Baptist Union of Sweden facts for kids

The Baptist Union of Sweden (called Svenska Baptistsamfundet in Swedish) was a group of Baptist churches in Sweden. Baptists are a type of Protestant Christian faith. This union of churches joined with other groups in 2011–2012 to create a new church called the Uniting Church in Sweden.

A New Beginning: The First Baptist Church in Sweden

The very first known Baptist church in Sweden started on September 21, 1848. This happened in a place called Vallersvik. A group of people there had the first-known Baptist baptism in Sweden.

Challenges for Early Baptists

At that time, a law called the Conventicle Act was in place. This law made it illegal to have any religious meetings other than those of the official Church of Sweden. Because of this law, the leader of the new Baptist movement, F.O. Nilsson, was forced to leave the country. Other people who joined the movement were fined money or even put in jail.

Freedom to Worship

A few years later, in 1858, the Conventicle Act was removed. This was a big step! It meant that other religious groups, often called "free churches," were finally allowed to meet and worship freely in Sweden.

Growing Together: The Baptist Union's History

After the law changed, the Baptist movement in Sweden began to grow.

Forming a Union

In 1857, a general conference was created. This was thanks to the hard work of pastor Anders Wiberg and others. By 1866, this group had even started its own school, called Betelseminariet. Later, in 1889, the conference officially formed the Swedish Baptist Union.

Membership and Changes

The Swedish Baptist Union had its largest number of members in 1934, with about 68,000 people. By 2006, it had around 17,000 members in 223 local churches.

Over the years, the Union saw some groups separate. For example, the Free Baptist Union formed in 1872. Later, the Örebro Mission started in 1892 and officially separated from the Union in 1936.

Working with Others

The Baptist Union of Sweden was part of several larger organizations. These included the Swedish Free Church Council, the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance.

It was also a very important moment when the Baptist Union of Sweden became the first church in Sweden to choose a woman to lead their main assembly. Her name was Karin Wiborn, and she took on this role in 2007.

A New Chapter: The Merger

As of 2008, the Baptist Union of Sweden had 220 churches and more than 17,000 members. For many years, there were talks about joining forces with two other church groups: the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden and the United Methodist Church in Sweden.

In the summer of 2008, these three church groups held a joint meeting. Finally, in 2011–2012, they officially merged. They formed a brand new church group called Joint Future Church, which is now known as the Uniting Church in Sweden.