The Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines (AFBCP) is an organization guiding cooperative ministries of

Independent Baptist Independent Baptist churches (some also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse af ...

churches on the islands of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

History

The ''Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches'' shares a common early history with the

Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches ( Hiligaynon: ''Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon'') is a Baptist Christian denomination churches union, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Philippines. Headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo ...

. Both bodies are an outgrowth of the first mission work on the islands. The work began in 1900 with Eric Lund (a Swedish missionary working with the ''American Baptist Missionary Union'') and Braulio Manikin (a Filipino converted during Lund's work in Spain) on the island of Panay. Neither national organization actually existed at the time of the split. In 1927, Dr. Raphael C. Thomas was told to give up making evangelistic trips and concentrate his work solely to the hospital in Jaro. This Dr. Thomas refused to do, choosing rather to resign from his work with the ''American Baptist Foreign Mission Society'' and return to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In August of that year, a group met in

Watch Hill, Rhode Island Watch Hill is an affluent coastal neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 154 at the 2010 census. It sits at the most-southwestern point in all of Rhode Island. It came to prominence in t ...

at the invitation of Marguerite Doane (1868–1954; daughter of hymn writer William Doane). Out of this meeting came a new agency for sending and supporting missionaries - the ''Association of Baptists for Evangelism in the Orient'' (now Association of Baptists for World Evangelism). Dr. Thomas returned to the Philippines in 1928, settling in Manila. The first church established by ABEO and Thomas was the First Baptist Church of Manila.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

brought much devastation to Baptist missionary work in the Philippines, and much reorganization was required. The ''Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches'' was formed in 1948. A ''Philippine Association of Baptists for World Evangelism'' was organized in 1957 for the purpose of sending missionaries to

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. They now have about a dozen missionaries in southeast Asia. The ''Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches'' and the ''Association of Bible Believing Churches of the Philippines'' reconciled at a convention held in 1997. Together, they have over 2000 churches in the Philippines. Bethel Baptist Hospital is a non-profit institution affiliated with the Association. The Association participates in the ''International Partnership of Fundamental Baptist Ministries'', and is a member of the '' Far Eastern Council of Christian Churches'', and the International Council of Christian Churches. Rev. Arleen D. Fidel as of 2004, serves the body as chairman.

External links

The Game was worth the Candle
(provides early history of ABWE in the Philippines)

References

*''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness'', by H. Leon McBeth {{DEFAULTSORT:Association Of Fundamental Baptist Churches In The Philippines Baptist Christianity in the Philippines Christian organizations established in 1948 Baptist denominations in Asia Independent Baptist denominations Baptist denominations established in the 20th century 1948 establishments in the Philippines