The National Baptist Convention of Mexico ( es, Convención Nacional Bautista de México) is a

Baptist 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 compete ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

, 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 ...

, in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The headquarters is in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

History

The first evangelical church in Mexico was a

church organized on January 30, 1864 in

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

. James Hickey, a Baptist and a member of the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

, constituted this church with himself and four other members – Thomas Westrup, José Maria Uranga, Arcadio Uranga, and Mrs. Hickey. By 1869, Westrup and the Uranga brothers had organized six more churches. The

American Baptist Home Mission Society The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gos ...

and the

International Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

sent about fifty missionaries to Mexico before the beginning of the 20th century. In 1884, the Coahuila Baptist Association was organized in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

, and in 1885 the Nuevo León Baptist Association was organized in Monterrey. After the turn of the century, Alejandro Treviño, John Cheavens and James Chastain proposed the idea of organizing a national convention. Forty-three church messengers met at the Primera Iglesia Bautista (First Baptist Church) in

in September 1903. From this gathering came a provisional constitution for the National Convention, and the groundwork for missionary, theological and publications ministries. This began a transition of the work from leadership by foreign missionaries to leadership by national pastors. In 1904, the National Convention selected Alejandro Treviño to represent them at the first Baptist World Congress, from which was formed the

. The National Convention currently is engaged in missionary, theological, publication, and benevolent work, as well as carrying on work among the students in 3 large universities. It operates the

Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

in Mexico City and the Dr. G. H. Lacy Seminary in

Oaxaca, Oaxaca Oaxaca de Juárez (), also Oaxaca City or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding Municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro ...

, and owns six bookstores. ''La Luz Bautista'' (''The Baptist Light'') is the official periodical of the Convention. In 1993, the Convention was able to gain official recognition through registration with the Office of Religious Affairs. In 2011, it has 1,800 churches and 70,000 members. Baptist World Alliance,
Statistics
, bwanet.org, USA, retrieved September 29, 2018

References

Sources

*''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.

External links

Convención Nacional Bautista de México Home Page
{{authority control Baptist denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1903 Baptist denominations in North America Baptist Christianity in Mexico 1903 establishments in Mexico

History

See also

References

Sources

External links