Baptists Together facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Baptists Together (Baptist Union of Great Britain)
Classification	Evangelical Christianity
Theology	Baptist
Polity	Congregationalist
President	Hayley Young
Vice-president	Tim Presswood
Distinct fellowships	Old Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Wales, New Connexion of General Baptists
Associations	World Council of Churches, Baptist World Alliance, Conference of European Churches, European Baptist Federation, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Fellowship of British Baptists, Churches Together in England
Region	England and Wales
Headquarters	Didcot
Founder	John Rippon and Joseph Ivimey
Origin	1832
Separations	Grace Baptist Assembly, Association of Grace Baptist Churches, Seventh Day Baptists, Strict Baptists, Gospel Standard Baptists
Congregations	1,897
Members	99,475
Aid organization	National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, BMS World Mission, Annuity Fund Baptist Aid Orphan Society
Tertiary institutions	1

Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot.

History

The Baptist Union was founded by 45 Particular Baptist churches in 1813 in London. In 1832, it was reorganized to include the New Connection General Baptist Association (General Baptist churches) as a partner. In 1891, the two associations merged to form a single organization. General Baptists and Particular Baptists work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891. The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908.

In 1922, Edith Gates became the first woman ordained pastor in the Convention.

In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against, as the first female General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain to commence in September 2013. She was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included "I believe that our union is ready for generational change... It is time to cast off the institutional mindset that has served us well in the past, and embrace a new way of being for the 21st century."

Also in 2013, the union publicly re-branded itself as "Baptists Together" and introduced a new logo to reflect the change (although it is still known in an official capacity by its former name, the Baptist Union of Great Britain).

Membership

Farnham Baptist Church, Surrey.

According to a census published by the denomination in 2023, it claimed 1,897 churches and 99,475 members.

Missionary organization

The Fellowship of British Baptists and BMS World Mission brings together in ministry the churches that are members of the Baptist Union of Scotland, Wales, the Irish Baptist Networks, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) because of its work to promote young people's personal and social development.

Inter-denominational associations

The union maintains membership with Christian 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.

Missionary Society

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).

Beliefs

The union has a Baptist confession of faith. It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance.

Schools

Regent's Park College, Oxford.

The Union is a partner of 4 theological seminaries, namely South Wales Baptist College, Northern Baptist College, Bristol Baptist College and Spurgeon's College, and a university college, Regent's Park College.

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

Leadership

The principal of the Union is the General Secretary.

List of presidents

List of general secretaries

• 1898 – 1924 John Howard Shakespeare
• 1925 – 1951 Melbourn Aubrey
• 1951 – 1967 Ernest A. Payne
• 1967 – 1982 David S. Russell
• 1982 – 1991 Bernard Green
• 1991 – 2006 David Coffey
• 2006 – 2013 Jonathan Edwards
• 2013 – Lynn Green

See also

In Spanish: Unión Bautista de Gran Bretaña para niños

• 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"
• Baptist beliefs
• Worship service (evangelicalism)
• Jesus Christ
• Believers' Church