Citizendia

Part of a series on
Baptists

Historical Background
Christianity · General Baptist · Particular Baptist

Doctrinal distinctives
Prima and Sola scriptura · Ordinance · Offices · Confessions · Congregationalism · Separation of church and state

Pivotal figures
John Bunyan · Andrew Fuller · Thomas Helwys · John Smyth · Charles Haddon Spurgeon · Roger Williams

Largest associations
American Baptist · Baptist General Convention of Texas · National Baptist · Progressive National Baptist · Southern Baptist Convention · European Baptist Federation

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The Baptist General Convention of Texas is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings General Baptist is a generic term for Baptists that hold the view of a general Atonement, as well as a specific name of groups of Baptists within the broader See also Baptist The Beliefs of Baptist Churches are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another as Baptists do not have a central governing authority Prima scriptura is a doctrine that says canonized scripture is "first" or "above all" sources of Divine revelation. Sola scriptura ( Latin ablative, "by scripture alone" is the assertion that the Bible as God's written word is self-authenticating See also Ordinance (Latter Day Saints See also Baptist Baptists recognize only two ordinances — Believer's baptism and the Lord's Baptists generally recognize two Scriptural offices, those of Pastor -teacher and Deacon. 1600s 1644 First London Baptist Confession - revised in 1646 1651 The Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations 1654 The True Gospel-Faith Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism is a system of Church governance in which every Local church congregation is independent Separation of church and state is one of the primary theological distinctions of the Baptist tradition John Bunyan (28 November 1628 &ndash 31 August 1688 a Christian writer and Preacher, was born at Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford See also Fuller Baptist Church, Kettering Deathless Sermon William Carey Strict Baptist Thomas Helwys, (c 1575 - c 1616 was one of the joint founders of the Baptist denomination Charles Haddon Spurgeon, commonly CH Spurgeon, ( June 19, 1834 &ndash January 31, 1892) was a British Reformed Roger Williams ( December 21, 1603 &ndash April 1, 1683) was an English theologian, a notable proponent of Religious The American Baptist Churches USA ( ABCUSA) is a group of Baptist Churches within the United States; the denomination maintains headquarters in The National Baptist Convention USA Inc is one of the largest religious organizations among African Americans The convention has over 30000 churches and over 6000000 The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC is a convention of African-American Baptists emphasizing Civil rights and social justice The Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC) is a United States -based mostly conservative Christian denomination The European Baptist Federation (EBF is a federation of 51 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State.

Contents

Background

There were Baptists among the first Anglo-American settlers of Texas, but under Spain (and later Mexico), non-Catholic religious worship was prohibited. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The first Baptist sermon preached in Texas was preached by Joseph Bays of Missouri as early as 1820. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The first Sunday School in Texas was organized by a Baptist, Thomas J. Pilgrim, at San Felipe de Austin in 1829. For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Mexican authorities forced the Sunday School to disband and hindered the attempts of the earliest Baptist preachers.

The first Baptist church in Texas was organized in Illinois by Elder Daniel Parker. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Parker visited Texas in 1832 and concluded that the Mexican laws clearly prohibited organizing a church in Texas. Year 1832 ( MDCCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian He also decided the immigration of an organized church into the state would not violate the colonization laws. To this end, he and several others constituted a church in Illinois, then traveled to Texas by wagon train, arriving in Austin Colony January 20, 1834. Parker held a strict predestinarian theology, as well as his controversial Two-Seed theology. Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists are part of a larger sub-group of Baptists that is commonly referred to as "anti-mission" Baptists Like those travellers, the church was named Pilgrim. This church, and those churches of like faith that followed, remained aloof from the majority of Baptists in Texas. Pilgrim church is the oldest Baptist church in Texas and survives today as a Primitive Baptist church. Primitive Baptists (also known as Old-School Baptists) are a group of Baptists that have a historical connection to the Missionary / anti-missionary controversy

The first missionary Baptist church in Texas was organized at Washington-on-the-Brazos by Z. Washington-on-the-Brazos is a Ghost town along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. N. Morrell in 1837. Year 1837 ( MDCCCXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The following year Isaac Reed and R. G. Green formed the Union Baptist Church, about 5 miles north of Nacogdoches, Texas. Nacogdoches (ˌnækəˈdoʊtʃɪs is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. This church, now known as the Old North Church, is the oldest surviving missionary Baptist church in Texas and cooperates with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. After Texans achieved independence from Mexico, Baptists began to flourish in Texas. Many churches were formed in the days of the Republic of Texas. With the multiplication of churches came also the organization of associations. The first association was the Union Baptist Association, organized in 1840. Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year

Unification

As the local associations increased, missionary Baptists became interested in cooperation together on the broader state level. In 1848 representatives from four associations met at Anderson, Texas, and started the Baptist State Convention of Texas. Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Anderson is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 257 at the 2000 census In 1853, the Baptist General Association of Texas was organized at Larissa, Texas. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Other bodies were formed to serve their regions (and often due to dissatisfaction with the other bodies), such as the East Texas Baptist Convention (org. 1877 at Overton, Texas) and the North Texas Baptist Missionary Convention (org. Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Overton is a city in Rusk and Smith Counties in the US state of Texas. 1879 at Allen, Texas). Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Allen is a City in Collin County, Texas, United States, and a northern suburb of Dallas. B. H. Carroll, pastor of First Baptist in Waco, Texas, was instrumental in getting the General Association, during its 1883 meeting, to propose that five conventions in Texas consider the expediency of uniting as one body. Benajah Harvey Carroll ( December 27, 1843 - November 11, 1914) was a Baptist Pastor, Theologian, Teacher Waco (ˈweɪkoʊ is a city in and the County seat of McLennan County, Texas. Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The North Texas Convention dissolved, and recommended its churches affiliate with the Baptist State Convention. The East Texas Convention also joined the state convention. In 1886, the Baptist General Association of Texas and the Baptist State Convention of Texas ratified the terms of merger and consolidated into one body called The Baptist General Convention of Texas. Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In addition to Carroll, other leaders in the merger included S. A. Hayden, J. Samuel Augustus Hayden (1839&ndash1918 was a Baptist pastor denominational leader and newspaper publisher B. Cranfill, J. B. Link, J. M. Carroll, R. James Milton Carroll ( January 8, 1852 &ndash January 11, 1931) was a Baptist pastor leader historian and author T. Hanks, and G. W. Smith. The harmony and cooperation brought about by the new Baptist General Convention led to progress at the end of the 19th century—at Baylor University in Waco, at Baylor Female College in Belton, Texas, as well as in Sunday School and women's auxiliaries. Belton is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 14623 at the 2000 census

Divisions

The harmony of unification in the 19th century gave way to three major divisions in the 20th century—the S. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on A. Hayden controversy and the formation of the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas in 1900, the fundamentalist/modernist controversy and the formation of the Premillennial Missionary Baptist Fellowship by J. Frank Norris in 1933, and the conservative/moderate controversy and the formation of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in 1998. The Baptist Missionary Association of America (BMAA is a fellowship of autonomous Baptist churches for the purpose of benevolence Christian education and missions Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Fundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian Fundamentalism or Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and For liberal political views within Christianity see Christian left. World Baptist Fellowship - a separatist fundamentalist Baptist organization John Franklyn (J Frank Norris, (born September 18, 1877, Dadeville Alabama, died August 20, 1952, Jacksonville Florida Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The body has nevertheless maintained a steady progress throughout the 20th century.

Beliefs

Baptist General Convention of Texas beliefs include Bible inspiration, the priesthood of the believer, the sanctity of life, the virgin birth of Christ, salvation through the death of Jesus Christ, and that Christ is the head of the church. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The Convention accepts the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message as its statement of faith. The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M is the Southern Baptist Convention confession of faith The Convention specifically does not accept the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M is the Southern Baptist Convention confession of faith

Current status

The convention's offices are located in Dallas, Texas, though convention staff, are located across the state. The Executive Director of the BGCT, beginning March 31, 2008, is Randel Everett. According to its mission statement, the Baptist General Convention of Texas "encourages, facilitates and connects churches in their work to fulfill God’s mission of reconciling the world to Himself," and is active in evangelistic, educational, and benevolent endeavors toward achieving this goal. About 80 local Texas Baptist associations and 5,700 local churches cooperate with the Baptist General Convention. In October 2007, the Convention elected its first woman president, Joy Fenner of Garland, Texas.

References

External links

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