Nigerian Baptist Convention

The Nigerian Baptist Convention, the Baptist Community in Nigeria, is the third largest Baptist church in the world. It originated from the missionary work of the Southern Baptist Convention (USA) and now has about 3.5 million baptized church members and around 6 million followers, who regularly attend church services.

History

The Southern Baptist Convention began in 1850 their mission work in Nigeria. 1914 then Yoruba Baptist Association was founded, which was renamed the Nigerian Baptist Convention, as the mission of the Southwest spread to other parts of Nigeria. The church is completely autonomous today. Since 1947, they began to send missionaries to other African countries. She founded the Baptist churches in Ghana (now Baptist Convention of Ghana ) and Sierra Leone (now Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone).

Organization

President of the Church is Reverend Dr. Ruben Ishaya Chuga, general secretary is Rev. Dr. Solomon Ademola Ishola. The headquarters of the Nigerian Baptist Convention is located in Ibadan, but the community has additional administrative building in other parts of Nigeria. Individual communities enjoy a high degree of autonomy. In this case, cross- organizational issues are addressed by local conferences.

Theological and medical facilities

The Nigerian Baptist Convention maintains nine theological training seminars for the training of pastors, the largest of which is the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary in Ogbomosho, which can be on academic qualifications acquired through doctoral degrees.

It operated several hospitals and various medical schools. The Baptist Hospital in Ogbomoso is considered one of the best hospitals in Nigeria and acts as University Hospital of the Ladoke Akintola University of the states of Oyo and Osun.

Educational institutions

In 2002, the Nigerian Baptist Convention founded the Bowen University, named after Rev. Thomas Jefferson Bowen, the first Baptist missionary for the Southern Baptist Convention in Nigeria. The Bowen University is located in Iwo Osun in the state and currently has approximately 3000 students. In addition, the Nigerian Baptist thousands of primary and secondary schools have established that were converted during the period of military dictatorships to public schools.

Ecumenism

The Nigerian Baptist Convention is a member of the World Council of Churches since 1971. As the second- largest organization, it is represented in the Baptist World Alliance, as well as the largest member of the Pan-African Baptist Community ( All Africa Baptist Fellowship ). She is also a member of various ecumenical bodies within Nigeria, the Christian Council of Nigeria ( CCN), the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC ) and the Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN).