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Do not fill this in! ==History== [[File: Baptism at Northolt Park Baptist Church (cropped).jpg|thumb|280px|Believer's baptism of adult by immersion at [[Northolt]] Park Baptist Church, in [[Greater London]], [[Baptist Union of Great Britain]].]] [[File: Auto de Páscoa - IgrejaDaCidade (crop).jpg |280px|thumb|right| Show on the life of [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] at [[Igreja da Cidade]], affiliated to the [[Brazilian Baptist Convention]], in [[São José dos Campos]], [[Brazil]], 2017.]] [[File:Chumukedima Ao Baptist Church.jpg|280px|thumb|right| Chümoukedima Ao Baptist Church building in [[Chümoukedima]], affiliated with the [[Nagaland Baptist Church Council]] (India).]] The roots of the Baptist World Alliance can be traced back to the seventeenth century when Baptist leader [[Thomas Grantham (Baptist)|Thomas Grantham]] proposed the concept of a congregation of all Christians in the world that are "baptised according to the appointment of Christ."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Turning Points in Baptist History: A Festschrift in Honor of Harry Leon McBeth|last1 = Williams|first=Michael|last2= Shurden|first2=Walter|publisher= Mercer University Press |year=2008|isbn=978-0881461350|location=Macon, GA|page =223}}</ref> Similar proposals were put forward later such as the call of [[John Rippon]] in 1790 for a world meeting of Baptists "to consult the ecclesiastical good to the whole."<ref name=":0" /> It was, however, only in 1904 when such congregation became a reality. [[John Newton Prestridge]], editor of ''[[The Baptist Argus]]'', at [[Louisville, Kentucky]] called for a world gathering of Baptists. [[John Howard Shakespeare]], editor of ''[[The Baptist Times]] and Freeman'', London, endorsed the proposal.<ref>{{cite book |first=Townley F.|last=Lord|title=Baptist World Fellowship: A Short History Of The Baptist World Alliance|publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-548-44182-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Wardin|editor-first=Albert W. |title=Baptists Around the World: A Comprehensive Handbook| publisher=[[Holman Bible Publishers|Broadman & Holman]] | year=1995|isbn=0-8054-1076-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Leornard|first=Bill J.|title=Dictionary of Baptists in America|publisher= [[InterVarsity Press]]|year=1994|isbn=0-8308-1447-7}}</ref> In October 1904, the [[Baptist Union of Great Britain]] passed a resolution to invite a Congress to meet with them in 1905.<ref>Erich Geldbach, ''Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139</ref> At the Congress, a committee was formed, which proposed a ''Constitution for a World Alliance''. The Baptist World Alliance was founded in [[London]], during this first Baptist World Congress in July 1905. Every five years since, the BWA holds a '''Baptist World Congress''' in different locations around the world, and multiple international meeting and programs are held in the times between Congresses.<ref>{{cite book | first=Robert E. | last=Johnson | title=A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=UK | year=2010 | page=238}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=William H. | last=Brackney | title=Historical Dictionary of the Baptists | publisher=Scarecrow Press | location=US | year=2009 | page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first1=J. Gordon | last1=Melton | first2=Martin | last2=Baumann | title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices | publisher=ABC-CLIO | location=US | year=2010 | page=297}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Pierard|first=Richard V.|date=2010-10-01|title=The Baptist World Congress of 1905 and the Emergence of Black American Baptists on the International Scene|journal=Baptist Quarterly|volume=43|issue=8|pages=494–505|doi=10.1179/bqu.2010.43.8.004|s2cid=162270005|issn=0005-576X}}</ref> The gathering was referred to as an "alliance" and not a council in order to establish the nature of the dialogue as a meeting. This means that the body wields no authority over participating churches or national Baptist unions, serving only as a forum for collaboration.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches |url= https://archive.org/details/globalintroducti00john |url-access= limited |last= Johnson|first=Robert|publisher= Cambridge University Press |year=2010|isbn= 978-0-52187781-7|location= Cambridge |page =[https://archive.org/details/globalintroducti00john/page/238 238]}}</ref> In 2004, the messengers of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] voted to withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) over issues such as the alleged adoption of [[liberalism|liberal]] stances and perceived [[anti-American sentiment]], which were partly attributed to Alliance Secretary General Denton Lotz's visits to Fidel Castro in Cuba.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/sbc-severs-ties-with-bwa-as-theological-concerns-remain/|title=SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain |date=15 June 2004|website=Baptist Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/06/16/southern-baptists-vote-to-leave-world-alliance/861c0ce0-1f06-4b64-bc0e-f271a6d45764/ |title=Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance|website=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/juneweb-only/6-14-31.0.html|title=Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance|first=Compiled by Ted|last=Olsen|date=1 June 2004|website=ChristianityToday.com}}</ref> A year later, two state denominational members of the Southern Baptist Convention—the [[Baptist General Association of Virginia]] and the [[Baptist General Convention of Texas]]—affirmed their continued support and applied for membership in the Alliance, and were subsequently admitted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baptistnews.com/article/partofthefamilyvirginiaiselectednewbwamember/|title=Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member|first=Religious|last=Herald|date=8 August 2005|website=Baptist News Global}}</ref> In 2020, the [[Argentina|Argentine]] Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded [[South Africa]]n Pastor Paul Msiza as BWA President.<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/tomas-mackey-installed-as-next-bwa-president/# Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President], baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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