The Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) is a conservative
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...
. It is headquartered in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
.
History
The Fellowship was founded during a meeting at
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
in 1950 by a group of 100 pastors of the
World Baptist Fellowship
The World Baptist Fellowship (WBF) is a separatist fundamentalist Independent Baptist organization. The organization was founded by J. Frank Norris (1877–1952) of Texas, a southern fundamentalist leader in the first half of the 20th century. It ...
who disagreed with the authoritative direction of the leader. That same year, the
Baptist Bible College (now Mission University) and the organization's headquarters were established in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
. It has established various
fundamentalists
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
Baptist Bible churches around the world. In 2000, it had 4,500 churches and 1,200,000 members. According to a denomination census released in 2020, it has 4,000 churches in the United States and has a presence in 80 countries.
Programs
There are three functions of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. Worldwide missions, training, and communication.
The ''Baptist Bible Tribune'', published monthly, contains numerous opinion pieces, reports from the foreign mission field, reports from domestic churches, and light theological treatises. It is written by BBFI officers, pastors, and missionaries and is the official voice of the BBFI. Since 2015, the editor is Randy Harp who was preceded by Keith Bassham.
The organizational structure includes the president, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, and one director from each state elected by his own state fellowship. Within this organization, there are state fellowships in each of the fifty United States.
Beliefs
The Fellowship has a
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
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) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds: ...
. Their beliefs are part of the
fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
movement.
[Robert E. Johnson, ''A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 357]
See also
*
Christianity in the United States
Christianity is the predominant religion in the United States though sources disagree on the numbers. A Gallup survey from 2023 indicates that, of the entire U.S. population (332 million), about 67% is Christian (224 million). The categories ...
References
External links
Baptist Bible Fellowship International Web SiteBaptist Bible Fellowship Missions Web SiteBaptist Bible TribuneProfile of BBFI on the Association of Religion Data Archives website
{{Philippines in topic, Religions in
Christian organizations established in 1950
Independent Baptist denominations
Baptist denominations established in the 20th century
1950 establishments in Texas
Conservative organizations in the United States
International Baptist denominations
Christian denominations founded in the United States