Australian Baptist Ministries (formerly Baptist Union of Australia) is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. It is affiliated with the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

History

Baptist work in Australia began in

in 1831, forty-three years after the British penal colony was established. The first preacher was John McKaeg, who conducted the first Baptist service on Sunday 24 April in ''The Rose and Crown Inn'' on the corner of Castlereagh and

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Streets. The first baptism, of two female congregants, was conducted by McKaeg in

Woolloomooloo Bay Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, lo ...

on 12 August 1832. It was not until 1835 that the first church was established in

Hobart Town Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

by Henry Dowling, a strict

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

. John Saunders, who had been sent by the

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its life was known as th ...

of England to Sydney in 1834, raised the funding to erect a second church which was opened on 23 September 1836. The first state Union was formed in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1862. The national Baptist Union was founded in 1926 by representatives from existing state unions. In 2009 it was renamed Australian Baptist Ministries.

Statistics

According to a denomination census released in 2022, it claimed 1,031 churches and 88,756 members. Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022

Ministries

National

* Baptist Mission Australia * Baptist World Aid Australia * Crossover * Baptist Insurance Services * Baptist Financial Services * Baptist History Australia

State

* Baptist Churches Western Australia * Baptist Union of Victoria * Tasmanian Baptists * Baptist Churches SA * Queensland Baptists * Baptist Association NSW & ACT * Baptist Union of the Northern Territory

Affiliations

Australian Baptist Ministries is a member of the

Asia Pacific Baptist Federation The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF) is a regional organization of the Baptist World Alliance, a worldwide fellowship of churches that subscribe to Baptist distinctives. The APBF was formed in the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1973 as ...

(formerly Asian Baptist Federation) and the

. Ministry arms of ABM include

Baptist Mission Australia Baptist Mission Australia, formerly Global Interaction, the Australian Baptist Missionary Society, and originally the Australian Baptist Foreign Mission, is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists in Australia in 1864. The national offi ...

(formerly known as the Australian Baptist Missionary Society and then as Global Interaction), Australian Baptist World Aid, Baptist Care, and a number of Delegated Bodies which represent communities of practice, developing strategies and resources that benefit the Australian Baptist movement. These include: Crossover Australia, and Crossover Remote (formerly Northreach). The national work is divided among one territory and six state unions, which operate independently, with the national body functioning as a governance council to facilitate collaborative ministries and mission initiatives across the Baptist movement in Australia.

References

*''From Woolloomooloo to 'Eternity': A History of Australian Baptists'' by Ken R. Manley (Paternoster, 2006, 2 volumes, & ) *''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.

External links

Australian Baptist Ministries
- official Web Site

- a short history of Baptists in Australia
Baptist World Aid Australia
{{Baptist World Alliance Members Christian organizations established in 1926 Christian denominations in Australia Baptist denominations in Oceania Baptist denominations established in the 20th century 1926 establishments in Australia Baptist Christianity in Australia