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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BWA receives three new members
Three organizations were received into the membership of the Baptist World Alliance at its meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 2-7, bringing two new countries into the BWA fold. The Baptist Evangelical Church of Chad became the first BWA member organization in...
Refugee medical doctor receives human rights award
Cynthia Maung, a medical doctor who has spent nearly 30 years treating refugees who fled “oppression and repression in Myanmar,” was presented with the 2017 Baptist World Alliance Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award during the global organization’s Annual...
Elijah Brown nominated for general secretary
American Elijah Brown, originally from the state of Texas, is being nominated to be the next general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Neville Callam, a Jamaican, retires from that position in December after more than 10 years of service. Brown was formally...
Baptists gather in Thailand
Approximately 300 Baptist leaders, pastors, theologians, seminary presidents, professors and interested Baptists from almost 50 countries are traveling to Bangkok, Thailand, for worship, fellowship, study and decision meetings. The Annual Gathering of the Baptist...
Baptist Youth World Day of Prayer (2017)
Baptist Youth World Day of Prayer is observed on Sunday, June 11. Planned by the Baptist World Alliance Youth Department, young people around the world are encouraged to plan services that reflect upon the importance of prayer and to intercede on behalf of others. It...
Callam Book to Be Launched
Judson Press, the publishing arm of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, will publish the latest book by Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam. From Fragmentation to Wholeness: Race, Ethnicity, and Communion, is being launched in July in...
Seminar on crisis management at Baptist global gathering in Thailand
A crisis management and communication training seminar will be held during the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering, which will be in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 2-7. It will be open to all those attending the Gathering. Crises faced by churches may stem...
BWA has deep “ecclesial density”
Baptists groups utilize a variety of names to describe their groupings. They self-identify as unions, conventions, conferences, assemblies, associations, fellowships and councils. Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam says these names “reflect...
BWA supports creation of faculty chair in Netherlands
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has endorsed the decision of the Baptist Union of the Netherlands (BUN) to create the McClendon Chair at the Free University in Amsterdam. The BWA Executive Committee meeting in early March also agreed to co-sponsor the...
Anthony R. Cross to address special forum on baptism in Bangkok
Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Callam has announced that internationally recognized Baptist scholar, Anthony R. Cross, will be the presenter at a special forum on baptism that will be included in the program of the upcoming BWA Annual Gathering. The...
Refugee doctor to receive human rights award
Cynthia Maung, a medical doctor who has devoted nearly 30 years to providing healthcare to refugees from Myanmar living on the Thai-Myanmar border, will be the 2017 recipient of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. The award is...
A Baptist World Alliance statement on refugees
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) reaffirms its biblical stance concerning refugees, vulnerable people who are oftentimes victimized for their faith. In a resolution approved by its General Council in Vancouver, Canada, in July 2016, the BWA calls upon its "member...
World Baptists and Methodists dialogue in Jamaica
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the World Methodist Council (WMC) will engage in the fourth session of the international theological dialogue between the two Christian World Communions in Runaway Bay on Jamaica’s north coast, from February 1-8. The 2017 theme is,...
Callam to be honored
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) will host two events and establish a special fund to honor General Secretary Neville Callam for his decade long service. Callam announced his intention to retire from the position come December 31, 2017. A Jamaican, he is the first...
Interim Baptist women’s director appointed
Moreen Sharp, a Canadian and president of the North American Baptist Women's Union (NABWU) and a vice president of the Baptist World Alliance Women's Department (BWAWD), has been appointed interim executive director of the BWAWD. Sharp currently volunteers part-time...
Nominations for human rights award extended
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has extended the deadline for nominations for the 2017 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. Nominations will close on January 20, 2017. Any Baptist individual, church or organization can submit a nomination, and any Baptist is...
BWA podcast focuses on the lonely
The third in a series of podcasts by the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) encourages churches to be aware of and sensitive to the needs of those for whom Christmas can be particularly lonely and difficult. It is recognized that Christmas can be the “loneliest time of the...
Worldwide Baptist family challenged to give
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has issued a challenge to the global Baptist community to match a gift of US$50,000 from an anonymous donor. The challenge ends December 31. Baptists from around the world are urged to make their own individual, personal contributions....
Baptists observe Human Rights Day in December
The Baptist World Alliance and its constituents will observe Human Rights Day on December 10 for Baptists who worship on Saturday, or December 11 for those worshiping on Sunday. Human Rights Day is a commemoration of the day on which the United Nations General...
Callam gives notice of retirement from BWA
Neville Callam has given notice of his intention to retire as general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) on December 31, 2017. As per policy, the general secretary, the chief executive of the international umbrella organization for Baptists, should give a...
Human Rights Day 2017
About | Worship Resources | Resources | Past Resources | United Nations | Contact | Give STAND UP FOR SOMEONE'S RIGHTS TODAY! For more than twenty years, the Baptist World Alliance has encouraged Baptist congregations around...
Mission, Evangelism and Justice (MEJ)
The Division on Mission, Evangelism and Justice (MEJ) comes from a merger of two divisions: the Division on Mission, Evangelism and Theological Reflection (METR); and the Division on Freedom and Justice (F&J). Click here for press release. NEW | Podcast |...
Prayer for South Africa
Baptists around the world are encouraged to join the call of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa (BUSA) to engage in a “special united prayer on Sunday 30 October” for South Africa. BUSA made the call to its own membership at the conclusion of its 2016 Assembly in...
BWA launches podcast
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) launched its first podcast. Titled, “Gifts from Global Baptists: Stories Engaging Churches in Conversation,” the podcast, a creation coming from the new Division on Mission, Evangelism and Justice (MEJ), focuses on the work and...
Haiti needs urgent help
Everton Jackson, Baptist World Alliance regional secretary for the Caribbean, indicated that Haiti needs urgent help after it was slammed by Hurricane Matthew, a category 4 storm that hit the nation with wind speed of 145 miles, or more than 230 kilometers, per hour....
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