www.fgks.org   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Baptist Union of Great Britain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Part of a series on
Baptists

Historical Background
Christianity · General Baptist · Particular Baptist

Doctrinal distinctives
Sola scriptura · Priesthood of all believers · Ordinances · Offices · Confessions · Congregationalism · Separation of church and state

Pivotal figures
John Smyth · Thomas Helwys · Roger Williams · John Bunyan · Shubal Stearns · Andrew Fuller · Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prominent associations
American Baptist · Asia Pacific Baptist Federation · Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland · Baptist General Convention of Texas · European Baptist Federation · National Association of Free Will Baptists · National Baptist · Progressive National Baptist · Southern Baptist Convention

This box: view • talk • edit

The Baptist Union of Great Britain is the oldest and largest national association of Baptist churches in Great Britain. It was formed when the General Baptists and Particular Baptists came together in 1891.

The Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (later the Baptist Missionary Society, and now BMS World Mission) was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller (1754–1815), John Sutcliff (1752–1814), and William Carey (1761–1834). When the Baptist Union was founded in 1813, it was a Particular Baptist organisation. In 1833, it was restructured to allow for membership of General Baptists. General and Particular Baptist work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891. The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908.

The basis of fellowship in the Baptist Union is a three-part "Declaration of Principle" stating belief in Jesus, Christian baptism, and world evangelisation. Structure includes an annual Baptist Assembly, and the Baptist Union Council, which is made up of representatives from the 13 regional associations and the six Baptist Colleges affiliated with the Union. The national resource and offices are located in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, having moved from Baptist Church House in London's Southampton Row in 1989.

The Baptist Union of Great Britain consists of about 2,150 churches with a total membership of almost 140,000 individuals. The Union maintains membership with ecumenical organisations such as Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Conference of European Churches, and the World Council of Churches, and Baptist organisations such as the Fellowship of British Baptists, the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. The Fellowship of British Baptists and BMS World Mission brings together in ministry the churches that are members of the Baptist Union of Scotland, the Baptist Union of Wales, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Contents

[edit] Structure

Since 2001 the Baptist Union of Great Britain has been divided into 13 regional associations:

  • Central Baptist Association
  • East Midlands Baptist Association
  • Eastern Baptist Association
  • Heart of England Baptist Association
  • London Baptist Association
  • North Western Baptist Association
  • Northern Baptist Association
  • South Eastern Baptist Association
  • South Wales Baptist Association
  • South West Baptist Association
  • Southern Counties Baptist Association
  • West of England Baptist Association
  • Yorkshire Baptist Association

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
  • The Baptist Union: A Short History, by Ernest A. Payne
  • The English Baptists of the Eighteenth Century, by Raymond Brown
  • The English Baptists of the Nineteenth Century, by J. H. Y. Briggs
  • Baptists in the Twentieth Century, by Keith Clements
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_Union_of_Great_Britain"
Personal tools