Nigerian Baptist Convention
The Nigerian Baptist Convention , the Baptist community in Nigeria , is the third largest Baptist church in the world. It emerged from the missionary work of the Southern Baptist Convention (USA) and today has around 3.5 million baptized church members and around 6 million followers who regularly attend the church services.
history
The Southern Baptist Convention began its missionary work in Nigeria in 1850. In 1914, the Yoruba Baptist Association was formed and renamed the Nigerian Baptist Convention as the mission expanded from the southwest to other parts of Nigeria. The Church today is completely autonomous. In 1947 she began to send missionaries to other African countries. She founded Baptist churches in Ghana (now the Baptist Convention of Ghana ) and Sierra Leone , (now the Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone ).
organization
President of the Church is Reverend Dr. Ruben Ishaya Chuga , Secretary General is Rev. Dr. Solomon Ademola Ishola . The headquarters of the Nigerian Baptist Convention is in Ibadan , but the community has other administrative buildings in other parts of Nigeria. Individual communities enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Overarching organizational issues are settled in local conferences.
Theological and medical institutions
The Nigerian Baptist Convention has nine theological training seminars for the formation of pastors, the largest of which is the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary in Ogbomosho , where academic degrees up to doctoral degrees can be obtained.
Several hospitals and various medical training centers are operated. The Baptist Hospital in Ogbomoso is considered one of the best hospitals in Nigeria and functions as the university clinic of Ladoke Akintola University in the states of Oyo and Osun .
Educational institutions
In 2002 the Nigerian Baptist Convention founded Bowen University , named after Rev. Thomas Jefferson Bowen , the first Baptist missionary for the Southern Baptist Convention in Nigeria. Bowen University is located in Iwo , Osun State, and currently has about 3,000 students. In addition, Nigerian Baptists have built thousands of elementary and secondary schools that were converted into public schools during the military dictatorships.
Ecumenism
The Nigerian Baptist Convention has been a member of the World Council of Churches since 1971 . It is represented as the second largest organization in the Baptist World Federation and as the largest member in the Pan-African Baptist Fellowship (All Africa Baptist Fellowship). She is also a member of various ecumenical institutions within Nigeria, the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
literature
Paul Omieka Ebhomielen, History and growth of Nigerian Baptist Convention missions 1953–1977 . Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission 1978.