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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Baptists respond to severe flooding in Nigeria

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) has granted an initial sum of US$10,000 for flood relief in Nigeria after torrential rains killed more than 360 persons, injured more than 18,000, caused widespread property damage and displaced more than two million people. The worst...

Report of dialogue on church membership published

Baptist theologians in Australia participated in an interchurch dialogue that resulted in the publication of a report that draws attention to the challenges surrounding the notion of church membership. The authors represented theologians from Australian Baptist...

Baptists in US coordinate Hurricane Sandy response

Baptists in the United States are putting together a coordinated response to the disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy. The North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), through its Disaster Response Network (DRN), is pulling together information and resources to assist...

Baptists in Victoria Praised for Embracing Multiculturalism

Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam has praised Baptists in the Australian state of Victoria for "the admirable effort they are making to respond creatively to the demands raised by the multi-cultural context in which they exercise...

Caribbean suffers destruction in the wake of Sandy

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance® (BWA), has granted an initial sum of US$20,000 for relief to the Caribbean following the passage of Hurricane Sandy through the northern Caribbean and the United States. Jamaica, Cuba,...

Lebanese Baptists call for prayer, express anger at bomb attack

Baptists in Lebanon are appealing to the worldwide Baptist family to pray for the Middle Eastern country in the wake of a bomb blast on October 19. At least eight persons were killed, including Wissam al-Hassan, the country's head of intelligence and his assistant. An...

Baptists present report on Pakistan at UN meeting

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) will participate in a review of Pakistan's human rights record at an upcoming meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). The HRC's second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Pakistan takes place in Geneva, Switzerland,...

BICTE VIII Speakers & Presenters

Presenters / Respondents / Panelists / Regional Meeting Chairs / Greetings, Devotions, & Session Chairs Presenters Deji Isaac Ayegboyin (Nigeria) Dr. Deji Isaac Ayegboyin has been a Professor of Church History and African Christianity at the Department of...

Pedido a unirse en la lucha contra el hambre

La Alianza Bautista Mundial ® (BWA) tiene a octubre como el mes de énfasis de la lucha contra el hambre mundial. Durante el mismo sensibiliza a los Bautistas alrededor del mundo en cuanto a la magnitud del hambre en el mundo e los invita a unirse a la búsqueda de como...

Baptists encouraged to join fight against hunger

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) is observing October as World Hunger Emphasis Month, during which the BWA sensitizes Baptists around the world regarding the extent of global hunger and invites Baptists to join the quest to eradicate the scourge. Rothangliani...

Baptists to help Syrians displaced by civil war

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) is leading a response to assist Syrians displaced by the civil war in the Middle Eastern country. Baptists around the world are being encouraged to make donations to the BWA to alleviate what has developed into an urgent need. The BWA...

Europeans to relocate seminary

The European Baptist Federation (EBF) will relocate the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) from Prague, Czech Republic, to Amsterdam, Netherlands. The decision was made at a meeting of the EBF Council held in Elstal, Germany, from September 25-29. The...

Former BWA vice president from Croatia has died

Branko Lovrec, a vice president of the Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) from 2005 to 2010, died on September 28, in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. He was 79 years old. Lovrec served the BWA in a number of other capacities, including as a member of the General Council,...

Los bautistas de Siria apelan a la oración

Los Bautistas en Siria estan apelando a orar por la paz en este país del Medio Oriente que ve como se extiende la guerra civil, afectando severamente la vida de los ciudadanos del país, incluyendo las vidas de los propios Bautistas y de otros cristianos. Mouner Ajji,...

Groups visit BWA offices

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) hosted three groups at its international offices in the Washington, DC, suburb of Falls Church in September. Sixty two members of the 100-voice Brazilian Memorial Baptist Choir from the capital city of Brasilia came to the BWA offices...

BWA attends Vatican meeting

Timothy George, dean and professor of divinity, history and doctrine at Beeson Divinity School in the state of Alabama in the United States, is representing the Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) in Rome at the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the...

Baptists in Syria appeal for prayer

Baptists in Syria are appealing for prayer for peace in the Middle Eastern country as the civil war drags on, severely affecting the lives of the country's citizens, including the lives of Baptists and other Christians. Mouner Ajji, pastor of Aleppo Baptist Church,...

Thousands of indigenous Assamese displaced after violence

The indigenous Bodo people of the Northeast Indian state of Assam are appealing to the Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) for prayer and support in the wake of ethnic clashes in recent months. Violence broke out in Assam in July between Bodos, who are mostly Hindus or...

John Upton

John Upton is executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board (VBMB) in the United States. He was elected president of the Baptist World Alliance during the 20th Baptist World Congress held in Honolulu,...

Emmett Dunn

Emmett Dunn is director of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Youth Department.  He became director of the BWA Youth Department in 1994 and, as of 2006, helps to coordinate planning for the Baptist World Congress, conferences and meetings. Dunn was born in Monrovia,...

Iranian pastor released from prison

Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian pastor who faced a possible death sentence after he was arrested in October 2009, charged and convicted for apostasy and for attempting to evangelize Muslims, has been released. Nadarkhani was released in early September after being...

2012 Resoluciones

Resoluciones adoptadas por el Concilio General de la Alianza Mundial Bautista Santiago de Chile, 2 a 7 de Julio de 2012 La reunión anual del Concilio General de la Alianza Mundial Bautista tuvo lugar este año del 2 al 7 de julio en Santiago de Chile. El Concilio es el...

Prayers for Freedom & Justice

The BWA Division on Freedom & Justice urges Baptists around the world to pray for the following situations:   Aasia Bibi & Savan Masih – These two Pakistani Christians have been charged with blasphemy and are currently imprisoned. Bibi has been in prison since...

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