist Convention was founded in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 1907. Charles Evans Hughes, the governor of New York and later Chief Justice of the United States, served the body as its first president. The apparent purpose of the Northern Baptist Convention was to bring about a consistent cooperation between the separate Baptist bodies then existing. Soon after this organization was founded, most of the churches of the Free Will Baptist General Conference merged with it in 1911. The name of the Convention was changed in 1950 to American Baptist Convention, and the current name, American Baptist Churches in the USA was adopted in 1972.
| Part of a series of articles on Baptists |
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[edit] Theology and practice
American Baptists believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final authority in matters of faith.[2] The ABCUSA affirms the Trinity, that the one God exists as three persons in complete unity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord through whom those who believe can have fellowship with God. He died, taking on the sins of the world, and was resurrected, triumphing over sin and death.[3]
ABCUSA churches recognize two ordinances: Believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is by immersion, and those being baptized must be of an age to understand its significance. Believing in the priesthood of all believers, the ABCUSA avoids using creeds, affirming the freedom of individual Christians and local churches to interpret scripture as the Holy Spirit leads them. The ABCUSA affirms the ordination of women.[3]
[edit] Organization
The American Baptists Churches USA has a congregationalist polity emphasizing local church autonomy. Local churches are organized into 35 regions. The General Board makes policy for the denomination's national agencies.[4] However, General Board resolutions are not binding on local congregations. Three-fourths of the representatives to the General Board are nominated and elected by the regions. One-fourth of the representatives are nominated by the Nominating Committee and are elected by the regions. The General Secretary executes the policies and decisions of the General Board. A. Roy Medley is ABCUSA's General Secretary.
A substantial portion of the ABCUSA consists of African-American churches that may have joint affiliations with the ABCUSA and historic bodies such as the National Baptist Convention or the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
[edit] Affiliated seminaries
There are a number of universities and colleges affiliated with the ABCUSA. There are ten seminaries affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA:
- American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California [1]
- Andover Newton Theological School, Newton, Massachusetts [2]
- Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, Kansas [3]
- Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York [4]
- Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico [5]
- Morehouse School of Religion, Atlanta, Georgia [6]
- Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Illinois [7]
- Palmer Theological Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania [8]
- Shaw University Divinity School, Raleigh, North Carolina [9]
- The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia [10]
[edit] Prominent members
[edit] References
- ^ "2007 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches". The National Council of Churches. http://www.ncccusa.org/news/070305yearbook2007.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ ABCUSA. "10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists". http://www.abc-usa.org/resources/10facts.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-20.
- ^ a b ABCUSA. "We Are Guided by God's Word". http://www.abc-usa.org/identity/bible.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-20.
- ^ ABCUSA. "General Board". http://www.abc-usa.org/whoweare/ministry/generalboard.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-06-20.
[edit] External links
- ABC-USA.org
- Roger Williams Fellowship a grassroots group advocating Baptist principles since 1935.
- American Baptist National Hispanic Caucus - The advocacy organization to the denomination in regard to Hispanic/Latino and Latin American affairs
- American Baptist Women in Pastoral Ministry: A Contemporary Survey
