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 The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

of Hong Kong in 1973 as the Asian Baptist Federation (ABF). It adopted its current name in 2007 after a resolution was approved during the ABF Congress held in the city of Chiang Mai,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

from 2 May to 6 May 2007.Baptist World Alliance News
Asian Federation changes name, elects new leadership

History

One of the earliest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

missionaries to Asia was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Baptist named William Carey who was one of the founders of the ''Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen'' (today known as BMS World Mission) in 1792.BMS World Mission
BMS origins and early days
/ref> He started his work in the Dutch controlled

Serampore Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampore ...

north of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

, India in 1793, initially focussing on Bible translation, preaching, teaching, and the founding of schools. One of the major schools established by this mission is Serampore College, founded in 1818. Other pioneers include Joshua Marshman and William Ward who together with Carey became known as the Serampore Trio. Of the three, Ward was instrumental in converting American Congregationalist missionary,

Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...

, to Baptist beliefs and baptised both Judson and his wife, Ann Haseltine Judson, in Serampore. Judson later began Baptist missionary work in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

on 13 July 1813 upon his arrival in Rangoon. Today most countries in Asia have Baptist believers and churches.

Organization

The APBF represents almost 60 Baptist denominations (known as conventions or unions) from 20 different countries, encompassing almost 30,000 congregations with more than 5 million baptized believers. The single largest member of the APBF is the

Myanmar Baptist Convention The Myanmar Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches. The headquarters is in Yangon. History The Convention has its origins in an Americ ...

which claims more than 1.1 million baptized believers. The principal officers of the APBF are:

Ministries

* Mission & Evangelism : Chaired by Tim Hyunmo Lee of South Korea, the Mission & Evangelism committee organizes consultations and encourages partnership within member bodies. * APBF Communications : Chaired by Bijoy A. Sangma of India, ABPF Communications seeks to improve the network of Baptist within Asia by sharing news and information about the work of member bodies. It publishes the quarterly APBF Digest and manages the online presence of the APBF. * APB Aid (Relief & Development) : Chaired by Les Fussell of Australia, the Relief & Development committee mobilizes resources to support member bodies in responding to calamities and providing development aid. * Theological Education : Chaired by Miyun Chung of South Korea, the Theological Education committee provides the infrastructure for fellowship and partnership between the more than 50 Baptist theological colleges and seminaries in Asia. * Asia Baptist Peace Network : Chaired by Alan Marr of Australia, the Asia Baptist Peace Network seeks to be involved in

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abo ...

and training Baptists for peace making. * Co-opted Members in the APBF Executive Committee : Makoto Kato from Japan and John Kok from Malaysia. * Asian Baptist Youth Fellowship : Chaired by Vesekhoyi Tetseo of Japan, the Asia Pacific Baptist Youth Fellowship conducts training programme and conferences at sub-regional and region wide levels including a major youth conference once in four years. * Asian Baptist Women's Union : Chaired by Precey Caronangan of the Philippines, the Asian Baptist Women's Union conducts training programmes for women leaders and hosts a major regional level conference once in five years. * Baptist Women's Union of the South West Pacific : Chaired by Sue Peters of Australia, the Baptist Women's Union of the South West Pacific networks as a resource body for women's ministries across the South West Pacific, encourages and supports women leaders and hosts a major regional conference every five years. * Asian Baptist Men's Department : Led by a team of dedicated lay people, the Asian Baptist Men's Department seeks to reach out to Baptist men and involve them in ministry and also improve the quality of their faith so as to impact society.

Members

As of 1 February 2011, 57 conventions and unions are represented in the APBF:Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
APBF Member Bodies

References

{{reflist, 2

External links