The Take-Away - Baptists

John Smyth

Today's lesson from Christianity's Family Tree was about Baptists.  We were enlightened to the history and development of the Baptist denominations.

Baptists began as radical reformers with a disagreement over baptism.  These reformers rejected infant baptism and believed that individuals cannot be baptized until they can make their own personal decision to do so.  In fact, in 1609 John Smyth (often thought to be the founder of the denomination) re-baptized all adults who had been baptized as infants. 

Baptists also rejected elements of worship such as liturgy and altar tables, feeling they were "too Catholic."

Today there are 40-45 million Baptists in the world, with 33 million of those Baptists living in the United States.  There are many different branches of the denomination - American Baptist, Southern Baptist, Northern Baptist, and Independent Baptist, for example.  There is a large amount of autonomy given to each Baptist church; in fact, perhaps due to their nonconformist background, there is no governing board.  Instead, they can associate with like-minded churches into "conventions" (Southern Baptist Convention, for example).

Baptists believe that God chose every word in the Bible to be a timeless commandment, so this would be why they believe that women should not be pastors or leaders in the church.


Central Beliefs
1. The inspiration and infallibility of Scripture
2. Emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ
3. Salvation through faith alone not by works


What Baptists Can Teach Us
1. Bible Study - With time, Bible reading begins to shape who we are.
2. Missions - Sharing faith with others is important.
3. Simple Salvation Message - There is a great value in claiming the faith for yourself. For example, many people may have grown up in a Christian home or feel that they can achieve Christianity through osmosis. Taking time to accept the path to follow Jesus on your own is important and valuable.


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Hamilton, Adam.  Christianity's Family Tree.   Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007.