Baptist Churches of the Central African Republic

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The Baptist Churches of the Central African Republic or Églises Baptistes de la RCA is an organization serving the Baptist churches in the Central African Republic in Equatorial Africa.

The General Council of Cooperating Baptists of North America, Inc. was organized on October 15, 1920 in Elyria, Ohio, under the leadership of Reverend William C. Haas. This independent mission agency sent six missionaries to French Equatorial Africa in the fall of 1920. Rev. Haas, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Rosenau, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Young, and Mrs. Rowena Becker reached Africa in January of 1921 and journeyed inland to French Equatorial Africa. The first stations were established at Sibut, Crampel, and Bangassou, in what is now the Central African Republic. Although Hass died in 1924, the mission continued to expand and by the 1960s had grown to over 100 churches. The Scriptures were translated into the native Sango language, and a hospital, six dispensaries, two Bible schools, and a seminary were established by 1961. In 1960, both Chad and the Republic of Central Africa became independent states. Baptist Mid-Missions (the name adopted by the General Council of Cooperating Baptists of North America in 1953) separated the two fields of labor, and the current association of Baptist churches was formed in 1963 with 191 churches.

Internal problems caused the dissolution of the association for a period of time in the 1970s. The Eglises Baptistes de la RCA has also suffered two |schisms, resulting in the Fraternal Union of Baptist Churches (or Union Fraternelle des Églises Baptistes, org. 1977) and the Association of Central African Baptist Churches (or Association des Églises Baptistes Centrafricaines). Another Baptist group, the Baptist Churches of Western RCA, began from mission work of the Swedish Örebro Society in 1923. Protestantism (25%), Catholicism (16%), Islam (14%), and Animism (24%) provide a pluralistic religious makeup of the country.

In 1995 the Eglises Baptistes de la RCA had 375 churches with about 60,000 members. Baptist Mid-Missions still has a number of missionaries in the Republic of Central Africa.

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[edit] References

  • Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.