The Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) is a conservative Baptist Christian denomination. It is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.
| Baptist Bible Fellowship International | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Baptist |
| Orientation | Fundamentalist Baptist |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| President | Jon Haley |
| 1st Vice President | John Theisen |
| 2nd Vice President | Kevin Carson |
| 3rd Vice President | Randy Abell |
| Origin | 1950 |
| Separated from | World Baptist Fellowship |
| Congregations | 4,000 |
| Ministers | 4,340 |
| Official website | bbfi |
History
editThe Fellowship was founded during a meeting at Fort Worth in 1950 by a group of 100 pastors of the World Baptist Fellowship who disagreed with the authoritative direction of the leader.[1] That same year, the Baptist Bible College (now Mission University) and the organization's headquarters were established in Springfield, Missouri. It has established various fundamentalists Baptist Bible churches around the world.[2] In 2000, it had 4,500 churches and 1,200,000 members.[3] According to a denomination census released in 2020, it has 4,000 churches in the United States and has a presence in 80 countries.[4]
Programs
editThere are three functions of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. Worldwide missions, training, and communication.
The Baptist Bible Tribune, published monthly, contains numerous opinion pieces, reports from the foreign mission field, reports from domestic churches, and light theological treatises. It is written by BBFI officers, pastors, and missionaries and is the official voice of the BBFI. Since 2015, the editor is Randy Harp who was preceded by Keith Bassham.[5]
The organizational structure includes the president, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, and one director from each state elected by his own state fellowship. Within this organization, there are state fellowships in each of the fifty United States.
Beliefs
editThe Fellowship has a Baptist confession of faith.[6] Their beliefs are part of the fundamentalist movement.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ W. Glenn Jonas Jr., The Baptist River, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 113
- ^ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 284
- ^ Samuel S. Hill, Charles H. Lippy, Charles Reagan Wilson, Encyclopedia of Religion in the South, Mercer University Press, USA, 2005, p. 100
- ^ BBFI Missions, About, USA, retrieved September 5, 2021
- ^ "Randy Harp new leader of Tribune and BBFI communications". 26 October 2015.
- ^ Baptist Bible Fellowship International, Articles of faith, USA, retrieved September 5, 2021
- ^ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 357