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)
For ease of reference, click one of the buttons below to see resolutions in that category.
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Statement of Appreciation
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering, meeting in Accra, Ghana, July 2-7, 2007:
Offers sincere thanks to the Ghana Baptist Convention for its invitation to hold the Annual Gathering in the city of Accra;
Expresses sincere gratitude to Kojo Amo, General Secretary of the Ghana Baptist Convention; Steve Asante, President of the Ghana Baptist Convention; Samuel Otu-Pimpong, Chairman of the Local Arrangements Committee; and to other Ghanaian Baptists who worked diligently to make careful arrangements and extend kind hospitality to Baptist representatives from around the world;
Appreciation
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, July 20- 25, 2008;
Offers sincere thanks to the Baptist Union of Czech Republic for the invitation to hold this Annual Gathering in Prague;
Baptist Youth Conference
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, July 20- 25, 2008;
Commends the Youth Department and other entities of the Baptist World Alliance for their roles in envisioning, organizing, and promoting the “Dive Deeper” Baptist Youth World Conference in Leipzig, Germany, July 30-August 3;
2010 BWA World Congress Message
The Baptist World Alliance is a global movement of Baptists sharing a common confession of faith in Jesus Christ bonded together by God’s love to support, encourage and strengthen one another while proclaiming and living the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit before a lost and hurting world.
2005 BWA World Congress Message
TO BAPTIST BELIEVERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD with love and joy from those assembled together in Birmingham, UK, at the Centenary Congress of the BWA
Together those Assembled—
Resolution on Freedom of Religion in the Lugansk Region in Eastern Ukraine
The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, July 2-6, 2018:
EXPRESSES concern that that the situation for religious communities is precarious in the eastern part of Ukraine – the Lugansk region. The region is part of a conflict area now widely understood to be under the control of Russia, which has recognized the area as “The Lugansk Peoples Republic (LPR).”
Appreciation
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Ede, the Netherlands, July 27- August 1, 2009;
Offers sincere thanks to the Union of Baptist Churches in the Netherlands for the invitation to hold this Annual Gathering in Ede on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the first Baptist congregation, formed in Amsterdam in 1609;
Resolution on Human Slavery and Trafficking
The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, July 5-7, 2017:
ACKNOWLEDGES that General Council has regularly reminded the global family of Baptists about the evil practice of modern slavery;
Resolution on Preserving the Primacy of Family in Immigration
The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, July 2-6, 2018:
RECOGNIZES that the human desire to preserve and protect one’s family from violence, disease, economic depravity, and other threatening conditions is universal and drives millions of people to leave their homelands seeking better lives for themselves and their family members;
Baptist-Muslim Relations
Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the friendly and constructive spirit in which A Common Word, signed by 138 Muslim scholars and leaders, has been written;
Resolution on Current Manifestations of Religious Intolerance and Religiously-Motivated Violence
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Council, meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, July 7-12, 2019: EXPRESSES its deep concern over recent instances of religious intolerance and religiously- motivated violence around the world since its last meeting in 2018
Humanitarian Crisis of the Mass Migration of Unaccompanied Minors in the Americas
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance {BWA), meeting in Izmir, Turkey, July 9-11, 2014:
ACKNOWLEDGES the human tragedy of the recent flood of unaccompanied minors to the United States who risk their lives in search of safety, economic resources and justice;
Climate Change
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Ede, the Netherlands, July 27-August 1, 2009;
Affirms the biblical teaching of respect for the Earth and everything in it, and the moral imperative to love one’s neighbors as oneself including those of future generations;
Recognizing and Affirming the Calling of Women in the Church
CELEBRATES the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education that met in Nassau, Bahamas, July 5-7, 2019, with the theme of “TOGETHER: Re-Imagining, Re-Reading HERstory in the Church,” with significant discussions of women in the church;
Resolution on the Paris Agreement and Climate Change
The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Vancouver, Canada, July 6-8, 2016: CONTINUES TO BELIEVE AND AFFIRM:
• God is the creator, sustainer, and Lord of all, delights in creation, and is committed to its care and renewal;
• The biblical teaching that the earth is God’s creation and we, also as God’s creation, are to nurture and care for it;
Resolution on Haiti
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, July 1-6, 2013:
ACKNOWLEDGES that the Republic of Haiti was the first, and for a long time, the only state in the world to recognize equality of rights for all human beings regardless of gender, economic condition or any other consideration;
Decade of Racial Justice
The Baptist World Alliance Congress meeting in Melbourne, January 5-9, 2000
AFFIRMS that all human beings are created in the image of God and are called to full participation in the
human community;
Faith and Hope in the New Millennium
The Baptist World Alliance Congress meeting in Melbourne, January 5-9, 2000
AFFIRMS the message of the Congress theme, “Jesus Christ Forever. Yes!”; the center of all our life as
Baptists in Jesus Christ who is the eternal Son of God, Lord and Savior; we affirm the new century in the
strong hope of Christ and his future for all humanity;
Tribute to Dr. Billy Graham
BWA World Congress Resolution 1995.6 The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Buenos Aires,Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995, with the theme Come Celebrate Christ: The Hope of the World,GREETS Dr. Billy Graham in the name of...
Appreciation
BWA World Congress Resolution 1995.5 The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995, with the theme Come Celebrate Christ: The Hope of the World, THANKS President Carlos Menem of the...
Aid
The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995,
GIVES THANKS to God for all those who have worked in partnership with Baptist World Aid in 75 years of caring;
Justice
BWA World Congress Resolution 1995.3 The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995, ACKNOWLEDGES that 1995 marks several significant 50th anniversaries including, the funding of...
Evangelism
BWA World Congress Resolution 1995.2 The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995, REAFFIRMS the priority given by the Alliance to evangelism in the past quinquennium, noting the...
Fellowship
The General Council and 17th World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 31-August 6, 1995,
ACKNOWLEDGES that the call to mission demands the local congregations, regional associations and national unions/conventions work together to fulfill their missionary obligation;
Resolution of Appreciation for officers and staff of the Baptist World Alliance
Advance, opportunity and achievement have characterized the past quinquennium of the Baptist World Alliance, 1985-1990. It has been a time in which the family of the Alliance has been blessed by gracious and capable leadership even as it has experienced times of sorrow.
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