Union of Baptist Churches in the Netherlands

Baptists in the Netherlands has been around since 1845. Waistband to the Dutch Baptists today are 85 congregations with a total of approximately 12,000 baptized members. The official name is: Unie van Baptistengemeenten in Nederland.

In addition to this covenant still exists another Baptist Association, the Brotherhood of Baptist churches (Dutch Broederschap van Baptistengemeenten ). After a merger with other free churches of Churches is now called ABC - Alliantie van Baptists en CAMA gemeenten.

• 2.1 The Algemene Vergadering
• 2.2 The Unieraad

History

Amsterdam was the birthplace of the world's first Baptist church. Congregational religious refugees from England met in 1609 in the back room of a bakery and united under the leadership of John Smyth and Thomas Helwys to a Baptists church. A short time later Helwys returned with a part of this community back to England. The other part of the community went up in the communities of the waterländischen Mennonites.

The actual origin of the Dutch Baptist is closely connected with the name Johannes Elias Feisser. Feisser, born in 1805, was originally preacher of the Dutch Reformed Church and worked in three communities. Most recently, he was pastor of the church gasselternijveen. Due to his personal study of the Bible grew in him the realization that the New Testament baptism presupposed Taufwunsch of the baptized and was by immersion. He put this knowledge within his church for discussion and came over with his church council in a deep discussion. 1843 removed him from the parent church authority, the Provincial Kerkbestuur, his offices.

Probably there were commercial travelers and seasonal workers, heard about the Feisser shortly after his ouster from the fledgling Baptist movement in Germany. He made ​​contact with Johann Gerhard Oncken, the founder of this movement, and received on the impartation visit of Julius Koebner and the Jeveraner elders Anton Friedrich Remmers. Feisser learned so that he was not alone with his understanding of baptism; for the first time he heard in conversations with Koebner and Remmers the denomination designation Baptists.

First church planting and further developments

In May 1845 Julius Koebner traveled a second time to Feisser. This had now gathered a small circle of like-minded around. They stepped out of the Reformed Church and decided to be baptized. Koebner performed the baptism Feisser and first six other members of the Feisserschen circle. Place of baptism was the Nijveensche moon, not far from gasselternijveen.

The baptized were constituted under the chairmanship as a Koebner Gemeente van gedoopte Christenen ( community of baptized ). Feisser was ordained an elder of this first Dutch Baptist church. A short time later, she received the official Royal recognition as a religious society. The community grew very very slowly.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Baptist movement in the Netherlands experienced a strong upswing. In addition to church planting in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland, which were mainly supported by the East Frisian Baptists from your, also communities in Haarlem, The Hague and Amsterdam developed. Among the pioneers of the Dutch Baptists also includes the Ihrener missionary and former blacksmith's apprentice, Johann Pieter de neui. Because of its activity was in Franeker (Friesland) a Baptist church whose preacher he was from 1865 for six years.

In January 1881, the founding of the Dutch Baptist Union took place. His name was first Unie van Gemeenten van gedoopte Christenen. 26 chief and elders attended the inaugural meeting. In 1900, the federal government was one of 20 member municipalities with about 1,000 baptized members. He became a founding member of 1905 in London, launched the Baptist World Alliance. 1917 took the Dutch Baptists to the name they carry to this day: Unie van Baptistengemeenten in Nederland.

Between 1946 and 1970, it came in the Dutch Baptists to a further growth phase. Nearly 30 new churches were formed in this period. The number of members rose to almost 10,000. There were also many other communities that had constituted itself as independent municipalities.

In 1972, the Dutch Baptists got their own chair of theology at the University of Utrecht. At the same time, tensions developed between more liberal on the one hand and conservative communities on the other hand, led to the elimination of organized communities in the fraternity in 1981.

Organization of the Unie

The Dutch Baptist sees itself as a Congregational church organized community. Since the center of Baptist ecclesiology is the autonomous local church, are regional and national groupings of non-hierarchical to the communities. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Unie, after decades of preparations, largely reorganized. It belongs to the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance.

The Algemene Vergadering

The Algemene Vergadering ( German: General Assembly) consists of elected representatives of the local communities and meets usually once a year to decide on a multi-day Council meeting on every important matter of the Baptist Union. The Vergadering decide on the the federal budget and elects the members of the Federal line ( Unieraad ). As of 2008, the AV should be held twice a year.

The Unieraad

The Unieraad consists of six to nine people, each projecting certain work areas. Its members are elected for a limited time. Your task is to carry out the decisions of the Unieraad and coordinate on regional work. In addition to the Executive Board of the Federation of Unieraad responsible for the following subjects:

• Theological Education
• Church Growth and Evangelism
• Mission and service
• Frauenwerk
• Youth and children's work

Broederschap van Baptistengemeenten / ABC communities

The Broederschap was founded in 1981 as a spin-off of the Unie and comprised 26 autonomous communities with a total of about 5,000 believers baptized members. 2005 merged the Brotherhood with the Dutch CAMA communities, forming today under the name ABC communities ( Dutch: ABC - Alliantie van Baptists en CAMA gemeenten ) a new Church Association. It includes 68 local municipalities. Among them is the VU Baptistengemeente Bethel Drachten led by Pastor Orlando Bottenbley, the largest free church in the Netherlands with over 2000 members and 750 children. The ABC churches do not belong to the European Baptist Federation nor the Baptist World Alliance.