About Baptists

Baptists are very committed Bible believing people and deem the Bible as the final authority in all matters of belief and practice. Creeds and confessions of faith, which attempt to articulate the theology of Scripture, do not carry Scripture's inherent authority. They consider the inspiration of Scripture (2nd Timothy 3:16 & 17) as being an absolute doctrine.

Local churches are autonomous, or self-governing. Each is an independent body accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ and all human authority for governing the local church resides within the local church itself. There is no religious hierarchy outside the local church than can dictate a church's beliefs or practices. While Baptist churches have fellowship with other churches around mutual interests and in an associational tie, a Baptist church cannot be a "member" of any other body.

The Baptist denomination originated from the English Puritan Separatist Movement in the early seventeenth century. The name did not originate from John the Baptist as many believe. This movement away from the Church of England created new congregations. The Baptists accepted only believers into their membership and baptized converts upon their profession of faith. Opponents nicknamed them "Baptists," and the name stuck. The earliest Baptist church dates back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor.

The earliest Baptist churches in North America date back to 1639. Roger Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island. In the same year John Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1845, Baptist congregations in the United States split over three main issues: slavery, missions, and doctrinal integrity. The split created the Southern Baptist Convention. The northern congregations formed an umbrella organization now named the American Baptist Churches of the USA. After the Civil War, black Baptists in the South set up their own congregations and in 1895 the three national conventions merged into the National Baptist Convention.

Baptists are found in both the conservative and liberal camps of many issues and most reject being labeled. Most see themselves as Christians who simply identify with the traditional Baptist doctrine and distinctives. In recent years, Baptist churches in the United States have been dropping "Baptist" from their names.