Baptist Church Research Articles

Editorial for Special Issue “Reclaiming Voices: Women’s Contributions to Baptist History”

Women make up more than half of Baptist church members globally, yet many histories of Baptists have neglected women, focusing instead on men and the institutions they lead [...]

Effects of House Fellowships on the Spiritual Growth of Members: A Case Study of Parklands Baptist Church, Westlands, Nairobi County

Abstract Purpose: In Kenya, the lack of knowledge on the importance of house group fellowship on spiritual development and growth has become very prominent despite the increasing number of denominations in the country. Guided by the biblical learning from the book of Hosea 4:6 which expounds that, “People perish due to lack of knowledge’, individuals have been affected by spiritual ignorance leaving society in an unsafe spot where the devil can easily deceive and manipulate them. Despite this increasing growth of house fellowships, there is also a notable increase in cases of inconsistency, lack of commitment; fear, sin, individual relationships, busyness, and ignorance of the things of God that have continued to escalate from time to time. The purpose of this research work was to assess the effects of house group fellowship on the spiritual growth of members of Parkland Baptist Church Westlands-Nairobi County. Methods: The study was conducted among various house groups within the church. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research design. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and oral interviews with members and leaders of the various house groups as well as pastors. The interviews were guided by the research questions while secondary data was derived from online sources: Journals, books, and websites. The collected data was analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences. Results: The findings from the analyzed data were displayed using frequency distribution, percentage tables, and pie charts. The results established a positive relationship between good leadership, interpersonal relationships, communal worship, and spiritual development. Results indicated that there was a positive relationship between spiritual growth and common shared interest between the house fellowship members as well as the member’s culture. Implication: The study recommends that to boast spiritual growth, leaders in the house fellowship need to allow their members to express their views in a free environment. Further, house fellowship as well as church leadership should support and allow their members to use their talents, gifts, and skills to serve both in the church and house fellowship group’s gatherings. Also, the study recommends more emphasis to be given to the issues of culture and interpersonal growth as this will contribute to spiritual growth and development of the house fellowship church which will be a win for both the worshippers and the overall church at large.

Why did Southern Christians maintain their pro-slavery stance before and during the Civil War

The paper explores the reasons behind Southern Christians’ staunch pro-slavery stance before and during the American Civil War, focusing on the religious perspective rather than the more commonly studied economic aspects. The paper examines how Southern Baptists, in particular, justified slavery as a part of their religious beliefs and identity, viewing it as a divinely sanctioned institution integral to their way of life. The paper highlights the role of the Southern Baptist Church (SBC) and its significant influence on the pro-slavery ideology, emphasizing the theological arguments made by Southern pastors and theologians. These religious leaders believed that slavery was morally and religiously justified and that the North’s attempts to abolish it were an infringement on their religious freedom. The study utilizes both primary and secondary sources, including speeches and letters from Southern Baptist leaders, to illustrate how deeply entrenched these beliefs were in Southern Christian thought, ultimately arguing that this religious justification was a central factor in the South’s resistance to abolition.

Understanding Barriers to Access and Opportunities for Telemedicine in Underserved Urban Communities.

Introduction: Loss to follow-up and decreased access to timely care have health consequences that often lead to increased emergency service utilization for benign, treatable, and preventable conditions. As such, significant medical intervention is necessary. Specifically in the District of Columbia (DC), the health of Medicaid beneficiaries of Wards 7 and 8, overwhelmingly underserved communities, necessitates alternative means for more accessible, convenient, and consistent care, which can be achieved by integrating telemedicine services into current care modalities. Methods: Utilizing survey responses from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic, we identified a need for a community-based telemedicine service centered at the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, designing a threefold project to build knowledge, capacity, and to test feasibility. To build knowledge, we assessed demographics, telemedicine knowledge, current and past telemedicine use, health care utilization, access and improvement issues, telemedicine layperson utilization, and opinions and desire for telemedicine services. Results: A total of 223 responses were gathered from residents residing in Wards 7 and 8 as well as in the neighboring DC communities. An array of data results demonstrates that integrating telemedicine services into community care centers ultimately satisfies identifiable needs in DC's low-income communities for mental health resources, better coordination of care, more convenient and culturally attuned care, and greater health literacy. Discussion: Integrating telemedicine services into community care centers satisfies the need to decrease costs of care and improve the access and quality of care. Effective evaluation strategies and outcome measures that indicate benefits beyond cost savings could provide useful information on how to integrate sustainable telehealth systems in health care delivery models.

Inculturation of Luhya Birth and Naming Rituals in Christian Worship: A Study of The Baptist Church in Vihiga County, Kenya

African Christians are in a dilemma of whether to fully embrace western-prejudiced Christianity or to stick to their traditional forms of faith. Influenced by the fear of syncretic worship, the Baptist church in Vihiga County, which is out rightly committed to Western Christianity condemns and opposes Africans who embrace their traditional religious rituals and rites. Despite this, the Luhya community who profess the Christian faith secretly are adamant in practicing their birth and naming religious rituals in worship. The paper argues that inculturation of Luhya birth and naming rites and rituals in Christian worship in the Baptist church in Vihiga County, Kenya has a significant impact on the survival of Christian message among its membership. The faith that does not become culture is not a lived faith. The study was informed by animism and sociological theories. Descriptive research design was employed with qualitative approaches of analysis. The sample size of the study was 221 participants comprising 183 Lay Christian and 38 Key informants (16 Pastors and 22 Church Leaders). The findings revealed that many Baptist Christians are resistant to inculturate Luhya rites and rituals of birth and naming into their worship, instead they condemn them and those that perform such rituals. This resistance makes them live inauthentic Christian life within their cultural context. The study recommended the Church leadership, theologians, and scholars to advocate for values in Luhya birth and naming rites and rituals that are consistent with Christian worship

The Origins of Galashiels Baptist Church

ABSTRACT The total or almost complete absence of a church’s documentation from earlier years means much local Baptist heritage and activity is unknown unless it can be reconstructed from other sources. This research paper attempts such a reconstruction for one specific church. It seeks to identify elements of the genesis, early development and gradual evolution of a Baptist congregation which now meets for worship in a building in Victoria Street, Galashiels.

Elizabeth Impey: Baptist and Suffragette (1878–1972)

ABSTRACT Elizbeth Impey is known as an early organiser of the Women’s Social and Political Union in North Hertfordshire. She was also for a time a member of Tilehouse Street Baptist Church, Hitchin. This essay sets out her dual allegiances.

Baptists and the Bible in the Nineteenth Century

ABSTRACT This article explores how some Baptists interpreted the Bible in the nineteenth century, focusing particularly on Joseph Angus, Charles Spurgeon, Esther Copley and Marianne Farningham. In light of evidence from Stepney (later known as Regent's Park) College it challenges the suggestion that Baptist reactions to higher criticism were late and uniformly conservative. It also highlights that biblical interpretation in Baptist churches was shaped not only through those educated at the Colleges but also through the writings of women ‘influencers’ such as Copley and Farningham, whose work has been overlooked.

Benediction, Israel Baptist Church, and: Ice Cam, Little Caesars Arena, February 2023

Benediction, Israel Baptist Church, and: Ice Cam, Little Caesars Arena, February 2023

Intercultural Communication as a Veritable Tool for Church Growth and Management in Lagos Metropolis

The reality of pluralism or multiculturalism of the church is evident from generation to generation since the inception of the church. In Lagos metropolis, the existence of diverse cultural and religious belief systems make intercultural communication a necessary skill for church growth and management. In view of this, the study investigated the level of awareness of intercultural communication and its relevance for church growth and management in Lagos metropolis. The framework for this study is premised on communication accommodation and cultural fusion theories. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design method while questionnaire was used as the instrument to gather relevant data from two hundred and ten respondents (210) selected amongst leaders and members of Baptist churches in Lagos metropolis. Baptist is one of the dominant denominations in Lagos. The study discovered that there is a high level of awareness of intercultural communication skill among members and leaders of the selected churches, but there is the challenge of language and cultural superiority among the respondents. This is capable of hindering church growth and management. Therefore, the study recommends that language and cultural superiority should be prevented in the church. More so, the church leaders and members need to undergo constant training on intercultural communication skills. The church needs to create intercultural functional management and administrative structure for equity and oneness among people of diverse cultures in the church.

SPEED-E: A modified version of the sample preparation by Easy extraction and Digestion(-free) protocol for enamel-based sex estimation in archaeological remains

Accurate estimation of biological sex in archaeological human remains is critical when considering demographic, resource partitioning, and various sex-based cultural issues in historic societies. Recent developments in paleoproteomics of enamel have allowed for the estimation of biological sex through sex chromosome-linked amelogenins. This method is highly advantageous when traditional osteological sex estimation is precluded by incompleteness, poor preservation, or juvenile age. Here, we have developed Sample Preparation by Easy Extraction and Digestion-free for Enamel (SPEED-E), building on the Sample Preparation by Easy Extraction and Digestion (SPEED) method and direct stage tip clean-up used in paleoproteomic studies. The SPEED-E protocol is similar in extraction time to acid etching protocols, is overall much shorter than digestion-based protocols, and uses relatively less sample. This new method facilitates a rapid analysis of large sample batches where sample value is high and sample material is very limited. Using SPEED-E, we were able to estimate the sex of 85 of 89 deciduous and permanent teeth from the assemblage of archaeological human skeletal remains from the historic First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The indeterminate teeth had limited or no detected amelogenins because of overprinting larger proteins, likely from sampled dentin.

Denominational Loyalty on the Cooperative Programme of the Nigerian Baptist Convention Between (2013-2023)

The Baptist Cooperative Programme is a system in which churches, who cooperate with the Nigeria Baptist Convention (NBC), make contributions in the form of certain percentages of their tithes, offerings, and undesignated income to their associations, state conferences, and the national body. This paper explores the effects of denominational loyalty on the Cooperative Programme of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) and strategies to deepen this loyalty among church members. Social identity theory suggests that individuals define themselves based on their membership in social groups, leading to the formation of an identity that is partly derived from their group membership. The decline in the commitment of churches within this period of ten years is worrisome. The existing problem lies in the need to strengthen denominational loyalty to the Convention amidst changing societal dynamics and competing religious influences. Using secondary sources of data collection, including scholarly articles, books, and Convention reports, this study analyses the historical context and current practices of the Baptist Cooperative Programme. Preliminary findings suggest that the Cooperative Programme plays a crucial role in fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty among members, contributing to the overall growth and sustainability of the denomination. Also, while there is a strong desire for cooperation among Baptist Churches, challenges such as lack of loyalty, proper communication, and financial constraints hinder the commitment of the members. The study concludes that the Baptist Cooperative commitment has the potential to strengthen denominational loyalty among Baptist churches in Nigeria. Hence, by addressing these challenges and building on the potential successes of the Cooperative Programme, the Nigerian Baptist Convention can further enhance unity and cooperation among its member churches, ultimately strengthening the denomination as a whole.

К ВОПРОСАМ О ДУХОВНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЕ В СЕВЕРОКИТАЙСКОЙ ПРОВИНЦИИ МАНЧЖУРИИ В НАЧАЛЕ XX в.

The paper touches on the processes of formation of the Russian population on the border territory of North-East China in the exclusion zone of the Chinese Eastern Railway, and reveals aspects of spiritual culture. The main emphasis is on creating a religiously tolerant environment for settlers in Manchuria, which was a common policy for the entire population of the Far Eastern Region. Particular attention is paid to Baptists, which took an active position in the Far East. Research is based on a wide range of sources, archival funds, personal archives, newspaper articles, research and general scientific literature. Some aspects of the work of Protestant missionaries are reflected only in confessional sources (in the books of V.I. Franchuk, Y.F. Sablin, G.P. Vince). Historical-systemic, comparative chronological, statistical and other methods made it possible to examine part of the spiritual culture in the designated area. The article examines aspects of the spread of evangelical doctrine at the beginning of the 20th century. As a result of the active work of Baptist churches and missionaries, the Far Eastern Union of Baptists (FEBL) was formed, which extended its activities to the border areas. Foreign missions provided personnel and financial support to fellow believers, this contributed to the spread of the gospel message in the 10s of the 20th century, but by the end of the 20s and 30s the situation had changed, and cooperation with foreign organizations was unfavorable. According to the author, the activities of the Manchu Baptist communities were closely connected with the Russian Far East, on the territory of which the governing body of the DVSB was located (initially in Blagoveshchensk, and then in Khabarovsk). The adherents of Evangelical Christian Baptists were mostly Russian-speaking, but work was also carried out with the Chinese population. In turn, the Far Eastern Union of Baptists, through the territory of Northern China, had the opportunity to more quickly and without control receive various types of assistance from European and American churches: funds and spiritual literature for the development of missionary activities.

Abbott’s Creek, North Carolina, Baptist Church ed. by J. Kristian Pratt (review)

Abbott’s Creek, North Carolina, Baptist Church ed. by J. Kristian Pratt (review)

Representaciones de género en iglesias bautistas de la ciudad de Matanzas, Cuba

This article set out to analyze gender representations in members of the First Baptist Church and the Baptist Fraternity Church of the city of Matanzas. During the research process, from a qualitative perspective, observation, survey, content analysis of sermons, and semi-structured interviews with teologians and pastors were used as techniques. Despite being a religious médium sensitive to the perspective of inclusion and that denominationally responds to postulates of Liberation Theology, the predominant gender representations were attached to binary and cisheteropatriarchal.

Baptists from Romania and the Revolution of December 1989

The Revolution of December 1989 had a significant impact on, and played a special role in, Romanian society, both through the overthrow of totalitarianism and the events that followed. Starting with these aspects, this study aims to explore this event, highlighting the role played by Christians and the Baptist churches in particular. From the desire for freedom, including religious freedom, to concrete actions of protest, emotional support, or discourses expounding the role of God in these events, I observe a strong desire for change, followed by involvement in society on social, educational, or political levels.

How the Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian Recorded Developments in the Church in the County Between 1945 and 2000

This article will use the Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian, which was produced by a consortium of local history societies, to provide a case study of how the church in the county developed between 1945 and 2000. Because East Lothian is the only Scottish county to have a fourth statistical account, the study provides a unique opportunity to trace the development of the church within a Scottish local authority during the second half of the twentieth century. The article will use, as its main sources, essays on four established denominations and the sections on ‘Belief’ in each of the parish entries. It will detail how the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Methodist Church contracted between 1945 and 2000; show that, while the Roman Catholic Church was more stable, it began to suffer from a lack of vocations and the disinterest of younger members of the Catholic population, and that, while the Baptist Church increased its presence in the county and Pentecostal congregations and ‘house churches’ were formed, the Brethren and Church of Christ both declined and, as a consequence, these other churches remained on the margins of the church in East Lothian.

One British Archive: Seeing the Rev. John Clifford Archives and the Gender of Passive Resistance

AbstractThis article discusses the archives of Westbourne Park Baptist Church in London and its world-renowned pastor in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Dr. John Clifford. As leader of the National Passive Resistance League, the fiery Clifford came to be synonymous with the Nonconformist conscience at the height of its political influence in the early twentieth century. The article foregrounds the tension between what I call archival intimacy and archival precarity, while analyzing the power of seeing the diverse photographs in this collection as evidence of the gendered politics of passive resistance in the early twentieth century. Some— though not all—of the collection that I consulted at Westbourne Park Baptist Church in 2016 has now been transferred to the Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford.

Palma Farm: characteristics of a Latvian community in the hinterland of São Paulo

This text discusses the architecture and daily life of Palma Farm, established from 1923 by Latvian immigrants in the district of Varpa, Tupã (SP), emphasizing the importance of both work and life pattern based on mutual aid, rooted in primitive Christianity, and propagated by the Baptist Church, shaping the overall structure. The farm was distinct from the rural environment of São Paulo at that time, dominated by coffee farming and Catholicism. The buildings were communal and constructed, wholly or partially, from wood. After a period of decline, remains of the structures, documentation, and movable assets are been restored and opened for visitation as part of Tupã's tourist itinerary. Towards documenting and analyzing its architecture and way of life, this research involves photographic and metric surveys of the remaining buildings, interviews with individuals connected to the place, and analyses primary documents and related literature, with a focus on authors such as Milia Tupes, Osvaldo Ronis, and Henrique Manoel da Silva.

"We Have a Right to Live in This Country": Reverend Moses Broyles and the Struggle for Social Justice and Racial Equality in Nineteenth-Century Indiana

ABSTRACT: Rev. Moses Broyles (1826–1882) ranks as a leading figure in Indiana's African American religious, political, racial, educational, and legal history. Born a slave in Maryland, he was sold as a child to John Broyles of Paducah, Kentucky, from whom he purchased his freedom in 1854. Thence he moved to Lancaster, Indiana, where he enrolled at the Eleutherian Institute. In 1857, he relocated to Indianapolis and joined the Second Baptist Church. Recognizing his oratorical skills and spiritual leadership, its members soon called Broyles as their pastor. As a bi-vocational minister, Rev. Broyles also taught at a private school for African American children and helped integrate Indianapolis High School. He was a fierce opponent of slavery who demanded equal rights and privileges for African Americans as U.S. citizens. Later, he served as a statewide leader in the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant even as he challenged Indiana's anti-Black laws.