View source for Organization:Baptist World Alliance

{{Short description|International Christian denomination}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
|name = Baptist World Alliance
|image = 
|imagewidth = 
|caption = 
|main_classification = Evangelical Christianity
|orientation = Baptist
|polity = 
|leader_title = General Secretary and CEO
|leader_name = Elijah M. Brown, since 2018
|leader_title2=President|leader_name2=Tomás Mackey, since 2020|headquarters = Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
|founder =
|founded_date = July 1905
|founded_place = [[Place:London|London]], United Kingdom
|separated_from = 
|parent = 
|merger = 
|separations = 
|associations = 
|area = 130 countries
|congregations = 176,000 
|members = 51,000,000 
|missionary organization = Global Baptist Mission Network
|aid = BWAid
|website =  {{URL|baptistworld.org}} 
|footnotes = 
}}

The '''Baptist World Alliance''' ('''BWA''') is an international [[Religion:Baptists|Baptist]] association of [[Religion:Christianity|Christian]] churches with an estimated 51 million people in 2023 with 253 member bodies in 130 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world. It is the 8th largest Christian communion.

The BWA was founded in 1905 in London during an international congress of Baptist churches. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia, {{wipe|United States}}. It is led by General Secretary and CEO Elijah M. Brown and by President Tomás Mackey.

==History==
[[File: Baptism at Northolt Park Baptist Church (cropped).jpg|thumb|280px|Believer's baptism of adult by immersion at Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain.]]
[[File: Auto de Páscoa - IgrejaDaCidade (crop).jpg |280px|thumb|right| Show on the life of Jesus at Igreja da Cidade, affiliated to the Brazilian Baptist Convention, in São José dos Campos, {{wipe|Brazil}}, 2017.]]
[[File:Chumukedima Ao Baptist Church.jpg|280px|thumb|right| Chümoukedima Ao Baptist Church building in Chümoukedima, affiliated with the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (India).]]
The roots of the Baptist World Alliance can be traced back to the seventeenth century when Baptist leader Thomas Grantham proposed the concept of a congregation of all Christians in the world that are "baptised according to the appointment of Christ."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Turning Points in Baptist History: A Festschrift in Honor of Harry Leon McBeth|last1 = Williams|first=Michael|last2= Shurden|first2=Walter|publisher= Mercer University Press |year=2008|isbn=978-0881461350|location=Macon, GA|page =223}}</ref> Similar proposals were put forward later such as the call of John Rippon in 1790 for a world meeting of Baptists "to consult the ecclesiastical good to the whole."<ref name=":0" />

It was, however, only in 1904 when such congregation became a reality. John Newton Prestridge, editor of ''The Baptist Argus'', at Louisville, Kentucky called for a world gathering of Baptists. John Howard Shakespeare, editor of ''The Baptist Times and Freeman'', London, endorsed the proposal.<ref>{{cite book |first=Townley F.|last=Lord|title=Baptist World Fellowship: A Short History Of The Baptist World Alliance|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-0-548-44182-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Wardin|editor-first=Albert W. |title=Baptists Around the World: A Comprehensive Handbook| publisher=Broadman & Holman | year=1995|isbn=0-8054-1076-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Leornard|first=Bill J.|title=Dictionary of Baptists in America|publisher= InterVarsity Press|year=1994|isbn=0-8308-1447-7}}</ref> In October 1904, the Baptist Union of Great Britain passed a resolution to invite a Congress to meet with them in 1905.<ref>Erich Geldbach, ''Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139</ref> At the Congress, a committee was formed, which proposed a ''Constitution for a World Alliance''. The Baptist World Alliance was founded in [[Place:London|London]], during this first Baptist World Congress in July 1905.  Every five years since, the BWA holds a '''Baptist World Congress''' in different locations around the world, and multiple international meeting and programs are held in the times between Congresses.<ref>{{cite book | first=Robert E. | last=Johnson | title=A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=UK | year=2010 | page=238}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=William H. | last=Brackney | title=Historical Dictionary of the Baptists | publisher=Scarecrow Press | location=US | year=2009 | page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first1=J. Gordon | last1=Melton | first2=Martin | last2=Baumann | title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices | publisher=ABC-CLIO | location=US | year=2010 | page=297}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Pierard|first=Richard V.|date=2010-10-01|title=The Baptist World Congress of 1905 and the Emergence of Black American Baptists on the International Scene|journal=Baptist Quarterly|volume=43|issue=8|pages=494–505|doi=10.1179/bqu.2010.43.8.004|s2cid=162270005|issn=0005-576X}}</ref>  

The gathering was referred to as an "alliance" and not a council in order to establish the nature of the dialogue as a meeting. This means that the body wields no authority over participating churches or national Baptist unions, serving only as a forum for collaboration.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches |url= https://archive.org/details/globalintroducti00john |url-access= limited |last= Johnson|first=Robert|publisher= Cambridge University Press |year=2010|isbn= 978-0-52187781-7|location= Cambridge |page =[https://archive.org/details/globalintroducti00john/page/238 238]}}</ref>

In 2020, the {{wipe|Argentina}} Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded {{wipe|South Africa}}n Pastor Paul Msiza as BWA President.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/tomas-mackey-installed-as-next-bwa-president/# Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President], baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020</ref>

==Statistics==
According to a census published by the association in 2023, the BWA has 253 participating Baptist fellowships in 130 countries, with 176,000 churches and 51,000,000 baptized members.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/ Members], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref> These statistics may not fully representative, however, since some churches in the United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, possibly causing a church and its members to be counted by more than one Baptist association, if these associations are members of the BWA.<ref>Robert E. Johnson, ''A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 361</ref><ref>Paul Finkelman, Cary D. Wintz, ''Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century Five-volume Set'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2009, p. 193</ref>

== Beliefs ==
The Alliance has a Baptist confession of faith.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/beliefs/ Beliefs], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022</ref>

==Organisational structure==
The Alliance is divided into six regional or geographical fellowships: North American Baptist Fellowship, Caribbean Baptist Fellowship, Latin American Baptist Union, European Baptist Federation, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, and All-Africa Baptist Fellowship.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/regional-fellowships/ Regional Fellowships], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022</ref> Each regional fellowship is served by an Executive Secretary.

===List of presidents===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Term
! Country
|-
| John Clifford
| 1905–1911
| UK
|-
| Robert Stuart MacArthur
| 1911–1923
| USA
|-
| Edgar Young Mullins
| 1923–1928
| USA
|-
| John MacNeill
| 1928–1934
| Canada
|-
| George Washington Truett
| 1934–1939
| USA
|-
| James Henry Rushbrooke
| 1939–1947
| UK
|-
| Charles Oscar Johnson
| 1947–1950
| USA
|-
| Fred Townley Lord
| 1950–1955
| UK
|-
| Theodore Floyd Adams
| 1955–1960
| USA
|-
| Joao Filson Soren
| 1960–1965
| Brasil
|-
| William Tolbert
| 1965–1970
| Liberia
|-
| Carney Hargroves
| 1970–1975
| USA
|-
| {{ill|David Wong (minister)|lt=David Wong|de|David Wong}}
| 1975–1980
| Hong Kong
|-
| Duke Kimbrough McCall
| 1980–1985
| USA
|-
| Noel Vose
| 1985–1990
| Australia
|-
| {{ill|Knud Wümpelmann|de|Knud Wümpelmann}}
| 1990–1995
| Denmark
|-
| Nilson do Amaral Fanini
| 1995–2000
| Brasil
|-
| Billy Kim
| 2000–2005
| South Korea
|-
| David Coffey
| 2005–2010
| UK
|-
| John Upton
| 2010–2015
| USA 
|-
| Paul Mzisa
| 2015–2020
| South Africa
|-
| Tomás Mackey
| 2020–
| Argentina
|}

==Baptist World Congress==
Baptist World Congresses have been held every few years since 1905.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McKinney|first=Blake|date=March 2018|title="One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" in the Land of ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer: The Fifth Baptist World Congress (Berlin, 1934)|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/one-lord-one-faith-one-baptism-in-the-land-of-ein-volk-ein-reich-ein-fuhrer-the-fifth-baptist-world-congress-berlin-1934/E2B87EF754CE5DD0F87178A1E24CCA79|journal=Church History|language=en|volume=87|issue=1|pages=122–148|doi=10.1017/S0009640718000823|s2cid=165401185 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Deweese|first=Charles W.|date=2008-01-01|title=E. Y. Mullins and Baptist World Congresses|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-179348752/e-y-mullins-and-baptist-world-congresses|journal=Baptist History and Heritage|volume=43|issue=1|pages=4|issn=0005-5719}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baptistworld.org/congress/ |website=Baptist World Alliance Website |title=Gathering Global Baptists for More than 100 Years  |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!No.
!Year
!City
!Country
|-
|1.
|1905
|[[Place:London|London]]
|{{flag|GBR}}
|-
|2.
|1911
|Philadelphia
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|3.
|1923
|[[Place:Stockholm|Stockholm]]
|{{flag|SWE}}
|-
|4.
|1928
|Toronto
|{{flag|CAN}}
|-
|5.
|1934
|[[Place:Berlin|Berlin]]
|{{flag|DEU}}
|-
|6.
|1939
|Atlanta
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|7.
|1947
|[[Place:Copenhagen|Copenhagen]]
|{{flag|DNK}}
|-
|8.
|1950
|Cleveland
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|9.
|1955
|[[Place:London|London]]
|{{flag|GBR}}
|-
|10.
|1960
|Rio de Janeiro
|{{flag|BRA}}
|-
|11.
|1965
|Miami Beach
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|12.
|1970
|[[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]]
|{{flag|JPN}}
|-
|13.
|1975
|[[Place:Stockholm|Stockholm]]
|{{flag|SWE}}
|-
|14.
|1980
|Toronto
|{{flag|CAN}}
|-
|15.
|1985
|{{wipe|Los Angeles}}
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|16.
|1990
|[[Place:Seoul|Seoul]]
|{{flag|KOR}}
|-
|17.
|1995
|[[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]]
|{{flag|ARG}}
|-
|18.
|2000
|[[Place:Melbourne|Melbourne]]
|{{flag|AUS}}
|-
|19.
|2005
|Birmingham
|{{flag|GBR}}
|-
|20.
|2010
|Honolulu
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|21.
|2015
|Durban
|{{flag|ZAF}}
|-
|22.
|2021 (Online)
|Online
|N/A
|-
|23.
|2025
|Brisbane
|{{flag|AUS}}
|}

==Affiliated organizations==
=== Global Baptist Mission Network ===
The Global Baptist Mission Network has 23 member mission organizations.<ref>Ken Camp and Eric Black, [https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/bwa-launches-global-baptist-mission-network/ BWA launches Global Baptist Mission Network], baptiststandard.com, USA, July 5, 2023</ref><ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://baptistworld.org/global-baptist-mission-network/ Global Baptist Mission Network], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>

=== BWAid ===
BWAid supports humanitarian aid projects.<ref name="baptistworld.org">Baptist World Alliance, [https://baptistworld.org/relief-and-community-development/ BWAid, Relief & Community Development], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>

=== BFAD ===
BWA Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD) brings together 30 Baptist humanitarian agencies.<ref name="baptistworld.org"/>

==Ecumenical relations==
The Baptist World Alliance is involved in [[Religion:Ecumenism|ecumenical]] dialogues, including with the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council.<ref>Geoffrey Wainwright, Paul McPartlan, ''The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies'', Oxford University Press, UK, 2021, p. 175</ref> One series of International Conversations between the BWA and the Catholic Church took place from between 1984 and 1988 moderated by the Reverend Dr David T. Shannon, sometime President of Andover Newton Theological School, and the Most Reverend Bede Heather, Bishop of Parramatta.<ref>Angelo Maffeis, ''Ecumenical Dialogue'', Liturgical Press, USA, 2005, p. 44-45</ref> While this dialogue produced the report called ''Summons to Witness to Christ in Today's World'', the second phase did not push through because of opposition from within the Baptist World Alliance itself.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue: Unitatis Redintegratio, Nostra Aetate|last=Cassidy|first=Edward|publisher=Paulist Press|year=2005|isbn=0809143380|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ecumenisminterre00cass/page/68 68]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ecumenisminterre00cass/page/68}}</ref> Negotiations continued, however, so that a series of consultations transpired from 2000 to 2003. During this period the Baptists and Catholics discussed important doctrines that divide these denominations.<ref name=":1" /> These second series of conversations resulted in formal meetings between 2006 and 2010. The current Co-Moderators are Paul Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology in the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]] and formerly Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, and Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/b-rc/e_b-rc-info.html|title=Baptist—Roman Catholic International Conversations|publisher=[[Religion:Centro Pro Unione|Centro Pro Unione]]|access-date=11 August 2009}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
In 2004, the Southern Baptist Convention of the {{wipe|United States}} left the BWA after it had accused then-BWA President Kim of adopting a [[Philosophy:Liberalism|liberal]] theology because of his support for the exercise of pastoral ministry of women, its alleged anti-Americanism, and because member denominations including the American Baptist Churches USA allow the autonomy of its churches to perform same sex marriages.<ref>Pauline J. Chang, [https://www.christianpost.com/news/southern-baptists-break-century-old-relationship-with-baptist-world-alliance.html Southern Baptists Break Century-Old Relationship with Baptist World Alliance], christianpost.com, USA, June 15, 2004</ref><ref>Don Hinkle, [https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/sbc-severs-ties-with-bwa-as-theological-concerns-remain/ SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain], baptistpress.com, USA, 15 June 2004</ref> Alliance Secretary General Denton Lotz replied that the Alliance was not [[Philosophy:Liberalism|liberal]], but evangelical [[Social:Conservatism|conservative]], that the American Baptist Churches USA in its constitution believed only in [[Biology:Marriage|marriage]] between a man and a woman and that any accusations of anti-Americanism had resulted from his visits to Fidel Castro in Cuba for the import of Bibles and the expansion of the freedom of belief.<ref>Ted Olsen, [https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/juneweb-only/6-14-31.0.html Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance], christianitytoday.com, USA, 1 June 2004</ref><ref>Alan Cooperman, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/06/16/southern-baptists-vote-to-leave-world-alliance/861c0ce0-1f06-4b64-bc0e-f271a6d45764/ Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance], washingtonpost.com, USA, 16 June 2004</ref> The SBC also claimed the Alliance refused to discuss abortion stances.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Committee-votes-to-withdraw-from-Baptist-World-8737999.php | title=Committee votes to withdraw from Baptist World Alliance | date=17 February 2004 }}</ref> In a General Council Resolution, the Alliance lamented the widespread resort to abortion but acknowledges the diversity of views and calls on Baptists to honor each individuals freedom of conscience.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://baptistworld.org/?s=Abortion | title=Search results for "Abortion" &#124; Baptist World Alliance }}</ref> In 2005, two state denomination members of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, applied for membership in the Alliance and were admitted.<ref>Robert Dilday, Marv Knox, [https://baptistnews.com/article/partofthefamilyvirginiaiselectednewbwamember/#.X6bwL5NKi3Z Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member], baptistnews.com, USA, 7 August 2005</ref>

==See also==
* List of Baptist confessions
* List of Baptist World Alliance National Fellowships
* World Evangelical Alliance
* Believers' Church

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Clear}}

[[Category:International Christian organizations]]

{{Sourceattribution|Baptist World Alliance}}