"10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists" [View all]

On occasion, I suspect that we have all been asked, "What should I know about your church?". American Baptist Churches USA (f/k/a the Northern Baptist Convention) has recently published a booklet that explains the history of our denomination, our beliefs, practices, organization and governance. On the inside front cover of this booklet is printed "10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists", and I share these with you. I hope you find them educational, and hope that they will help you to understand why we are proudly a progressive denomination.

"10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists"

1.) American Baptists believe that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior, that the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God and that it serves as the final, written authority for living out the Christian faith.

2.) American Baptists believe that the independent, local church is the fundamental unit of mission in denominational life.

3.) American Baptists partake of two ordinances: believer's baptism and regular observance of the Lord's Supper.

4.) American Baptists believe that the committed, individual Christian can and should approach God directly, and that individual gifts of ministry should be shared.

5.) American Baptists take seriously the call to evangelism and missionary work.

6.) American Baptists support religious freedom, respect the expressions of faith of others and believe in the absolute separation of church and State.

7.) American Baptists acknowledge that God's family extends beyond our local churches, and that God calls us to cooperative ministries with all men of good will.

8.) American Baptists are called to be Christ's witnesses for both justice and inclusion within our broken society.

9.) American Baptists the celebrate racial, ethnic and cultural diversity within our denomination, and affirm the absolute equality of both men and women for the ministry and for church office.

10.) American Baptists heed the biblical call to renewal and for the need to bear public witness in the new millenium.