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Like a constitution, it establishes the framework for the government and operations of the church, as well as its "basic character". [7] Its by-laws are organized into 35 articles that establish the duties and responsibilities of church officers, provide guidelines and rules for Christian Science practitioners and teachers, define the ...
On November 5, 1935, the two largest groups of Free Will Baptists, the Cooperative General Association and the General Conference of Free Will Baptists merged together to form the National Association of Free Will Baptists. [1] Under the treatise, church government takes place at the congregational level.
Originally, Baptists supported separation of church and state in England and America. [1] [2] Some important Baptist figures in the struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a "Seeker"), John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland.
A few African-American Baptist congregations have ordained or started calling their senior minister bishop, but without changing congregational polity.In the National Baptist Convention (USA), its statement of faith teaches the bishop and pastor are synonymous; [2] in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, the bishop and pastor are separate offices.
The Sandy Creek Separate Baptist self-organized in 1756. The Washington District Association, however, upon being organized adopted the Preambles and the Constitution of the Regular Baptists. The Old Regular Baptist Churches of today can be likewise be traced, directly or indirectly, to churches who were involved with these older associations.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, incorporated as the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., and more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a Baptist Christian denomination headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance.
Baptists practice believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper (communion) as the ordinances instituted in Scripture (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). [5] [additional citation(s) needed] Most Baptists call them "ordinances" (meaning "obedience to a command that Christ has given us") [6] [7] instead of "sacraments" (activities God uses to impart salvation or a means of grace to the participant).
In 1944, the convention had 2,352,339 members, and in 2000, the National Baptist Convention of America grew to about 3.5 million members in the United States. [13] It became the third-largest predominantly African American Christian body in the United States after the National Baptist Convention, USA and the Church of God in Christ.