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 reorganizes its United Nations Work
The Baptist World Alliance has reorganized the way it fulfills its mission through the United Nations (UN). The organization has expanded its partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) to facilitate the coordination of its UN initiatives. BWA's and...
Baptists join others to discuss believers’ baptism
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) joined other Christian traditions at a Consultation on Believers' Baptism in Kingston, Jamaica, from January 8-10. The consultation was convened under the auspices of the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions for...
Nigerian Baptist leader castigates international community for ignoring terrorism in Nigeria
Samson Ayokunle, president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), has castigated the international community for ignoring terrorist violence and attacks in the West African country. NBC is the largest Baptist World Alliance (BWA) member organization in Africa with...
Media accreditation for international Baptist congress in South Africa
The Baptist World Alliance is in the process of accrediting media personnel and professionals for the 21st Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa, which will take place from July 22-26, 2015. Media accreditation application form can be downloaded here. The...
BWA Day worship resource available online
Worship resource for Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Day 2015 in English is now available on the BWA website. This can be downloaded at www.bwanet.org. Other languages will be subsequently available for download. The observance will be on February 7 and 8, 2015,...
BWA welcomes change in US-Cuba relationship
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has welcomed the announced changes in the relationship between the United States (US) and Cuba. Both US President Barrack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the easing of tensions and the establishment of diplomatic ties...
Baptists prepare Green Plan for South African congress
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has prepared a Green Plan to guide its environmental practices before and during the 21st Baptist World Congress to be held in Durban, South Africa, from July 22-26, 2015. In a July 2012 resolution passed by the BWA General Council in...
Baptist World Alliance honored as 2014 top-rated nonprofit
GreatNonprofits.org Award based on positive online reviews The Baptist World Alliance has been honored with a prestigious 2014 op-Rated Award by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations. The Top-Rated Nonprofit award was...
Early bird registration for Baptist congress ends November 30
The early bird discount for the 21st Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa, from July 22-26, 2015, ends on November 30. Standard registration fees will apply after that date. Registration is best done on the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) website at...
Nominations being received for 2015 international human rights award
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is now accepting nominations for the Congress Quinquennial Human Rights Award to be presented during the 21st Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa, in July 2015. This lifetime achievement award is given to an individual who...
Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award Nomination Form
2017 DENTON AND JANICE LOTZ HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDNOMINATION FORM Purpose of Award: This award is given for significant and effective activities to secure, protect, restore, or preserve human rights as they are stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or in...
Human Rights Day observed in December
Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Day will be observed on December 6 and 7, depending on whether Baptists worship on Saturday or Sunday. The observance coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the United Nations...
Human Rights Day 2014
About | Liturgy | Press Release| General Resources | Share With Us | Past Resources| Contact For more than twenty years, the Baptist World Alliance has encouraged Baptist congregations around the world to observe Human Rights Day. The date coincides with the...
General Secretary’s Statement on Congress 2015
The 21st Baptist World Congress will take place in Durban, South Africa, as planned from July 22-26, 2015. The meeting will be preceded by the Baptist Women's Leadership Conference in Johannesburg, July 18-21, 2015. This decision was arrived at after the Baptist World...
Churches lead reconciliation initiatives in South Sudan
Baptists have joined other Christian groups to end fighting in South Sudan. Edward Dima, president of the Baptist Convention of South Sudan told the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) that church and community leaders met several times in October with an aim to bring...
Speakers for international Baptist congress confirmed
The keynote speakers for the 21st Baptist World Congress to be held in Durban, South Africa, from July 22-26, 2015, have been confirmed. Speakers are Peter Chin from South Korea, Donald Ndichafah from Cameroon, Dimitrina Oprenova from Bulgaria, Anthony Carroll from...
Africans ask for prayer on October 12
The All Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has called on all Baptists to make the Ebola outbreak a matter of prayer during worship on Sunday, October 12. "All Africa Baptist Fellowship appreciates...
Baptists take strong stance against anti-Semitism
A Baptist group in the United States issued a resolution reaffirming the "historic American Baptist stand against anti-Semitism." The resolution, issued by American Baptist Churches USA's (ABC USA) International Ministries (IM), declares anti-Semitism to be "wholly...
Thousands of Baptists displaced in Ukraine, appeal for help
The All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (AUUAECB) reported that approximately 5,500 Baptists have been displaced in Eastern Ukraine as a result of the conflict in that country. A letter received by the Baptist World Alliance (BWA)...
October is hunger emphasis month
The Baptist World Alliance observes Hunger Emphasis Month in October. During this month, the international umbrella organization for Baptists sensitizes the Baptist community in particular and the broader international community of the immediate need of hunger faced...
BWA Day to be re-launched next year
Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Day is to be re-launched in 2015. The decision was made by the BWA General Council in its meeting in Izmir, Turkey, in July. The observance will be on February 7 and 8, 2015, depending on whether Baptists worship on Saturday or Sunday....
BWA supports appeal made by Christians in the Middle East
Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam endorsed the urgent appeal from the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon to evangelical and Protestant churches and organizations around the world. The appeal, which was signed...
BWA statement on Congress 2015
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is excited about the prospect of thousands from all over the world gathering in Durban, South Africa, in July 2015 for the 21st Baptist World Congress. At a meeting last week of the Congress Core Committee, we noted that more than...
Liberia reeling from Ebola
The Ebola epidemic in Liberia has led to the shutdown of many activities in the West African country. A state of emergency has been declared, the capital Monrovia is under curfew, schools are closed, only essential government services are being provided and private...
Ebola takes toll on Sierra Leone
The Ebola outbreak has disrupted economic and other activities in Sierra Leone, causing widespread dislocations. The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) sent a total of US$20,000 to provide food, educational materials for the prevention of the spread of the Ebola virus, as...
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