About Baptist Churches

Baptist churches are churches which are part of the Evangelical Protestant denomination. Members of this church may also be referred to as being anabaptists, though some disagree with this description. Some have said that Baptists extend back to the time of Christ, and they are not related to protestants. Those who are Baptists will place an importance on receiving a full immersion baptism. This baptism will be given to those who are not infants once they have professes their faith in Christ as their savior. Baptist churches are headed by a congregational system that will allow individual churches to have a great deal of control. At the same time, there are a number of Baptist organization that churches will be connected to.

A number of statistics indicate that there are nearly 90 million Baptists around the world, making it one of the largest Christian denominations on the planet. Well over 40 million Baptists reside in the United States, while others live in places such as Nigeria, Brazil, or India. Only those who are baptized are included in the number of church members. When it comes to membership, there are not any restrictions on age, but an individual who wants to join the Baptist church must be old enough to make a profession of their faith. This would rule out many young children from becoming members. Baptists are one of the most rapidly growing denominations in the world. The only Christian denomination that has a fast rate of growth is the Pentecostals.

Most Baptists live in the United States, and the organization is split into four regions. These four regions are the Progressive National Baptist Convention, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, and the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. As a group, the Baptist churches do not have a center of authority. Because of this, the believe of one Baptist church may vary from those of another Baptist church. However, there are many believes that all Baptist churches have in common. Some of these beliefs are the autonomy of the church, as well as the liberty of the individual soul and the priesthood for all those who are members. Baptists also believe that a separation should exist between the state and the church.

One believe that is distinctive among Baptist churches is called the "Four Freedoms." These freedoms are the Church Freedom, Bible Freedom, Soul Freedom, and Religious Freedom. The Church Freedom deals with the ability of the church to operate without outside interference, while the Bible Freedom is used to refer to the concept of believers being able to interpret the Bible for themselves. The Soul Freedom deals with the concept of the soul making decisions without external coercion, and Religious Freedom deals with the ability of people to decide whether or not they would practice any religion, which includes the Baptist denomination. Like many Christian denominations, the Baptists consider the Bible to be the highest authority and a reflection of the truth that comes from God.