From the beginning of our history Baptists have been a missionary people. We are grateful to God for the sacrifice and commitment of many missionaries. A new day is dawning in world evangelization. The former receiving churches are becoming sending churches. The task of world evangelization is now for every Baptist convention and union.
Thankful for the history of Baptist witness in South America and for those who have given leadership to the worldwide fellowship from this part of the world, we congratulate the churches, conventions, unions and assemblies on the foundation of the new regional fellowship, the Union Bautista Sud Americana.
We affirm our convictions expressed in the Resolution 1982.5 passed last year in Nairobi, Kenya. This resolution endorsed the statement made by the Baptist Union of Sweden of the same year and drew attention to the Moscow Declaration.
Baptist people numbering more than 34 million from all over the world have long stood for the right of all people to be free and independent and have worked to encourage governments everywhere to respect human rights. As Christians we believe that human rights are God-given and that violations of human rights are violations of the laws of God. We have expressed deep concern in previous years about human rights violations in all parts of the world, from blatant racial discrimination and restrictions on religious freedom to military and economic oppression.
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
a) recognizes with thanksgiving to God its experience of the reconciling love of Christ, expressed in the united fellowship of Baptist people from North, South, East and West;
b) reaffirms its belief that God in Christ is able to bring people truly together across national, political, economic, language and cultural barriers;
The General Council recognizes the complexities of the issues faced by our world today. It is concerned that these be addressed adequately by the Alliance. The Executive of the Council is therefore requested to review major matters to be processed by the Resolutions Committee at its next meeting and to seek out competent persons who will be asked to submit proposed resolutions to be reviewed and where necessary revised by the Resolutions Committee for recommendation to the General Council.
This Council expresses its deepest appreciation:
• to the government of Argentina for its gracious welcome and its readiness to grant visas to all participants;
• to the officers and churches of the Convenciòn Evangèlica Bautista Argentina for the careful preparations, warm welcome, generous hospitality and interpretation service;