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Affiliations
Shelby Baptist Association is a fellowship of Southern Baptist Churches in Shelby County that is committed to help each church carry out the Great Commission. Our model is the life and ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Regardless of where they are located, the churches voluntarily conduct these ongoing ministries TOGETHER. The Association is the coordinating agency. For additional information, please click on the Shelby Baptist Assocation logo.
Since its organization in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, the Southern Baptist Convention has grown to more than 16 million members who worship in more than 42,000 churches in the United States. Southern Baptists sponsor about 5,000 missionaries serving the United States, Canada, Guam and the Caribbean, as well as sponsoring more than 5,000 additional missionaries in 153 nations of the world. Working through 1,200 local associations and 41 state conventions and fellowships, Southern Baptists share a common bond of basic biblical beliefs and a commitment to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world. You become a Southern Baptist by uniting with a Southern Baptist church, one in friendly cooperation with the general Southern Baptist enterprise of reaching the world for Christ. Typically, church membership is a matter of accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and experiencing believer's baptism by immersion. For additional information, please click on the Southern Baptist Convention logo.
The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 mainly to create two mission boards—the Foreign Mission Board and the Domestic Mission Board (now North American Mission Board). The Foreign Mission Board, in Richmond, Va., held its first commissioning service in 1846. Since then more than 15,000 missionaries have been appointed, a third of them still serving today. Empowered by the support of the Cooperative Program, founded in 1925, and an enlarged worldview, Southern Baptists answered the call, reaching 1,000 missionaries in 1955. Under the 25-year leadership of Baker James Cauthen, global expansion continued, reaching 3,000-plus missionaries in 94 countries by 1980. Other initiatives brought the Missionary Associate Program in 1961 for those not qualified for career appointment. The Journeyman Program, for young college graduates, was begun in 1965 and later expanded into the International Service Corps. Also, the number of IMB volunteers has soared, topping 30,000 in 2000. How has God used these efforts to plant with passion? In 2004, IMB workers and their Baptist partners overseas reported a record 607,132 baptisms and 99,495 overseas churches. Church membership overseas in 2004 was a record 7.4 million. For additional information, please click on the IMB logo.
The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. The defined mission is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, start New Testament congregations, minister to persons in the name of Christ, and assist churches in the United States, Canada, and U.S. territories in effectively performing these functions. For additional information, please click on the NAMB logo. More details on the IMB and NAMB are available at the Acts 1:8 Challenge website: www.actsone8.com |
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Southern Baptist Convention
