North American Baptists (NAB) is an association of Baptists in the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, generally of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

ethnic heritage with roots in

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...

History

The roots of the NAB go back to 1839, when Konrad Anton Fleischmann began work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with German immigrants. Fleischmann was a Swiss separatist and held to believer's baptism and regenerate church membership. In 1843, the first German Baptist Church was organized in the city of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. This was the oldest church affiliated with the ''North American Baptist Conference''. German Baptist Churches were organized in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in the 1840s and early 1850s. The churches organized a conference in 1851 in Philadelphia, named the "Conference of Ministers and Helpers of German Churches of Baptized Christians, usually called Baptists." Another conference was formed in 1859 in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

. The first German Baptist church in

was established by August Rauschenbusch in

in 1851. The ''General Conference of German Baptist Churches in North America'' was formed in 1865 at

Wilmot, Ontario The Township of Wilmot is a rural township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada. History Archaic and Woodland periods The earliest concrete evidence of human activity within Wilmot dates to around 8,300 year ...

, and meets every three years for fellowship and to conduct business. The Conference has changed from originally being German-language churches to primarily using the English language. The Conference adopted its present title in 1944, removing the reference to its ethnic identity. In 1970 the form of organization of the North American Baptist Conference was restructured into 21 (now 20) smaller units called "Associations." The General Council, composed of representatives from the 20 associations and affiliated organizations, is the "governing" body of the Conference. The ''North American Baptist Conference'' has two schools - the

Sioux Falls Seminary Sioux Falls Seminary is a Private university, private Baptist seminary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is part of Kairos University. It is also affiliated to the North American Baptist Conference. History The seminary was founded in in Rochest ...

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

in the United States and Taylor Seminary in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

in Canada. The Conference's Headquarters are located in

Roseville, California Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Rout ...

. About 65 missionaries (partially or fully supported) serve in 7 foreign countries. Approximately 70% of the member churches are in the U.S. and 30% in Canada. The NABC had 64,565 members in 444 churches in the United States and Canada in 2002 (137 churches with 16,859 members in Canada and 307 churches with 47,706 members in the U.S.).

References

Sources

*''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''Dictionary of Baptists in America'', Bill J. Leonard, editor *''Handbook of Denominations'', by Frank Mead, Samuel Hill, and Craig Atwood *''Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States, 2000'', Glenmary Research Center *''The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness'', by H. Leon McBeth {{National Association of Evangelicals Religious organizations established in 1865 Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Baptist denominations in the United States

History

See also

References

External links

Sources