American Baptist Churches USA

The American Baptist Churches USA ( ABCUSA ) (formerly the American Baptist Convention ) are a Union of Baptist Churches in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The ABCUSA should not be confused with the American Baptist Association. The organization is usually classified as a moderate Mainline Church.

The ABCUSA is a member of the Baptist World Alliance and the National Council of Churches of the United States. A partnership between the ABCUSA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

2000 had these churches claims to 1,417,543 members in 5,780 congregations. The most well-known pastor of ABCUSA was in the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr.

History

The ABCUSA rooted in the so-called old Triennial Convention ( German: Triennial Conference ) of 1814 ago, in which both the Baptists of the Northern States and the Southern States were united. The Southern Baptists withdrew in the context of the American Civil War from the Working Group and founded in 1845 the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC ). The vast majority of northern states - Baptists in the north continued their work further and formed first - especially in the area of ​​Mission - loose associations. On May 17, 1907 - two years after the founding of the Baptist World Alliance - the Northern States Baptists in Washington, DC, merged to form the Northern Baptist Convention ( NBC). Since the work of NBC reached the southern regions of the U.S., it was decided in 1950 to change the name. It ran until 1972, American Baptist Convention. To emphasize the important for Baptists autonomy of the local church, it was decided in 1972 to a further name change: American Baptist Churches, USA.

Teaching

Traditionally, the autonomy of individual churches is considered strong in ABCUSA. American Baptists ABCUSA believe in the God-inspired Bible. The ordination of women was introduced in contrast to the Southern Baptist Convention. 9.1 percent of the pastors in the American Baptist Churches USA are women.