We are pleased to share with you the entire set of Resolutions, Manifestos, Messages and Proclamations approved by delegates attending the Baptist World Alliance World Congresses from 1905 through 2015 (the 2020 Congress was postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic).
Additionally, we are offering the Resolutions and Manifestos approved by the BWA General Council, which meets yearly. The online collection includes the years 1976-2019. The BWA Executive Committee Resolutions are currently being compiled, and a limited number are already accessible. The collection will be expanded over time.
Each Resolution document is in PDF format and seeks to reproduce the original text as closely as possible. This means that language and punctuation may be archaic and not in accordance with contemporary standards of discourse. Spellings of words sometimes are in British English and have been preserved as they were originally published. I am solely responsible for any typographical errors in reproduction, and I would deeply appreciate it if you would share with me any that you may discover.
It is the BWA’s hope that this collection will be useful to scholars, historians, denominational leaders, and clergy. Each document now contains a unique identification number, topical keywords, and four types of citations for academic purposes.
The range of issues covered by the collection is comprehensive, and many of the Resolutions speak to contemporary concerns (such as racism, antisemitism, poverty and war) with multi-cultural wisdom, spiritual integrity, and intellectual depth. Readers seeking to learn how Baptists on a global scale and across time have addressed the human condition in all of its variations (moral, social, economic, political, etc.) will be rewarded as well as challenged.
In Baptist polity, Resolutions and other collective statements are not binding on Baptist individuals or churches. They intend to share wisdom and raise consciousness rather than to demand or coerce conformity or hinder the soul freedom and responsibility of people to follow God according to the dictates of their own Christ-led conscience. In the foreword to the 1955 Golden Jubilee World Congress Official Report (p. 6), BWA General Secretary Arnold T. Ohrn stated this principle well:
If you should need any further assistance in utilizing this online historical archive, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer,
BWA Historian (Click here to contact)
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El Salvador
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, July 4-12, 19922;
HAVING received a report from the Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Delegation to El Salvador in January, 1992, and also from our Baptist sisters and brothers in that troubled country;
Carribean
SURROUNDED by the beauty of this part of God’s creation and conscious of the lively heritage of its diverse peoples;
ECHOING the grave concern of the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship for the present economic and sociopolitical realities of the region;
Southern Africa
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, July 4-12, 1992;
MINDFUL of the meetings of the General Council and the 12th Baptist Youth World Conference set for Zimbabwe in August, 1993;
Appreciation
BWA General Council Resolution 1992.8 The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, July 4-12, 1992; EXPRESSES to the Jamaica Baptist Union sincere appreciation and genuine gratitude for the splendid preparation and warm...
The Evangelization of the Peoples of Africa
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
ACKNOWLEDGES with gratitude to Almighty God the movement of the Holy Spirit seen in the dramatic expansion of the churches in the continent of Africa, and in particular the growth of BWA member churches of approximately 50% over the past five years;
Anniversary of William Carey’s Arrival in India
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
GIVES THANKS TO GOD for the missionary vision of William Carey and rejoices in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of his arrival in India;
Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in. Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
GIVES THANKS TO GOD for the life and witness of Martin Luther King Jr. in this 125th anniversary year of his tragic and untimely death;
Poverty and the Nations
EXPRESSES concern the effects of drought and patterns of international trade and aid have exacerbated conditions of famine, poverty and disease amongst the many poor and disadvantaged peoples of the nations of the South, not least in the continent of Africa.
The Sanctity of Human Life
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
AFFIRMS that because all life is the gift of God and that every person is created in the image of God, human life is sacred;
The Continuing AIDS Crisis
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
NOTES with alarm that since its last resolution on AIDS in 1988 the number of those infected has reached epidemic proportions in many countries;
Bosnia
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
CONDEMNS the deliberate use within the former Republic of Yugoslavia of “ethnic cleansing” and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war and extends its heart-felt sympathy to the hundreds of thousands of victims;
South Africa (1993)
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe August 6-9, 1993,
SENDS greetings to our sisters and brothers in the Baptist and wider Christian community in South Africa;
APPLAUDS the decision to hold multi-racial elections with universal adult suffrage in 1994;
Appreciation
COMMENDS with appreciation the Baptist Heads of Denominations and its secretary, the Rev. Noah Pashapa, for the invaluable and gracious assistance given to the BWA staff in planning and organizing this first-ever BWA gathering in Southern Africa;
Rwanda and Burundi
COMMENDS with appreciation the Baptist Heads of Denominations and its secretary, the Rev. Noah Pashapa, for the invaluable and gracious assistance given to the BWA staff in planning and organizing this first-ever BWA gathering in Southern Africa;
1994 International Year of the Family
ACKNOWLEDGES the actions of Baptists in our own generation in championing religious freedom for all people, especially those who find themselves in a minority situation;
VIEWS WITH ALARM the denial of the right of religious liberty to minority groups such as evangelicals in Bulgaria, Albania, Iran, Ethiopia and the republics of Central Asia, Christians in China, Indonesia and East Timor; and to the Coptic Orthodox and other Christians in Egypt;
Witness in a Secular Europe
CELEBRATES the widespread presence of Baptists through the nations of Eurasia;
RECOGNIZES that member bodies, such as the Baptist Union of Sweden, in their commitment to partnership with other Christians, without compromising their distinctive Baptist identity, provide a model of the sharing of work and witness called for by the Seoul Covenant;
The Ministry of Reconciliation
REJOICES with the world community at recent political developments where negotiation has opened the way to peaceful resolution of long-term hostility or oppression, in particular:
• the September 1993 accords between the Israelis and Palestinians
• the birth of a non-racial and truly democratic society through the April 1994 elections in South Africa
• the peaceful transition to democracy in Malawi in 1994 where Baptists and other Christian leaders played a crucial and courageous role;
1995 Baptist World Congress: Celebrate Christ, the Hope of the World
BWA General Council Resolution 1994.6 The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Uppsala, Sweden from 18-24 July 1994: ENDORSES preparations being made for the 17th Baptist World Congress to be held 1-6 August 1995 in Buenos Aires, Argentina;...
Appreciation
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Uppsala, Sweden from 18-24 July 1994:
OFFERS sincere thanks to the Baptist Union of Sweden for the warmth of their welcome and the generosity of their hospitality;
Persecution of Christians
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Uppsala, Sweden from 18-24 July 1994:
OFFERS sincere thanks to the Baptist Union of Sweden for the warmth of their welcome and the generosity of their hospitality;
Church Burning in the U.S.A.
NOTES with profound concern the continuing incidents of church burning, numbering in excess of 40 within the past 18 months in the United States of America, involving congregations with African– American membership; and
Evangelism
REAFFIRMS the priority given by the Alliance to evangelism; and
APPRECIATES the leadership already demonstrated by President Nilson Fanini and eagerly anticipates his continuing efforts in this area; and
Hong Kong
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Hong Kong, July 3-9,1996:
NOTES the approaching return of the territory of Hong Kong to Chinese control effective July 1, 1997; and
RECOGNIZES that some perceive this event as potentially traumatic, while others are more optimistic about a new experiment in plural socio-economic systems co-existing within a single nation; and
Appreciation
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Hong Kong, July 3-9, 1996:
OFFERS sincere thanks to the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong for the warmth of their welcome and the generosity of their hospitality;
ACKNOWLEDGES the gracious welcome to Hong Kong given by President Cecil Chan; and
Human Rights
BWA General Council Resolution 1997.1 The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Vancouver, Canada, July 3-9, 1997: RECOGNIZES with gratitude that 1998 will mark the 59th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights which...
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