European Baptist Federation

First European Baptist Congress in Berlin, 1908

The European Baptist Federation ( EBF ) is an amalgamation of national Baptist unions from Europe , West and Central Asia .

history

Rüschlikon - founding place of the European Baptist Federation

The forerunners of the European Baptist Federation, which was founded in Rüschlikon ( Switzerland ) in 1949 , were the European Baptist Congresses, the first of which took place in Berlin in 1908.

The first council meeting of the EBF took place one year after its official founding in 1950, also in Rüschlikon. One of the main reasons for the merger was the devastating consequences of the Second World War and the resulting need to make a contribution to international understanding and the reconstruction of Europe , also at the free church level . The first council meeting of the EBF adopted the following goals of Baptist cooperation:

Commitment to human rights , especially freedom of conscience and religion ;
promoting common evangelism and exchanges of missionaries ;
the organization of material aid for the countries particularly affected by the war - as help for self-help
the support of projects of theological training and further education of church workers and pastors

Management structure

All member unions send two representatives of their church to the council meeting of the EBF, which takes place once a year. It is the most important body of the EBF and elects the Federation President every two years. Since July 2011 this office has been held by the German pastor Hans Guderian .

The council also appoints a governing body to which it delegates a number of decision-making powers. The general secretary is also appointed by the council. He leads the day-to-day business as a full-time employee and is also the regional secretary of the Baptist World Federation .

The EBF is based in Prague ( Czech Republic ), where the Theological College of European Baptists is also located.

The member churches of the European Baptist Federation

country	Name of the Baptist Union in German translation	History and present
Egypt	Egyptian Baptist Union
Albania	Albanian Baptist Union
Armenia	Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Armenia
Azerbaijan	Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Azerbaijan
Belgium	Union of Belgian Baptists	The first Belgian Baptist church was founded in Liège in 1892 . In 2018, 13 municipalities belonged to the union.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Baptist Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria	Union of Baptists in Bulgaria
Denmark	Danish Baptist Union
Germany	Association of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany	With more than 100,000 members, the German Baptists are the center of this free church missionary work in continental Europe. The Federation of Evangelical Free Churches has around 84,000 members. Another group of Baptists in Germany is formed by various associations of German-Russian returnees who, however, do not belong to the EBF.
Estonia	Union of Evangelical Christians and Baptist Churches of Estonia
France	Federation of Evangelical Baptist Congregations in France
Finland	Baptists in Finland (two independent leagues)
Georgia	Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia
Israel	Association of Baptist Churches in Israel	First church planted before 1920 in Nazareth ; Today a total of 22 parishes with around 2000 members (excluding children and friends)
Italy	Association of Christian Evangelical Baptists of Italy
Jordan	Baptists in Jordan
Kosovo	Community of Baptist Churches in Kosovo
Croatia	Baptist Union of Croatia	There have been Baptists in Croatia since 1883. The Croatian Baptist Union was founded in 1991 - after the fall of Yugoslavia.
Latvia	Union of Baptist Churches in Latvia
Lebanon	Lebanese Baptist Union	The first Baptist congregation in Lebanon was the congregation founded in Beirut in 1895 by Said Jureidini .
Lithuania	The Baptist Union of Lithuania
North Macedonia	Union of Baptist Christians in the Republic of North Macedonia
Moldova	Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist Churches of Moldova (and Transnistria)	The Baptists of the unrecognized state of Transnistria form one of nine national associations within this union.
Netherlands	Union of Baptist Congregations in the Netherlands	The Dutch Baptist movement began around 1845 and is closely associated with the name Julius Köbner . Today the Baptist Union of the Netherlands has 12,000 members in 89 congregations. Three other Baptist groups have 15,000 members in a total of 130 congregations.
Norway	Baptist Union of Norway
Austria	Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria	The Baptist mission work in Austria started in 1846. Its founders heard the Jeveraner Johann Ludwig Hinrichs . Today there are around 1,130 members of the Austrian Baptist Union, who have come together in 19 congregations.
Poland	Christian-Baptist Union in the Polish Republic	The first Polish Baptist church was founded in 1861. In 1922 a Polish-speaking and in 1928 a German-speaking Baptist Union was established on Polish soil. Today's Christian-Baptist League was founded in 1947.
Portugal	Portuguese Baptist Union
Romania	Romanian Baptist Union Union of Hungarian Baptist Churches in Romania
Russia	Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia	The Gospel Christians-Baptists emerged in 1944 from the Association of Gospel Christians and Baptists. Later parts of the Soviet Pentecostals and Mennonites were added. Church associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists still exist in many countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Sweden	Association of Swedish Baptists in the Ecumenical Church of Sweden Baptists in the Evangelical Free Church of Sweden
Switzerland	Federation of Swiss Baptist Congregations	Baptist congregations in Switzerland have existed since 1847. The German-speaking association has around 1,300 members who meet in 15 congregations.
Serbia	Union of Baptist Churches in Serbia Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Serbia
Slovakia	Fraternal Association of Baptists in Slovakia
Slovenia	Union of Baptist Churches in the Republic of Slovenia
Spain	Union of Evangelical Baptists of Spain
Syria	Syria Baptist Union
Tajikistan	Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptist Churches of Tajikistan
Czech Republic	Czech Baptist Union	The history of Czech Baptists goes back to the 1850s. In 1919 the Czech Baptist Union was founded. About 2,300 members belong to the Czech Baptists. They gather in 26 congregations.
Turkey	Alliance of Turkish Baptist Churches	The Turkish Federation was created in 2014 with four municipalities. In 2017 there were already 9 communities, including two Persian-speaking.
Turkmenistan	Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches of Turkmenistan
Hungary	Baptist Union of Hungary	There have been Baptists in Hungary since 1846.
Ukraine	Pan-Ukrainian Union of Gospel Christian-Baptist Associations; Brotherhood of Ukraine (Brotherhood of Independent Baptist Churches and Ministries of Ukraine)
Uzbekistan	The Baptist Union of Uzbekistan
United Kingdom	Baptist Union of Great Britain Baptist Union of Scotland Baptist Union of Wales	The Baptist Union of Great Britain is, in terms of its historical roots, the oldest Baptist church in Europe. Thomas Helwys is one of its co-founders .
Belarus	Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Belarus
Europe / International	International Baptist Convention - Association of international Baptist congregations in Europe

Affiliated churches and networks

Baghdad Baptist Church
Baptists in Malta
First Bahrain Baptist Church
Irish Baptist Network
Network of Russian speaking churches in Europe

statistics

The European Baptist Federation brings together approximately 800,000 baptized members in approximately 12,000 congregations. The Ukrainian Baptist Union is the largest of the EBF member churches; it has 140,000 members and 2,029 parishes.

literature

Ian M. Randall: Communities of Conviction. Baptist Beginnings in Europe . Neufeld Verlag , Schwarzenfeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-937896-78-6 .
Albert W. Wardin: Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & Holman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee 1995. ISBN 0-8054-1076-7 . Pp. 177-284
William H. Brackney: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . Volume 25 in the Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements series . The Scarecrow Press, Inc .: Lanham, Maryland, and London 1999. ISBN 0-8108-3652-1 .

Web links

Official website of the European Baptist Federation
Association for Free Church Research The VFF contributes to the research of free church history and theology, u. a. also of the Baptists.

Individual evidence

[1] Internet presence of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia

[2] Internet presence of the North Macedonian Baptist Union

[3] Internet presence of the Moldovan Baptist Union

[4] Internet presence of the Portuguese Baptist Union

[5] Website of the Romanian Baptist Union

[6] Union of the Hungarian Baptist Churches in Romania

[7] Website of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia

[8] Website of the Swedish Baptist Union within the Ecumenical Church of Sweden

[9] Evangeliska Frikyrkan Internet presence of the Evangelical Free Church

[10] Internet site of the Brotherly Association of Baptists in Slovakia

[11] Website of the Slovenian Baptists

[12] Internet presence of the Union of Evangelical Baptists of Spain

[13] Website of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of the Republic of Belarus

[14] Network of Russian-speaking Churches in Europe ; accessed on April 7, 2020