American Baptist Church
| American Baptist Churches USA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Mainline Baptist |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| Associations |
National Council of Churches; Baptist World Alliance |
| Region | United States |
| Headquarters | King of Prussia, Pennsylvania |
| Origin | May 17, 1907 Washington, D.C. |
| Branched from | Triennial Convention |
| Merger of | Free Will Baptist General Conference 1911 |
| Congregations | 5,402 |
| Members | 1.24 million registered (& a much higher 1.5% of US population [2015 est.] as adherents) |
| Official website | www.abc-usa.org |
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its congregations, including modernist, charismatic and evangelical orientations. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814. From 1907 to 1950, it was known as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention.
In 2009, the denomination had 1,310,505 members in 5,402 churches. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 1.5% of the U.S population self-identifies with the ABCUSA suggesting a much larger number than that for registered members. The ABCUSA is a member of the National Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC reported that the ABCUSA could have upwards of 1.5 million members.
The Puritan minister Roger Williams (c. 1603–1683) established the First Baptist Church in Providence — now the First Baptist Church in America — in 1638. Regarded by the more dogmatic Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic for his religious separatism, Williams was banished into the New England wilderness where he and his followers created the settlement of Providence and later, the colony of Rhode Island. Williams is credited with being the founder of the Baptist movement in America, the founder of the state of Rhode Island, and the first highly visible public leader in America to call for the separation of church and state.
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