FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(LAGOS, NIGERIA – July 16, 2024) The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Council unanimously approved three resolutions during their final session of the 2024 Annual Gathering on Thursday, July 11, in Lagos, Nigeria. All member partners, commissions, and committees were given the opportunity to submit proposed resolutions to the resolutions committee, and the committee then reviewed and submitted final drafts to the General Council for consideration. The three final resolutions reviewed and approved by the Council address world hunger, religious nationalism, and peace in the Middle East.
WORLD HUNGER
Estimates show that approximately 700 million people in the world are affected by hunger, including more than 23 million Baptists. Developed from a draft submitted by the BWA Commission on Human Rights, Peacebuilding, and Reconciliation, the 2024 BWA Resolution on World Hunger acknowledges “global systemic issues like poverty, economic injustice, personal and corporate greed, climate change, war, and racial and gender inequality” are contributing to this worldwide issue and recognizes that “addressing structural and systemic changes is necessary to eliminate hunger and poverty disparities.” The resolution also reflects the BWA’s commitment to stand with indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities and urges “churches, unions, and other institutions to identify ways to lament, repent, reconcile, and transform individuals and structures, speak out against all forms of prejudice, and engage in theological reflection, dialogue, and advocacy concerning ending hunger and poverty throughout the globe.”
RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM
The 2024 BWA Resolution on Religious Nationalism “laments the rise of religious nationalism around the world in all forms of government from totalitarian systems to democracies.” Reflecting on Baptists’ longstanding commitment to religious freedom, the resolution affirms “our Baptist heritage of fighting for more than 400 years for a radical separation of the institutions of religion and government as the best way to protect the religious freedom of all people.” The resolution decries “the harm caused by all forms of religious nationalism that may include discrimination against and silencing of religious minorities and other marginalized communities, resulting in vandalism, harassment, violence, arrest, forced displacement, and death.” The resolution acknowledges that “Baptists and other Christians are not immune to this dangerous trend” and recognizes Christian nationalism as a “form of idolatry.” Baptists are urged to support “positive Christian engagement in the public square” in alignment with a Christ-like model of civic involvement “characterized by love and sacrifice for one’s neighbors.”
PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
As part of the Annual Gathering’s thematic focus on living as “Ambassadors of Peace,” the third resolution was drafted in response to the deadly Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has emerged in the ensuing months due to sustained violence and conflict. The 2024 BWA Resolution on Peace in the Middle East “condemns the attacking, kidnapping, and killing of civilians…as well as the destruction of civilian property and facilities and supplies indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.” The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful resolution of the conflict while recognizing “it must be a peace with justice…with a hope rooted in the equal opportunity for a flourishing freedom for both Palestinians and Israelis.” Lamenting the damage to Gaza Baptist Church, the resolution urges Baptists “to support the Baptist presence in Gaza and the preservation of Christian community and witness throughout the Middle East.”
The resolutions committee is led by Chair Brian Kaylor and Vice Chair Karl Henlin and includes the following committee members: Nabeeh Abbassi, Miyon Chung, Dawari George, David Goatley, Clinton Minnis, Isaac Mwase, Raúl Scialabba, Tim SolWoong Kim, Lee Spitzer, Bob Terry, Aaron Weaver, and Mateusz Wichary. BWA President Tomás Mackey and General Secretary Elijah Brown also serve as ex officio committee members.
You can view the resolutions in their entirety by clicking the images below or visit Baptistworld.org/resolutions to access our BWA Resolutions database.
