The Old Baptist Union is a group of

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

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 c ...

churches in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The ''Old Baptist Union'' was founded in 1880, owing largely to the labours of Henry Augustus Squire, an itinerant preacher. Currently the ''Old Baptist Union'' has 16 member churches (in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

) with about 700 members. The churches of the ''Old Baptist Union'' are

General Baptist General Baptists are Baptists who hold the ''general'' or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, which distinguishes them from ...

, believing in general atonement (that in His death,

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

atoned generally ''for the sins of all''). They historically put more emphasis on the laying on of hands, divine healing and personal holiness than some other Baptist affiliations. The Union is a member of both the Free Churches Council and the

Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and socie ...

, and most of its churches are members of local geographic Associations of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Its government structure is somewhat of a combination between

Congregationalism Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articulat ...

and

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

, involving in each church the appointment of Elders. The ''Old Baptist Union's'' executive body is called the "Council of Management," and is composed of all the ordained officers of churches holding membership in the Union. An Annual General Meeting is held.

Sources

*Articles of Faith of the Old Baptist Union *Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. Baptist denominations in the United Kingdom Religious organizations established in 1880 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-org-stub