North American Baptist Conference
The North American Baptist Conference ( NABC ) (German: North American Baptist Conference) is an association of Baptists of German origin who live in the USA and Canada .
Beginnings
The history of NABC began in 1839 . In that year Konrad Anton Fleischmann founded a missionary work among German immigrants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania . Fleischmann came from Switzerland . From his Bible study , he came to the conclusion that baptism based on one's personal creed is a valid baptism . Like other free churches , he also represented an ecclesiology in which the congregation of those who believe in Jesus Christwas the focus. These beliefs led him to the Baptists. He joined them and founded the first German Baptist church in 1843 . The place of foundation was Philadelphia .
In 1845 , the Southern Baptist Convention was formed independently of the NABC as an independent Baptist church .
Further developments
Other German churches emerged in the following years and decades in Illinois , Missouri , New York, and Wisconsin . In 1851 the German Baptists invited to a Conference of Ministers and Helpers of German Churches of Baptized Christians, usually called Baptists in Philadelphia, which was followed in 1859 by a second meeting in Springfield, Illinois . In the meantime the first German Baptist church had also emerged in Canada ( Ontario ). Its founder was the German-American August Rauschenbusch . In 1865 the NABC forerunner The General Conference of German Baptist Churches in North America was founded in Wilmot (Ontario) . This association has had its current name since 1944 . Since then, the official language of the German Church Federation has been English .
In the early 1960s, the Progressive National Baptist Convention split from the North American Baptist Conference. The ordination of women is allowed in the North American Baptist Conference.
organization
The NABC is the only American church federation that is organized across borders.
Breakdown
The NABC is divided into 20 regional associations . Depending on their size, they send delegates to the general conferences that take place every three years.
Church leadership
The general conference sees itself as the direction of the NABC and delegates certain tasks to an executive committee. Administration seat is Oakbroke Terrace ( Illinois ).
statistics
Approximately two thirds of the NABC communities are in the United States and one third in Canada.
The NABC has a total of 64,565 members (excluding children and friends) in 444 local parishes.
Pastor training
The NABC operates two theological training centers:
- The North American Baptist Seminary in Sioux Falls ( South Dakota ) / USA
- The Taylor University College and Seminary in Edmonton ( Alberta ) / Canada.
Outside mission
The NABC also has its own mission company. In 2003 , about 70 missionaries were working outside the United States and Canada.
See also
literature
- Albert W. Wardin: Baptists Around the World