Baptist facts for kids
Baptist is a word describing a tradition within Christianity and may also refer to individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. The tradition takes its name from the belief that followers of Jesus Christ should be placed in water to show their faith. Baptists do not practice infant baptism.
In 1639, Roger Williams began a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island and John Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. It is not clear which church opened first. Records for both churches are missing information.
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Baptist beliefs and principles
Baptist churches do not have a central principal authority. Therefore, beliefs are not the same from one Baptist church to another, mainly beliefs that may be considered minor. However, on major issues, most are held in common among almost all Baptist churches.
Baptists share so-called "orthodox" Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. Some of them are beliefs about one God; Jesus' death, burial, and bodily resurrection; the Trinity (the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, together with God the Father); the need for salvation; grace; and evangelism and missions.
Beliefs that vary among Baptists
Since there is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs. These differences exist both among associations, and even among churches within the associations.
Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are:
- Eschatology
- How the Bible should be interpreted (hermeneutics)
- The extent to which missionary boards should be used to support missionaries
- The extent to which non-members may participate in the Lord's Supper services
- Which translation of Scripture to use (see King-James-Only movement in the English-speaking world)
- The role of women in marriage.
- The ordination of women as deacons or pastors.
- The role of repentance in salvation (Lordship salvation controversy).
Excommunication may be used as a last resort by some denominations and churches for members who do not want to repent of beliefs or behavior at odds with the confession of faith of the community. When an entire congregation is excluded, it is often called disfellowship.
Worship
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In Baptist churches, worship service is part of the life of the Church and includes praise, worship, of prayers to God, a sermon based on the Bible, offering, and periodically the Lord's Supper. Some churches have services with traditional Christian music, others with contemporary Christian music, and some offer both in separate services. In many churches, there are services adapted for children, even teenagers. Prayer meetings are also held during the week.
Membership
There are over 90 million Baptists in the world in nearly 300,000 churches. There are about 47 million members in the United States. Other large populations of Baptists also exist in Asia, Africa and Latin America. There are 2.4 million Baptists in India, 2.3 million in Nigeria, 1.9 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and 1.5 million in Brazil.
In a poll in the 1990s, about 20% of Americans said they are Baptist.
Places of worship
The architecture is sober and the Latin cross is one of the only spiritual symbols that can usually be seen on the building of a Baptist church and that identifies the place where it belongs.
Education
Baptist churches established elementary and secondary schools, Bible colleges, colleges and universities as early as the 1680s in England, before continuing in various countries. In 2006, the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities was founded in the United States. In 2023, it had 42 member universities.
Images for kids
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Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary, affiliated with the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong, 2008
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Crandall University in Moncton, affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (Canadian Baptist Ministries)
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College of Nursing, Central Philippine University in Iloilo City, affiliated with the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, 2018.
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John Smyth led the first "Baptist" church in Amsterdam in 1609
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A Short Declaration of the Mistery of Iniquity (1612) by Thomas Helwys. For Helwys, religious liberty was a right for everyone, even for those he disagreed with.
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First Baptist Church on 2nd Street between Cherry & Poplar in Macon, GA, circa 1876.
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The First Baptist Church in America located in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Worship service at the Église Francophone CBCO Kintambo in Kinshasa, affiliated to the Baptist Community of Congo, 2019
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Finnish Baptist church in Vaajakoski, Jyväskylä
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Worship service at Crossway Baptist Church in Melbourne, affiliated with Australian Baptist Ministries, 2008
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Believer's baptism of adult by immersion at Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain, 2015.
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Wedding ceremony at First Baptist Church of Rivas, Baptist Convention of Nicaragua, 2011
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See also
In Spanish: Iglesias bautistas para niños
