Baptist Churches

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liberty for all and advocate the complete separation of church and state. Worship is non-liturgical and follows the Protestant free-church tradition. Numerically, the largest Adventist body, both in the United States and throughout the world, is the Seventh-Day Adventists. Doctrinally, the Seventh-Day Adventists are evangelical conservatives. The overall adminis- trative body of the church is the executive committee of their general conference. The church has a disaster and famine relief organization known as Seventh-Day Adventist World Service (SAWS). Annually, millions of people throughout the world receive assistance from this group through its mobile aid units, community service centers, and world service organizations. BAPTIST CHURCHES.—Baptists constitute one of the major Protestant groups in the United States. Baptist churches were influenced by the teachings of John Calvin. Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church in America in 1639 in Providence, Rhode Island. Rhode Island was the first state in which complete tolerance in religious matters prevailed. Baptist churches are one of the most democratic religious bodies in America. Baptists have traditionally insisted upon freedom of thought and expression in their churches and upon the absolute autonomy of the local congregation. Baptist churches are normally grouped into local, state, and national bodies for the purpose of education and missions. Worship tends to be non-liturgical and is similar, in many aspects, to that of other “Protestant” free-church faith traditions. Two ordinances, the Lord’s Supper and Baptism of adult believers by immersion, are generally observed. They reject infant baptism as unscriptural. Baptists believe they have no founder but Christ and that Baptists have been preaching and practicing Christian principles from the days of John the Baptist. Northern and Southern Baptist churches in America split over issues stemming from the slavery question before the outbreak of the Civil War. While their basic beliefs are much the same, Southern Baptists generally hold to a more conservative and more Calvinistic theology than Northern (now called American) Baptists. In addition to the Southern Baptist Convention and American Baptist churches, other large Baptist bodies in the United States are the National Baptist Convention, Inc., the General Baptists, and the Conservative Baptist Association of America. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST).—The Christian church (Disciples of Christ) was established in the 19th century. Led by evangelists Barton Stone, Thomas and Alexander Campbell, and Walter Scott, the Disciples of Christ emphasized a simple faith in Christ as the Lord, the Bible as the Word of God, baptism by immersion, and weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper. Worship generally begins with the singing of a hymn and maybe followed by responsive readings, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, scripture readings, pastoral prayer, anthems, the sermon, an invitation to fellowship, gathering of tithes and offerings, communion service, benediction, and a final hymn or recessional. On occasion, the sermon may be omitted, but communion is seldom omitted and at times it may precede the sermon. 2-15

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