The Baptist World Alliance is a voluntary association among Baptists in unions and conventions of churches. The preamble of its constitution reads: "The Baptist World Alliance, extending over every part of the world, exists as an expression of the essential oneness of Baptist people in the Lord Jesus Christ, to impart inspiration to the brotherhood, and to promote the spirit of fellowship, service and cooperation among its members; but this Alliance may in no way interfere with the independence of the churches or assume the administrative functions of existing organizations."
The first Baptist world congress was held in London in 1905. The BWA holds a world congress every five years. The BWA celebrated its centennial and 19th congress in Birmingham, England in July, 2005. An annual meeting of the general council governs the Alliance between congresses. The Baptist World Alliance is supported by its member conventions and unions, as well as local churches and individuals. The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest and more conservative Baptist group in the world, withdrew from the BWA in 2004 and does not participate in ecumenical organizations. Its 16 million adult members constitute the largest Protestant church in the USA. There are other Baptists who belong to churches which are not members of the Alliance. On the other hand, there are four African American Baptist conventions totalling about 15 million, three of which are members of the WCC and ecumenical participants.
The BWA has study commissions working on various concerns, themes and programmes. Religious freedom and human rights are great concerns of the BWA. The decade, 2000-2010, has been designated "Decade for Racial and Ethnic Harmony". The majority of African Americans is Baptist and has included outstanding leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. The BWA offices are in Falls Church, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC.
The BWA is organized in six regional fellowships: the All Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF), the Asian Baptist Federation (ABF), the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship (CBF), the European Baptist Federation (EBF), the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), and the Union of Baptists in Latin America (UBLA).
The Baptist World Alliance has 211 member conventions/unions, with a total membership of 35 million baptized believers, representing a worshipping community of over 100 million Christians (Baptists do not count children as members). Twenty-five of the 211 member bodies are members of the WCC, which represents a total of 60 percent of the BWA constituency.
Periodical: Baptist World Magazine
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Africa:
Baptist Convention of Angola
Free Baptist Church in Angola
Union of Protestant Baptist Churches in Benin
Baptist Convention of Botswana
Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Burkina Faso
Union of Baptist Churches in Burundi
Cameroon Baptist Convention
Baptist Church of Cameroon
Association of Baptist Churches of the Central African Republic
Fraternal Union of Baptist Churches (CAR)
Community of United Baptist Churches (DRC)
Baptist Community of the Congo River (DRC)
Baptist Community in the Centre of Africa (DRC)
Autonomous Baptist Community Wamba-Bakali (DRC)
Community of Baptist Churches in Eastern Congo (DRC)
Community of Baptist Churches in North Congo (DRC)
Community of United Baptist Churches (DRC)
Union of Baptist Churches in Congo (DRC)
Southern Evangelical Churches (Côte d’Ivoire)
Baptist Evangelical Association of Ethiopia
Baptist Union in the Gambia
Ghana Baptist Convention
Baptist Convention of Kenya
Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, Inc.
Association of Bible Baptist Churches in Madagascar
African Baptist Assembly, Malawi, Inc.
Baptist Convention of Malawi
Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi
Baptist Convention of Mozambique
Baptist Convention of Namibia
Mambilla Baptist Convention (Nigeria)
Union of Baptist Churches of Rwanda
Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone
Baptist Association of South Africa
Baptist Convention of South Africa
Baptist Mission of South Africa
Baptist Union of Southern Africa
Sudan Interior Church
Sudan Interior Church, South
Baptist Convention of Tanzania
Togo Baptist Convention
Baptist Union of Uganda
Baptist Convention of Zambia
Baptist Union of Zambia
Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe
Baptist Union of Zimbabwe
National Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe
United Baptist Church of Zimbabwe
Asia:
Baptist Union of Australia
Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship
Garo Baptist Convention (Bangladesh)
Cambodia (Khmer) Baptist Convention
Baptist Convention of Hong Kong
Assam Baptist Convention (India)
Baptist Church of Mizoram (India)
Baptist Union of North India
Bengal Baptist Union (India)
Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Churches Association (India)
Convention of Baptist Churches of the Northern Circars (India)
Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India
Evangelical Baptist Convention of India
Garo Baptist Convention (India)
India Association of General Baptists
Karbi Anglong Baptist Convention (India)
Karnataka Baptist Convention (India)
Lower Assam Baptist Union (India)
Maharastra Baptist Society (India)
Manipur Baptist Convention (India)
Nagaland Baptist Church Council (India)
North Bank Baptist Christian Association (India)
Orissa Baptist Evangelical Crusade (India)
Tripura Baptist Christian Union of India
Convention of Indonesian Baptist Churches
Fellowship of Baptist Churches in Irian Jaya
Union of Indonesian Baptist Churches
Japan Baptist Conference
Japan Baptist Convention
Japan Baptist Union
Okinawa Baptist Convention (Japan)
Korea Baptist Convention
Macau Baptist Association
Malaysia Baptist Convention
Self Supporting Kayin Baptist Mission Society (Myanmar)
Nepal Baptist Church Council
Baptist Conference of the Philippines, Inc.
Convention of Visayas and Mindanao of Southern Baptist Churches (Philippines)
General Baptist Church of the Philippines, Inc.
Luzon Convention of Southern Baptist Churches, Inc.
Singapore Baptist Convention
Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya (Union)
Chinese Baptist Convention (Taiwan)
12th Pakh (District) Church of Christ in Thailand
Thailand Baptist Convention
Thailand Karen Baptist Convention
Thailand Lahu Baptist Convention
Caribbean:
Antigua Barbuda Baptist Association
National Baptist Missionary & Education Convention (Bahamas)
Barbados Baptist Convention
Baptist Association of Belize
Bermuda Baptist Fellowship
Baptist Convention of Western Cuba
Baptist Convention of Eastern Cuba
Fellowship of Baptist Churches in Cuba
Free Baptist Convention of Cuba
Dominican Baptist Convention
Baptist Convention of Guyana
Baptist Haiti Mission
Baptist Union of Trinidad and Tobago
Europe:
Union of Evangelical Christians – Baptists of Armenia
Baptist Union of Austria
Union of Evangelical Christians – Baptists of Azerbaijan
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists in the Republic of Belarus
Union of Baptists in Belgium
Baptist Church in Bosnia/Herzegovina
Baptist Union of Bulgaria
Baptist Union of Croatia
Baptist Union in the Czech Republic
Union of Free Evangelical and Baptist Churches of Estonia
Finland Swedish Baptist Union
Finnish Baptist Union (Finnish speaking)
Federation of Evangelical Baptist Churches of France
Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia
International Baptist Convention (English speaking) (Germany)
Union of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany (Baptists)
Union of Evangelical Christians Baptists in Kazakhstan
Union of Evangelical Christians Baptists of Kyrgyzstan
Union of Baptist Churches in Latvia
Baptist Union of Lithuania
Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist Churches of Moldova
Union of Baptist Churches in the Netherlands
Baptist Union of Norway
Baptist Union of Poland
Portuguese Baptist Convention
Baptist Union of R.S. Romania
Convention of the Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania
Euro-Asiatic Federation of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Russia
Baptist Union of Serbia and Montenegro
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists in Serbia and Montenegro
Baptist Union of Slovakia
Union of Baptist Churches in Slovenia
Spanish Evangelical Baptist Union
Baptist Union of Sweden
Union of Baptist Churches in Switzerland
All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christian Baptists
Brotherhood of Independent Baptist Churches and Ministries of Ukraine
Baptist Union of Scotland
Baptist Union of Wales
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Middle Asia (Uzbekistan)
Latin America:
Argentina Evangelical Baptist Convention
Baptist Convention of Bolivia
Bolivian Baptist Union
Brazilian Baptist Convention
National Baptist Convention (Brazil)
Convention of Baptist Churches of the Chilean Mission
Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile
Colombian Baptist Denomination
Baptist Convention of Costa Rica
National Union of Baptist Churches (Costa Rica)
Baptist Convention of Ecuador
Federation of Baptists in El Salvador
Convention of Baptist Churches in Guatemala
National Convention of Baptist Churches in Honduras
National Baptist Convention of Mexico
Baptist Convention of Panama
Evangelical Baptist Convention of Paraguay
Baptist Evangelical Convention of Peru
Baptist Evangelical Convention of Uruguay
National Baptist Convention of Venezuela
Middle East:
Egyptian Baptist Convention
Association of Baptist Churches in Israel
Jordan Baptist Convention
Lebanese Baptist Convention
Baptist Convention of Syria
North America:
Canadian Baptist Ministries
Canadian Convention of Southern Baptist Churches
Baptist General Conference (USA)
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (USA)
Czechoslovak Baptist Convention of the USA and Canada
General Association of General Baptists USA)
Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, USA
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
North American Baptist Conference
Russian-Ukraine Evangelical Baptist Union, USA, Inc.
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA and Canada
Union of Latvian Baptists in America
Pacific:
Fiji Baptist Convention
Baptist Union of Papua New Guinea |
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