Baptist Union of Great Britain

The Baptist Union of Great Britain, despite its name, is the association of Baptist churches in England and Wales. (A separate Baptist Union of Scotland, formed in 1865, represents Baptists in Scotland.)

History

The Baptist Union of Great Britain was formed when the General Baptists and Particular Baptists came together in 1891.

The Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (later the Baptist Missionary Society, and now BMS World Mission) was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller (1754–1815), John Sutcliff (1752–1814), and William Carey (1761–1834). When the Baptist Union was founded in 1813, it was a Particular Baptist organisation. In 1833, it was restructured to allow for membership of General Baptists. General and Particular Baptist work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891. The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908.

The basis of fellowship in the Baptist Union is a three-part "Declaration of Principle" stating belief in Jesus, Christian baptism, and world evangelisation. Structure includes an annual Baptist Assembly, and the Baptist Union Council, which is made up of representatives from the 13 regional associations and the six Baptist Colleges affiliated with the Union. The national resource and offices are located in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, having moved from Baptist Church House in London's Southampton Row in 1989.

Membership

The Baptist Union of Great Britain consists of about 2,150 churches with a total membership of almost 140,000 individuals. The Union maintains membership with ecumenical organisations such as Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Conference of European Churches, and the World Council of Churches, and Baptist organisations such as the Fellowship of British Baptists, the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. The Fellowship of British Baptists and BMS World Mission brings together in ministry the churches that are members of the Baptist Union of Scotland, the Baptist Union of Wales, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)^[1] because of its work to promote young people's personal and social development

Structure

Since 2001 the Baptist Union of Great Britain has been divided into 13 regional associations:

• Central Baptist Association
• East Midlands Baptist Association
• Eastern Baptist Association
• Heart of England Baptist Association
• London Baptist Association
• North Western Baptist Association
• Northern Baptist Association
• South Eastern Baptist Association
• South Wales Baptist Association
• South West Baptist Association
• Southern Counties Baptist Association
• West of England Baptist Association
• Yorkshire Baptist Association

See also

• Baptist Union of Scotland
• Religion in the United Kingdom
• Regent's Park College, Oxford
• Baptist churches in the United Kingdom
• Spurgeon and the "Downgrade Controversy"

References

1. ^ Full list of NCVYS members

• Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
• The Baptist Union: A Short History, by Ernest Alexander Payne
• The English Baptists of the Eighteenth Century, by Raymond Brown
• The English Baptists of the Nineteenth Century, by J. H. Y. Briggs
• Baptists in the Twentieth Century, by Keith Clements

External links

• Baptist Historical Society - official Web Site
• Baptist Union of Great Britain - official Web Site
• The Baptist Times - Web Site of the official newspaper of the BUGB
• Incarnate Network - Web Site of the church planting network of BUGB Missions Dept
• The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) - England-wide organisation of which the Baptist Union is a member