FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – July 10, 2025) The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and Baylor University in Texas, USA, are embarking on a groundbreaking new initiative to equip emerging generations of Baptist leaders with education in global Baptist history, life, and mission.
On Thursday, July 10, at the 23rd Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, BWA General Secretary and CEO Elijah Brown and Baylor University President Linda Livingstone announced the establishment of a first-in-the-world BWA Program and Center.
For the past year, the BWA and Baylor have worked together, especially with the help of BWA Historian Lee Spitzer and Truett Seminary Dean Todd Still, to develop the BWA Center which will offer clergy and lay leaders training on global Baptist history, polity, beliefs, leadership, evangelism, and integral mission. Housed in Truett Seminary, the Center will offer academic and scholarly education, research, support, and practical engagement to educate and support leaders in the global Baptist movement.
“Ninety percent of all pastors around the world have no formal theological training. In countries like Tanzania, there are 2.6 million baptized believers who have no Baptist university or seminary. If we are going to empower a next generation of leaders to impact the world for Christ, one of the keys is going to be universities and seminaries,” said Brown.
As part of its work, the Center will develop a graduate-level online BWA Global Leadership Certificate including courses such as History, Life, and Vision of the BWA; The BWA, Baptist Polity, and Mission – Global Baptist Family Perspectives; The BWA, Baptist Spirituality, and Theology – Global Baptist Family Perspectives; The BWA and Flourishing Freedom – Global Baptist Family Perspectives on Religious Freedom, Human Rights, and Wise Engagement; and Network Leading in a Globalized World – Global Perspectives and Best Practices.
To launch the BWA Program, the BWA received initial gifts totaling 4.5 million USD, including investment by Baylor University, the Truett Dean’s Excellence Fund, and a generous lead donation from Susan and Lee Bush to establish the Lampsato Endowed Chair of Baptist World Missional Engagement, the first endowed chair in the world focused on studying the BWA as a global movement and seeking to empower the BWA family with additional training and preparation.
Beginning in September, Rachael Tan, BWA Vice President for 2020-2025 and Chair of Theological Education for the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, will serve as the first visiting scholar. Baylor is also launching a PhD cohort at the BWA Headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, this fall.
“The BWA Program is a natural extension of a common global vision, and it aligns with Baylor’s expanded motto, Pro Ecclesia (For the Church), For Texana (For Texas), Pro Mundo (For the World),” said Livingstone. “We look forward to this program at Truett Seminary and to having the ability with the Baptist World Alliance to impact the world for Christ in even more significant ways in the future.”
Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world with more than 20,000 students from 100 countries. The BWA Center deepens the collaborative relationship between the BWA and the institution. In July 2024, Baylor became a Member Partner of the BWA and partnered with the BWA to offer 69 students from 19 countries a certificate of training and three continuing education units at the inaugural BWA Humanitarian Action and Development training course at the 2024 Annual Gathering in Nigeria. In addition, Baylor University Press recently published Good News for the World: BWA Resolutions and Statements, a compendium of more than 400 BWA Resolutions edited by BWA Historian, Lee Spitzer.
“I’m deeply honored to be celebrating this historic and transformative moment,” said Brown. “If we’re going to have a strong Baptist World Alliance family 25 years from now, it’s because we take actions today to build structures that support the leaders of tomorrow.”
