Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Christian denomination in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is affiliated with the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

and the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...

. The headquarters is in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, Florida. The current president of Converge is John K. Jenkins.

History

The Baptist General Conference grew out of the great revival of the 19th century, but its roots can be traced back to

Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose to remain within their Lut ...

in Sweden. In 1852 Gustaf Palmquist emigrated from Sweden to the

. Forty-seven days after his arrival, he and three others organized a Swedish Baptist church in Rock Island, Illinois. Fredrik (F.O.) Nilsson, who was instrumental in leading Palmquist to

views, arrived in America the next year with 21 immigrants. Some of these united with the Rock Island church, while others organized a church at Houston, Minnesota. Nilsson traveled widely, founding and strengthening churches.

Anders Wiberg Anders Wiberg (17 July 1816 – 5 November 1887) was a preacher, missionary, and leader of the early Swedish Baptist movement. Life Early life and influences Wiberg was born on 17 July 1816 in Vi in Hälsingtuna parish, Hälsingland, Swed ...

was another pioneer among these churches from 1852 until 1855, when he returned to Sweden as a missionary. It also had influence from and a partial connection with fellow Pietists and Radical Pietists of different denominational traditions within the

Mission Friends The Mission Friends (Swedish: ) was a Christian association in Sweden and among Swedish immigrants in the United States. History Background and Mission Friends in Sweden The Mission Friends had their origins in the spiritual reform movements ...

movement. Christian experience was a major emphasis among these Swedish Baptists, and they prospered from the awakenings in the 19th century. Immigration, aggressive evangelism and conversion through revivals brought rapid growth to the denomination. John Alexis Edgren founded the ''Swedish Baptist Seminary'' (now Bethel University) in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1871. In 1879, when the Swedish churches had grown to 65 in number, they formed a General Conference. The members of these churches assimilated into American society and gradually lost their separate ethnic identity. By 1940, most churches were English-speaking. In 1945, the Swedish Baptist General Conference dropped "Swedish" from its name and became the Baptist General Conference of America. Swedish Baptists had maintained an alliance with the American Baptist Publication Society, American Baptist home and foreign missions, etc., and later the

Northern Baptist Convention The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainli ...

. Some Swedish Baptists expected to merge with that body, but the groups moved toward different developments of theological emphasis. The conservative Swedish Baptists pulled back from growing liberalism of the Northern Baptists, and in 1944 formed their own Board of Foreign Missions. This moved them toward independent existence, which they have maintained to the present. From its beginning among Scandinavian immigrants, the BGC has grown to a nationwide association of autonomous churches with at least 17 ethnic groups and missions in 35 nations. The Baptist General Conference adopted the new movement name of Converge Worldwide in 2008, and was renamed to Converge in 2015.

Statistics

According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 1,346 churches and 324,163 members.

Beliefs

The Convention has a

confession of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The e ...

. It is a member of the

. Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023

Schools

Converge operates the Bethel Theological Seminary and Bethel University in

Arden Hills, Minnesota Arden Hills is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,552 at the 2010 census. Bethel University and Seminary is located in the city of Arden Hills. Also, the campus of University of Northwestern – St. Paul ...

near

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Notable Members

* John Piper - theologian, professor of biblical studies at Bethel University, and pastor at

Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis) Bethlehem Baptist Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge North Central and Converge. History In the early 1870s, J. L. Johnson became the first Swede baptized by ...

. *

Bob Merritt Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch. Early life and education Merritt's father was Calvin Merritt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Towns ...

- former senior pastor of

Eagle Brook Church Eagle Brook Church is a non denomination multi-site megachurch based in Centerville, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 20,923 people in 2023. The senior pastor is Jason Strand. History The church was founde ...

in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.

References

Sources

*Glenmary Research Center. ''Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States, 2000'' *McBeth, H. Leon. ''The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness'' *Olson, Adolf. ''A Centenary History as Related to the Baptist General Conference'' *Wardin, Albert W. Jr. ''Baptists Around the World''

External links

Converge
- official website {{National Association of Evangelicals Religious organizations established in 1879 Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Baptist denominations in the United States Radical Pietism Baptist denominations established in the 19th century Evangelical denominations in North America