View source for Baptist World Alliance

{{Short description|International Christian denomination}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name               = Baptist World Alliance
| image              = Baptist World Alliance logo.png
| imagewidth         = 
| caption            = 
| type               = [[Full communion|Communion]]
| main_classification = [[Protestant]]
| orientation        = [[Baptist]]
| polity             = 
| leader_title       = General Secretary and CEO
| leader_name        = [[Elijah M. Brown]], since 2018
| leader_title2      = Chair
| leader_name2       = Karl Johnson, since 2025
| headquarters       = [[Falls Church, Virginia]], U.S.
| founder            = 
| founded_date       = July 1905
| founded_place      = [[London]], United Kingdom
| separated_from     = 
| parent             = 
| merger             = 
| separations        = 
| associations       = 
| area               = 138 countries
| congregations      = 178,000
| members            = 53,000,000
| missionary organization = Global Baptist Mission Network
| aid                = BWAid
| website            = {{URL|baptistworld.org}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

{{Baptist}}
The '''Baptist World Alliance''' ('''BWA''') is an international communion of [[Baptists]], with an estimated 53 million people from 283 member bodies in 138 countries and territories as of 2025. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world, becoming Christianity's seventh-largest communion (see [[List of Christian denominations by number of members|list of Christian denominations by membership]]). 

The BWA was founded in 1905 in London during an international congress of Baptist churches. Its headquarters are in [[Falls Church, Virginia]], United States. It is led by general secretary and CEO [[Elijah M. Brown]], Karl Johnson of the [[Jamaica Baptist Union]], Chair of the Alliance and Lynn Green of the [[Baptist Union of Great Britain]], Vice Chair.

==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 Christ|Jesus]] at [[City Church (Brazil)|City Church]], affiliated to the [[Brazilian Baptist Convention]], in [[São José dos Campos]], [[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 [[Thomas Grantham (Baptist)|Thomas Grantham]], the Baptist [[Bishop|Messenger]] and leading [[Divinity (academic discipline)|divine]] ([[Theology|theologian]]) of [[Lincolnshire]], 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 a 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=[[Holman Bible Publishers|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 [[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 meetings 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 2003, the [[International Baptist Convention]], an international association of English-speaking churches, became a member.<ref> William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2021, p. 314</ref>

In 2004, the messengers of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] voted to withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) because a member association, the [[American Baptist Churches USA]] had accepted an organization that included 2 churches favorable to the [[blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches|blessings of same-sex marriage]] as well as perceived [[anti-American sentiment]], which were partly attributed to Alliance Secretary General Denton Lotz's visits to Fidel Castro in Cuba.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/sbc-severs-ties-with-bwa-as-theological-concerns-remain/|title=SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain |date=15 June 2004|website=Baptist Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/06/16/southern-baptists-vote-to-leave-world-alliance/861c0ce0-1f06-4b64-bc0e-f271a6d45764/ |title=Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance|website=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/juneweb-only/6-14-31.0.html|title=Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance|first=Compiled by Ted|last=Olsen|date=1 June 2004|website=ChristianityToday.com}}</ref> A year later, two state denominational members of the Southern Baptist Convention—the [[Baptist General Association of Virginia]] and the [[Baptist General Convention of Texas]]—affirmed their continued support and applied for membership in the Alliance, and were subsequently admitted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baptistnews.com/article/partofthefamilyvirginiaiselectednewbwamember/|title=Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member|first=Religious|last=Herald|date=8 August 2005|website=Baptist News Global}}</ref>

In July 2025, Karl Johnson of the [[Jamaica Baptist Union]] became Chair of the Alliance and Lynn Green of the [[Baptist Union of Great Britain]] became Vice Chair.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://baptistworld.org/news/bwa-commissions-new-leadership/ BWA Commissions New Leadership], baptistworld.org, USA, July 12, 2025</ref>

==Statistics==
According to an Alliance census released in 2025, the BWA has 283 participating Baptist fellowships in 138 countries, with 178,000 churches and 53,000,000 baptized members.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/ Members], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved August 16, 2025</ref> However, some churches and members may be counted more than once if they belong to more than one Baptist association, each being 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 communion has a [[Baptist]] [[confession of faith]].<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/beliefs/ Beliefs], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022</ref>

==Structure==
The BWA 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 general secretaries===
In the initial stages of the Baptist World Alliance, the role of General Secretary was split into two geographical regions. In 1928, these positions were merged into a single general secretary role.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Baptists Together in Christ 1905-2005 |last=Pierard |first=Richard V. |publisher= |year=2005 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A163334552/EAIM?u=anon~6a7e08d5&sid=sitemap&xid=2d7a2bf5}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Term !! Country
|-
| colspan="3" align="center" | '''Eastern or European Secretaries'''
|-
| John Howard Shakespeare || 1905-1924 || United Kingdom
|-
| James Henry Rushbrooke || 1925-1928 || United Kingdom
|-
| colspan="3" align="center" | '''Western or American Secretaries'''
|-
| John Newton Prestridge || 1905-1913 || United States
|-
| Robert Healy Pitt || 1913-1923 || United States
|-
| [[Clifton Daggett Gray]] || 1923-1928 || United States
|-
| colspan="3" align="center" | '''General Secretaries'''
|-
| James Henry Rushbrooke || 1928-1939 || United Kingdom
|-
| Walter O. Lewis || 1939-1948 || United States
|-
| Arnold T. Ohrn || 1948-1960 || Norway
|-
| Josef Nordenhaug || 1960-1969 || Norway
|-
| Robert S. Denny || 1969-1980 || United States
|-
| Gerhard Claas || 1980-1988 || Germany
|-
| [[Denton Lotz]] || 1988-2007 || United States
|-
| [[Neville Callam]] || 2007-2017 || Jamaica
|-
| [[Elijah M. Brown]] || 2018-present || United States
|}

===List of presidents (renamed Chair in 2025)===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Term
! Country
|-
| [[John Clifford (minister)|John Clifford]]
| 1905–1911
| UK
|-
| [[Robert Stuart MacArthur]]
| 1911–1923
| USA
|-
| [[Edgar Young Mullins]]
| 1923–1928
| USA
|-
| [[John MacNeill (minister)|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 (minister)|David Coffey]]
| 2005–2010
| UK
|-
| [[John Upton (minister)|John Upton]]
| 2010–2015
| USA 
|-
| [[Paul Mzisa]]
| 2015–2020
| South Africa
|-
| [[Tomás Mackey]]
| 2020–1015
| Argentina
|-
| Karl Johnson
| 2025-2030
| Jamaica
|}

==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|url-access=subscription}}</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
|[[London]]
|{{flag|GBR}}
|-
|2.
|1911
|[[Philadelphia]]
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|3.
|1923
|[[Stockholm]]
|{{flag|SWE}}
|-
|4.
|1928
|[[Toronto]]
|{{flag|CAN}}
|-
|5.
|1934
|[[Berlin]]
|{{flag|DEU}}
|-
|6.
|1939
|[[Atlanta]]
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|7.
|1947
|[[Copenhagen]]
|{{flag|DNK}}
|-
|8.
|1950
|[[Cleveland]]
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|9.
|1955
|[[London]]
|{{flag|GBR}}
|-
|10.
|1960
|[[Rio de Janeiro]]
|{{flag|BRA}}
|-
|11.
|1965
|[[Miami Beach]]
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|12.
|1970
|[[Tokyo]]
|{{flag|JPN}}
|-
|13.
|1975
|[[Stockholm]]
|{{flag|SWE}}
|-
|14.
|1980
|[[Toronto]]
|{{flag|CAN}}
|-
|15.
|1985
|[[Los Angeles]]
|{{flag|USA}}
|-
|16.
|1990
|[[Seoul]]
|{{flag|KOR}}
|-
|17.
|1995
|[[Buenos Aires]]
|{{flag|ARG}}
|-
|18.
|2000
|[[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 (Christianity)|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 [[Christian humanitarian aid|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 [[Ecumenism|ecumenical]] dialogues with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[World Methodist Council]], among others.<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 divided 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 [[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=[[Centro Pro Unione]]|access-date=11 August 2009}}</ref>

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

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|https://www.baptistworld.org/ }}

{{Clear}}
{{Baptist World Alliance Members}}
{{Portal bar|Evangelical Christianity}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1905]]
[[Category:International Baptist denominations]]
[[Category:Baptist denominations established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Falls Church, Virginia]]
[[Category:International Christian organizations]]