American Baptist Churches USA

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Not to be confused with American Baptist Association.

American Baptist Churches USA
ABCUSA logo teal black and white.jpg
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationBaptist
PolityCongregationalist
AssociationsNational Council of Churches;
Baptist World Alliance
RegionUnited States
HeadquartersKing of Prussia, Pennsylvania
OriginMay 17, 1907 (1907-05-17)
Washington, D.C.
Merger ofFree Will Baptist General Conference 1911
Congregations5,025
Members1,126,527
Official websitewww.abc-usa.org

The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its congregations, including modernist, charismatic and evangelical orientations.[1] It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814. From 1907 to 1950, it was known as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention.

History[]

Colonial New England Baptists[]

American Baptist Churches USA have their origins in the First Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island, now the First Baptist Church in America, founded in 1638 by the minister Roger Williams.[2][3] Regarded by the more dogmatic Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic for his religious separatism, Williams was banished into the New England wilderness where he and his followers created the settlement of Providence and later, the colony of Rhode Island. Williams is credited with being the founder of the Baptist movement in America, the founder of the state of Rhode Island, and the first highly visible public leader in America to call for the separation of church and state.

The First Baptist Church in America was formed in 1638 in Providence, R.I.

Triennial Convention[]

Having a congregational polity, early Baptist churches in America operated independently from one another, following an array of Protestant theological paths, but were often unified in their mission to evangelize. In the 18th century, they sometimes created local congregational associations for support, fellowship, and work (such as the founding of Brown University in 1764). The evangelical mission led to the establishment of the national Triennial Convention in 1814, a collaborative effort by local churches to organize, fund, and deploy missionaries.[4] The ABCUSA descends from this Triennial Convention. Through the Triennial Convention structure a number of mission-oriented societies were formed, including the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (1814), American Baptist Home Mission Society (1832), American Baptist Publication Society (1841), and the American Baptist Education Society (1888).

In 1845, a majority of Baptists in the South withdrew support from the Triennial Convention – largely in response to the decision of its delegates to ban slave holders from becoming ordained missionaries – and formed the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The Triennial Convention was loosely structured, and the SBC offered Baptists a more centralized organizational structure for carrying on missionary and benevolent work. In contrast, however, the Triennial Convention afforded local churches a higher degree of local autonomy, a more traditional characteristic of Baptist polity. The majority of churches in the North continued to work through these separate cooperating societies for missions and benevolence. The societies were united under the umbrella of a unified convention in 1907.

Northern Baptist Convention[]

The Northern Baptist Convention was founded in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 1907.[5]Charles Evans Hughes, then Governor of New York and later Chief Justice of the United States, served the body as its first president. The purpose of the Northern Baptist Convention was to bring about a consistent cooperation among the separate Baptist bodies then existing. It was the first step in bringing together Baptists in the North "with ties to the historic American Baptist mission societies in the nineteenth century."[6] These had contributed to establishing many schools for freedmen in the South after the American Civil War, as well as working on issues of health and welfare. Many of their missionaries and members had worked as teachers in the South. In 1911, most of the churches of the Free Will Baptist General Conference merged with it.

American Baptist Convention[]

Historic Riverside Church (1930) in Upper Manhattan retains its association with ABCUSA.

The name of the Convention was changed in 1950 to the American Baptist Convention (ABC), and it operated under this name until 1972.[7] It was the second step at bringing together on a national level Baptists with ties to the mission societies. The ABC was characterized from 1950–66 with annual resolutions at its conventions having to do with the Civil Rights Movement and race relations.

Without exception, these resolutions were progressive and genuinely encompassing. They addressed both the need for individual change in attitude and action, and the need for broader social change that could only be instituted through political action.[6]

As in many cases, the rhetoric of the annual conventions was sometimes ahead of local activity, but the denomination gradually made progress. In 1964, it created the Baptist Action for Racial Brotherhood (BARB), which early the next year produced a pamphlet outlining actions for change in local churches. In 1968, the national convention was challenged by "Black American Baptist Churchmen Speak To the American Baptist Convention," demands that challenged how the denomination had "conducted its business relative to black American Baptists."[6] The black churchmen said the Convention had excluded them from decisionmaking positions, even while working with good intentions on behalf of black American Baptists. The following year, Dr. Thomas Kilgore Jr., pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles, was elected the first black president of the Convention. The 1968 Convention also voted to create the Study Commission on Denominational Structure (SCODS). Its recommendations changed the denomination in a variety of ways, after being adopted at the 1972 Convention.[6]

American Baptist Churches USA[]

To reflect its new structure, the Convention in 1972 changed its name to the American Baptist Churches USA.[7] Rather than relying on decisionmaking at the annual Convention by whichever churches happened to send delegates, the SCODS restructuring resulted in the following:

A General Board was composed of duly elected representatives from geographically designated districts. Three-fourths of those representatives would be elected by the American Baptist regional bodies; one-fourth would be elected as at-large representatives, or in the official terminology, "Nationally Nominated Representatives." These representatives would be "chosen so as to provide the necessary balance among the Representatives in respect of racial/ethnic inclusiveness, geographic area, age, gender, and desirable skills.[6]

Theology and practice[]

American Baptists share the same theological beliefs with Protestant churches which believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final authority in matters of faith.[8] 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.[9]

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.[9]

The LGBTQ controversy in the ABCUSA[]

The LGBTQ issue has been a point of contention in the ABCUSA since the 1987 Biennial Meeting.[10] In 1992, the General Board adopted a resolution that stated, “We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

So far, at least seven regions in the ABCUSA – Evergreen, Wisconsin, Rochester-Genesee, Metro Chicago, Metropolitan New York, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia – support full inclusion of LGBTQ persons into Baptist life.[11] Many ABCUSA churches have also partnered with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, which formed at the 1993 Biennial Meeting.

However, several other ABCUSA regions and churches have opposed affirmation of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgenderism. In 2004, the ABC Central Region reaffirmed the 1992 resolution.[12] At its 2005 annual meeting, the West Virginia Baptist Convention, which had a history of proposing resolutions rejecting the LGBTQ lifestyle,[10] narrowly rejected a proposal to withdraw from the ABCUSA over its refusal to discipline those regions that have supported LGBTQ-friendly policies.[11] The Indiana-Kentucky region has also proposed a change in the denomination’s bylaws that would prohibit the transfer of churches into another region if removed from the region because of the issue of homosexuality.[11] In 2006, the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest, believing that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching", split from the ABCUSA, and was renamed Transformation Ministries.[13]

Each local congregation is autonomous and permitted to perform same-sex marriages if they opt to do so.[14] For example, Calvary Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.), affiliated with the ABCUSA, performs same-sex marriages.[15] In 2013, an ABCUSA congregation in Washington, DC, ordained the denomination's first openly transgender pastor.[16]

The ABCUSA has consistently allowed each congregation to determine whether or not to perform same-sex marriages, or ordain LGBT clergy.[17] The ABCUSA General Board voted in 2005 to amend the declaration We are American Baptists to define marriage as "between one man and one woman" and maintain that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Biblical teaching."[17] However, the denomination has never officially adopted the board's statement, and has also stated that it will "respect and will continue to respect congregational freedom on this issue".[17]

Organization[]

The American Baptists Churches USA has a congregationalist polity emphasizing local church autonomy. Local churches are organized into 33 regions. The General Board makes policy for the denomination's national agencies.[18] 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. Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer was called as ABCUSA General Secretary on May 8, 2017.[19]

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.

Regions[]

The ABCUSA consists of 33 regional associations and conventions:

Region Headquarters Area(s) Served Number of Churches Executive Minister Notes
American Baptist Churches of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska The state of Alaska Alonzo B. Patterson
American Baptist Churches of Connecticut West Hartford, Connecticut The state of Connecticut 120 Rev. Dr. Harry Riggs II
American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana The Indianapolis Metro Area 39 Rev. Joan C. Friesen
American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky Greenwood, Indiana Most of Indiana (except for Indianapolis), and five churches in Kentucky 292 Rev. Dr. Jim Walter
(interim) 		Formerly known as the Indiana Baptist Convention
American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles, Southwest, and Hawaii Glendale, California Southern California (including the Los Angeles Metro Area), Hawaii, Arizona, and the Las Vegas Metro Area 151 Andrew Quient
American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts Groton, Massachusetts The state of Massachusetts 246 Rev. Mary Miller One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago Chicago, Illinois The Chicagoland Area 57 Rev. David Gregg One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
American Baptist Churches of Metro New York New York City, New York The New York Metropolitan Area 191 Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
American Baptist Churches of Michigan East Lansing, Michigan The state of Michigan 137 Rev. Brian Johnson Formerly known as the Michigan Baptist Convention
American Baptist Churches of Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska The state of Nebraska 63 Rev. Dr. Robin D. Stoops
American Baptist Churches of New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey The state of New Jersey 277 Rev. Miriam Mendez
American Baptist Churches of New York State Syracuse, New York Most of New York, except for the Rochester-Genesee and Metro NYC areas 282 Rev. Dr. James Kelsey
American Baptist Churches of Ohio Granville, Ohio Most of Ohio, except for the Cleveland area 250 Rev. Jane Gibbons
Rev. Mark E. Click
American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Most of Pennsylvania (except for Philadelphia) and all of Delaware 300 Rev. Frank T. Frischkorn
American Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico Carolina, Puerto Rico The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 113 Rev. Edgardo M. Caraballo Known in Spanish as ‘‘Iglesias Bautistas de Puerto Rico’’
American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island Exeter, Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island 69 Rev. Doug Harris
American Baptist Churches of the Central Pacific Coast Portland, Oregon Central and Northern California, western Oregon, and two churches in Washington 72 Steve Bils
American Baptist Churches of the Central Region Topeka, Kansas Kansas, two churches in Oklahoma, one church in Arkansas 220 Gregg Hemmen Formerly known as the Kansas Baptist Convention until 1979
American Baptist Churches of the Dakotas Sioux Falls, South Dakota North Dakota and South Dakota 50 Randall L. Rasmussen
American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region Springfield, Illinois Most of Illinois (except for the Chicago area), and all of Missouri 205 Paul Gibson
American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/Genesee Region Rochester, New York Mainly the Rochester/Genesee area, but other churches from 11 states affiliate with this region (see notes) 49 Rev. Dr. Sandra L. DeMott Hasenauer One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life.
Churches from other states that either left or were removed from their region over the LGBTQ+ issue affiliate with this region.
American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains Centennial, Colorado Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran
American Baptist Churches of the South Woodlawn, Maryland Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia 234 Rev. Dr. James Mitchell Harrison
American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire West Lebanon, New Hampshire Vermont and New Hampshire 147 Rev. Dale R. Edwards
American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin Elm Grove, Wisconsin The state of Wisconsin 61 Rev. Dr. John Jones
(interim) 		One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
Cleveland Baptist Association Cleveland, Ohio The Cleveland Metro Area 39 Rev. Dr. Yvonne B. Carter
District of Columbia Baptist Convention Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. 139 Rev. Trisha Miller Manarin This body has 151 churches total, but only 139 are affiliated with the ABCUSA. This body was dually aligned with the ABCUSA and the Southern Baptist Convention until May 2018.
Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches Kent, Washington Washington and portions of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah 55 Douglas Avilesbernal One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
Growing Healthy Churches Clovis, California Mainly central California, but churches from several states affiliate with this region. 167 Dr. Timothy H. Brown
Mid-American Baptist Churches Urbandale, Iowa Iowa and Minnesota 123 Rev. Jacquline Saxon
Mission Northwest Post Falls, Idaho Primarily Idaho, Washington, Montana, and Utah, with one church each in Nevada, California, Arizona, and Alaska 156 Dr. Charles E. Revis
Philadelphia Baptist Association Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Metro Area 121 Rev. Dr. James E. McJunkin, Jr. Oldest continuous association of Baptist churches, established in 1707. One of One of seven ABCUSA regions known to support full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons into Baptist life
West Virginia Baptist Convention Parkersburg, West Virginia The state of West Virginia 371 Dr. Michael Sisson

Membership trends[]

In 2009, the ABCUSA reported 1,310,505 members in 5,402 churches.[20] Membership remained fairly steady during the 20th century. In 1925, there were just over 1.4 million members. Membership peaked in the early 1980s at around 1.6 million.[20] Lately, membership has begun to decline again, with the ABCUSA reporting 1,145,647 members in 5,057 churches at the end of 2017. According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 5,025 churches and 1,126,527 members.[21] Congregations are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast United States.[22]

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:

  • Berkeley School of Theology (formerly called the American Baptist Seminary of the West), Berkeley, California
  • Andover Newton Theological School, Newton, Massachusetts now part of Yale Divinity from 2018
  • , Shawnee, Kansas
  • Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York
  • Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Morehouse School of Religion, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lisle, Illinois
  • Palmer Theological Seminary, Wayne, Pennsylvania
  • Shaw University Divinity School, Raleigh, North Carolina
  • The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia

Notable members[]

Includes Northern Baptists (1907–1950) and American Baptists (1950–present)
  • Wayland Hoyt (1838–1910), minister and author
  • John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), oil magnate and philanthropist
  • Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), 36th Governor of New York, 11th Chief Justice of the United States, and first president of the Northern Baptist Convention
  • John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960), financier and philanthropist
  • Kamala Harris (b. 1964), Vice President of the United States

See also[]

  • Christianity in the United States

References[]

  1. ^ McBeth, H Leon (1987), The Baptist Heritage, Broadman, pp. 596–608.
  2. ^ Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church, Zondervan, USA, 2009, p. 362
  3. ^ William Cathcart, The Baptist Encyclopedia - Volume 3, The Baptist Standard Bearer, USA, 2001, p. 977
  4. ^ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 142
  5. ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 9
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Martin, Dana (Winter 1999), "The American Baptist Convention and the Civil Rights Movement: Rhetoric and Response", Baptist History and Heritage.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 61
  8. ^ ABCUSA. "10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists". Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b ABCUSA. "We Are Guided by God's Word". Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Timeline of Responses / Actions Pertaining to Homosexuality (PDF) (Report). Topeka, KS: American Baptist Churches USA. September 25, 2008 – via American Baptist Churches Central Region (abccr.org).
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Tomlin, Gregory (May 18, 2006). "Split among American Baptists over homosexuality is final". Baptist Press (baptistpress.com). Southern Baptist Convention.
  12. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". American Baptist Churches Central Region (abccr.org). Topeka, KS.
  13. ^ "California's American Baptist Churches vote to sever ABC ties". United Church of Christ. May 16, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "Meet Allyson Robinson, the first openly transgender Baptist minister". Christian Today (christiantoday.com). London, UK. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  15. ^ Burke, Daniel (March 27, 2010). "Clergy torn over church / civil loyalties over same-sex marriage". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  16. ^ Allen, Bob (July 10, 2014). "Baptist church ordains transgender woman". Baptist News Global (baptistnews.com). Conversations that matter. Jacksonville, FL. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c Roach, David (July 20, 2015). "Gay marriage: Mainline denominations affirm SCOTUS". Baptist Press (bpnews.net). National News, World & Politics. Nashville, TN: Southern Baptist Convention. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  18. ^ ABCUSA. "General Board". Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  19. ^ "Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer Called as ABCUSA General Secretary". May 9, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "American Baptist Churches in the USA". The Association of Religion Data Archives. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  21. ^ Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020
  22. ^ Data from the 2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study, The Arda[permanent dead link].

External links[]

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