| Baptists Together (Baptist Union of Great Britain) | |
| Main Classification: | Evangelical Christianity |
| Theology: | Baptist |
| Fellowships: | Old Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Wales, New Connexion of General Baptists |
| Associations: | World Council of Churches, Baptist World Alliance, Conference of European Churches, European Baptist Federation, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Fellowship of British Baptists, Churches Together in England |
| Area: | England and Wales |
| Founded Date: | 1832 |
| Separations: | Grace Baptist Assembly, Association of Grace Baptist Churches, Seventh Day Baptists, Strict Baptists, Gospel Standard Baptists |
| Aid: | National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, BMS World Mission, Annuity Fund Baptist Aid Orphan Society |
| Congregations: | 1,897 |
| Members: | 99,475 |
| Headquarters: | Didcot |
| Tertiary: | 1 |
| Seminaries: | 4 |
| Missionary Organization: | BMS World Mission |
| Leader Name: | Steve Finamore |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name1: | None (position left deliberately vacant) |
| Leader Title1: | Vice-president |
Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot.
The Baptist Union was founded by 45 Particular Baptist churches in 1813 in London.[1] In 1832, it was reorganized to include the New Connection General Baptist Association (General Baptist churches) as a partner.[2] In 1891, the two associations merged to form a single organization.[3] General Baptists and Particular Baptists work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891.[4] The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908.
In 1922, Edith Gates became the first woman ordained pastor in the Convention.[5]
In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against, as the first female General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain to commence in September 2013. She was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included "I believe that our union is ready for generational change... It is time to cast off the institutional mindset that has served us well in the past, and embrace a new way of being for the 21st century."
Also in 2013, the union publicly re-branded itself as "Baptists Together" and introduced a new logo to reflect the change (although it is still known in an official capacity by its former name, the Baptist Union of Great Britain).
According to a census published by the denomination in 2023, it claimed 1,897 churches and 99,475 members.[6]
The Fellowship of British Baptists and BMS World Mission brings together in ministry the churches that are members of the Baptist Union of Scotland, Wales, the Irish Baptist Networks, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)[7] because of its work to promote young people's personal and social development.
The union maintains membership with Christian ecumenical organisations such as Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Conference of European Churches, and the World Council of Churches.
The Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (later the Baptist Missionary Society, and now BMS World Mission) was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller (1754 - 1815), John Sutcliff (1752 - 1814), and William Carey (1761 - 1834).[8] [9]
The union has a Baptist confession of faith.[10] It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance.[6]
The Union is a partner of 4 theological seminaries, namely South Wales Baptist College, Northern Baptist College, Bristol Baptist College and Spurgeon's College, and a university college, Regent's Park College.[11] In March 2024, the St Hild Centre for Baptist Ministry, previously an affiliated centre of Northern Baptist College, entered membership with the Baptist Union of Great Britain in its own right.[12]
The principal of the Union is the General Secretary. A number of paid staff provide leadership and practical support from the Union's headquarters in Baptist House, Didcot, in areas such as finance, ministerial accreditation, and legal support.
Since 2001, churches in membership with the Baptist Union of Great Britain have been organised into 13 Regional Associations:
Regional Association teams, led by a number of Regional Ministers and a senior Regional Ministry Team Leader (RMTL), oversee and facilitate ministry in local churches. This may include pastoral support for ministers, signposting regional events, organising regional conferences, and supporting churches without a minister.
At the Baptist Union Assembly in April 1971, Michael Taylor, then Principal at the Northern Baptist College, asserted, "I believe that God was active in Jesus, but it will not do to say quite categorically: Jesus is God." The statement bred controversy, and some charged him with denying the Deity of Christ.[13] [14] [15] [16] Nigel G. Wright, later Principal of Spurgeon's College, commenting on the affair, claimed the, "Spectre of theological downgrade had lingered within the denomination throughout the 20th century," alluding to the Downgrade Controversy of a century earlier.
In 2020, the Ministerial Recognition Committee received a letter from 70 members of the Union asking that the rules be changed to allow ministers in same-sex marriages to no longer be guilty of gross misconduct. The request was referred to the national Council, who discussed it in March 2022 and initiated a process of consultation whereby ministers and churches in membership with the Union were asked their thoughts on the proposed change.[17] During this time a group formed, initially known as 'Baptist Ministers for Orthodox Marriage' and later 'Evangelical Baptists', who campaigned against the change in rules.[18] The results of the consultation https://www.baptist.org.uk/Groups/415168/Consultation_Report.aspx were presented to Council, who decided against the change in March 2024 with a vote of 65% against: