BELIEFS & COMMUNITY
Southern Baptist churches: beliefs, worship and membership
Religious Values guide · Updated
Southern Baptist churches cooperate through the Southern Baptist Convention while remaining locally governed congregations. Their common doctrinal reference is the Baptist Faith and Message. It emphasizes the authority of the Bible, salvation through Christ, believer's baptism and sharing the gospel, but local churches make many of their own decisions.
This profile concerns Southern Baptists, not all Baptist churches. A convention statement and a congregation's own membership requirements are related but distinct.
Baptism, salvation and the Lord's Supper
The Baptist Faith and Message teaches salvation through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism follows a profession of faith and is performed by immersion. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are called ordinances: acts of obedience that express the gospel. The Supper remembers Christ's death and anticipates his return. A congregation can explain how it connects baptism with church membership and who may receive Communion.[1]
What local autonomy means
The convention does not appoint every pastor or govern every congregation's daily affairs. Churches cooperate for work such as missions and theological education while retaining local responsibility. Consequently, service style, decision-making procedures and the process for joining can differ. Read the local statement of faith and constitution as well as the convention's doctrinal statement when deciding whether a church's expectations are clear.[1]
History that should be acknowledged
The SBC formed in 1845 in a division in which slavery played a central role. In 1995, convention messengers adopted a resolution acknowledging that history, repudiating racism and expressing repentance. Both the origin and the later statement belong in an accurate account. A church's present commitments and practices should be assessed concretely rather than inferred solely from either its name or its past.[2]
Common questions
Will a Southern Baptist church recognize my infant baptism?
Southern Baptist teaching identifies baptism with immersion after a personal profession of faith. A congregation will explain what that means for someone baptized as an infant and whether believer's baptism is required for membership. Do not assume that attendance and membership have identical requirements.[1]
Is the worship style always contemporary?
No. Local autonomy permits considerable variation in music and service format. A choir, hymnbook or band tells you less about the church's doctrine than its teaching on Scripture, salvation, baptism and the responsibilities of members.[1]
Sources & further reading
The sources below explain the beliefs and practices discussed here. Where a guide describes a broad movement, a named organization illustrates its own approach.
- 1.SBC: Baptist Faith and Message
See articles IV, VI, VII and XIV for salvation, church life, ordinances and cooperation.
- 2.SBC: 1995 resolution on racial reconciliation
The convention's acknowledgement of slavery in its formation and its statement on racism.