Resolutions | Baptist World Alliance

Resolutions

Compiled by Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, BWA Historian

Welcome to the Baptist World Alliance Historical Archive!

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:

Further, it should be understood that an Alliance Congress, when adopting pronouncements, can speak for itself alone. The resolutions naturally carry great moral authority, coming as they do from a Congress so representative of Baptists in the entire world. But no union or convention has ever authorized a Baptist World Congress to speak on its behalf. The people who voted for the resolutions, did so on their own behalf, not on behalf of their churches or conventions. But these statements would never have been proposed, much less adopted, if they were not considered indicative of the trends of opinion within the Baptist world.

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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Global Human Rights Directory

The Baptist World Alliance has produced a Global Human Rights Directory. It comprises more than 700 organizations and includes groups that operate globally, others that are regionally focused and some that do human and justice work in specific countries. The directory...

Buenas noticias desde París, Francia

En diciembre, después de casi dos semanas de negociaciones, representantes de 195 países acordaron medidas para contrarrestar las causas del cambio climático. El mundo respiró con alivio ante el gran salto dado hacia adelante cuando se expresó la preocupación por la...

Baptists and Methodists hold third dialogue session in Germany

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the World Methodist Council (WMC) will be engaged in the third session of the international theological dialogue between the two Christian World Communions. Both teams will meet at the Theological Seminary at Elstal, Germany, from...

BWA announces major evangelism award

Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam announced a new major award made possible by Kowloon International Baptist Church (KIBC) of Hong Kong. KIBC is known for its strong commitment to evangelism and is a longtime supporter of the BWA. The award...

Youth Leadership Webinars

YOUTH LEADERSHIP SERIES VI TOPIC: “Evangelismo A Traves del Deporte - Evangelism Through Sports” This Webinar will be given in Spanish, translated into English Who is this Webinar for? Youth pastors, youth leaders and anyone who works with youth and teenagers in their...

Youth Dialogue

“Reaching young people today” is a primary aim that BWA set for the Youth Department. The purpose of these Dialogues is to discuss the current state of Youth Ministry in the World and explore new avenues for future engagement. These series of conversations intended...

Ayuda de los bautistas a los refugiados en Europa

Los Bautistas están proporcionando asistencia a los refugiados que ingresan en Europa. Una suma inicial de US$ 15.000 fue enviada por la Alianza de Mundial Bautista (BWA) a través de su brazo de ayuda y desarrollo (Baptist World Aid) a los Bautistas Húngaros para...

Misioneros evacuados de Camerún después del bombardeo Boko Haram

"Desde enero de 2013 Boko Haram ha comenzado a secuestrar extranjeros para exigir dinero," dijo Christoph Haus, Secretario general EBMI. "Ellos han secuestrado como mínimo 20 extranjeros, algunos de ellos misioneros. Las actividades del grupo terrorista se han...

Lebanese and French Baptists react to attacks

Baptists in both Lebanon and France reacted to attacks by the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, in their countries that occurred a day apart from each other. On November 12, two bombings took place in Bourj el-Barajneh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city,...

Sierra Leone declared Ebola free

“It is with a great joy and praises to the Almighty God that Sierra Leone, on Saturday, 7 November, has been declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization (WHO) at a colorful ceremony at the Bintumani International Conference Centre in Aberdeen, Freetown.” It...

BWA Women’s director to retire

Patsy Davis, executive director of the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Department (BWA WD), is set to retire effective December 31, 2015, after working in that position for 17 years. “She has initiated many projects and the global Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer grew...

Baptist delegate at Catholic synod calls for pastoral compassion

Roy Medley, fraternal delegate of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) at the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family in Rome, urged the gathering “to emphasize the pastoral nature of the ministry which is entrusted to the whole church.” Medley, who is chair of the BWA...

Youth Regional Organizations and Leadership Training

Africa  |  Asia  |  Caribbean  |  Europe  |   Latino America  |  North America  | Contact Us  |  Donate Now All Africa Baptist Youth Fellowship    Website    REPORT ON THE AABYF’S CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE HELD AT BOWEN UNIVERSITY, IWO, NIGERIA (AUGUST 2-6, 2017)   ...

Baptists release freedom and justice book

Engaging the Jubilee: Freedom and Justice Papers of the Baptist World Alliance (2010-2015), is now available for purchase. The volume comprises papers by commission members of the Baptist World Alliance and guest presenters on issues of peace, human trafficking,...

BWA represented at Synod on the Family in Rome

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is one of several global Christian organizations represented at the second Synod of Bishops on the Family in Rome. The gathering, which began on October 4, is in continuity with a similar synod in October 2014 and includes Roman...

Baptists continue assistance to refugees in Europe and Middle East

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has distributed more than US$65,000 in emergency refugee support in Europe in the month of September. In addition to Germany, Hungary, Sweden and other European nations, Baptists in...

Missionaries evacuated from Cameroon after Boko Haram bombing

German-based Baptist mission agency, EBM International (EBMI), evacuated all its missionaries and volunteers from the Far North province in Cameroon following a series of bombing by Boko Haram. “Since January 2013 Boko Haram has started to kidnap foreigners in order...

Nepalese Christians protest changes to constitution

Baptists and other Christians in Nepal are protesting changes to the country’s constitution that limits religious freedom in the Hindu-majority country. Nepal's parliament overwhelmingly approved the new constitution on September 17 by a vote of 507 to 25. Some small...

Baptists aid refugees in Europe

Baptists are providing assistance to refugees who are streaming into Europe. An initial sum of US$15,000 was sent by the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) through its relief and development arm, Baptist World Aid, to Hungarian Baptists to aid refugees in that country. The...

Pastors protest dam construction in India

Baptist pastors in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur are protesting the construction of the Mapithel Dam. The dam, part of the Thoubal Multipurpose Project, will utilize water from the Yangwui Kong River to provide irrigation for 21,860 hectares (54,000 acres) of...

Callam calls on Baptists worldwide to unite

In a statement at the closing plenary session of the 21st Baptist World Congress in South Africa on July 26, Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam renewed a call for the unity of the worldwide Baptist family. In the address, Callam called...

Going through the door of opportunity

Each person has a unique door through which God is leading him or her, said Joel Gregory, professor at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary in the state of Texas in the United States. Gregory delivered the keynote address at the last plenary session of the 21st Baptist...

Brazilian called world Baptists to discipleship

Luiz Soares Silvado, former president of the Brazilian Baptist Convention and newly installed vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, encouraged a gathering of Baptists in South Africa to make a determined commitment to discipleship. Speaking during the 21st...

Love-based Christianity

Baptists from around the world were reminded of the power of love within the Christian community. Donald Ndichafah, vice president of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship and former general secretary of the Cameroon Baptist Convention, was speaking during the 21st...

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