Worship, Fellowship, and Unity Network
Centered in Jesus Christ and rooted in deep spiritual life, we strengthen our worldwide family through ongoing gatherings; pastoral presence; mutual friendships; and the cultivation of worship, fellowship, and unity.
Commission on Baptist Doctrine & Unity
This commission identifies, reflects on, and clarifies issues of doctrine important to Baptists. It shares in theological conversations between the BWA and other Christian communities in furtherance of Jesus’ prayer for the unity of the church. It participates in programs to improve inter-church understanding and cooperation, especially in relation to Christian World Communions, and makes findings available to the BWA family. It analyzes the causes of disunity among Baptists and promotes ways to overcome this disunity.
Commission on Baptist Heritage & Identity
This commission seeks to clarify issues pertaining to the heritage and identity of the Baptist family with a view to furthering the local congregation’s understanding of its place and calling in the mission of God, in the culture, and in the worldwide Baptist movement. It records the story of God’s dealings among Baptists around the world and produces materials for use by Baptists and others who are interested in understanding Baptist identity. Click to access the Commission website.
Commission on Baptist Worship & Spirituality
This commission reflects on the understanding and practice of worship and spirituality among Baptists to encourage corporate responses to God’s gracious care and promote habits conducive to healthy Christian formation. It develops and identifies materials for use by Baptists in their daily walk with God. It helps establish prayerful worship during BWA Annual Gatherings, as well as for use in broader corporate worship within the Baptist community.
Mission and Evangelism Network
Compelled by the Great Commission, we lead with a passionate commitment to Gospel witness in every context and people group, foster multidirectional partnerships that connect individuals and churches, and encourage global mission and evangelism.
Commission on Evangelism
This commission provides biblical and theological reflection on the church’s calling to share the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ alone and live out its impact in our lives. It assists churches in affirming and fulfilling their vocation of disciple-making by clarifying the biblical mandate, along with promoting and implementing strategies for world evangelization. It identifies and develops resources and initiatives that help member bodies, churches, and individuals engage directly in evangelism or within multidirectional partnerships.
Commission on Mission
This commission nurtures a passionate commitment to Gospel witness within the BWA and among Baptists worldwide. It identifies, discusses, and shares available analysis of the ever-deepening understandings of the mission of the church in the world today in obedience to the Word of God. It assists the BWA and Baptists worldwide in embracing partnerships for mission, including in church planting and disciple-making, within every context and among every people group.
Aid, Relief, and Community Development Network
Challenged to generously love our neighbor, we respond to people in need; collaborate in times of crisis; network agencies; support sustainability and creation care; build capacity; empower local church engagement; and resource aid, relief, and community development.
Commission on Baptist World Aid
This commission reflects on the biblical command to love our neighbors generously and holistically with an understanding of contemporary practices of empowerment, development, and sustainability. It assists Baptist World Aid in the commitment to engage collaboratively and proactively. It works to strengthen Baptist churches and individuals by developing resources, best practices, and initiatives that deepen humanitarian responses that are partnership-oriented, prayerful, biblical, holistic, and sustainable.
Commission on Creation Care
This commission provides biblical and theological reflection on how Christians may live responsibly in the world, relating to the whole of life as part of God’s continuous work of creation and sustenance. It provides information on issues of environmental degradation, offering a theological framework to advance creation care and a biblical mandate of human stewardship of the earth. It provides Baptists with resources for use in congregational worship, personal practices, and the exploration of experiments in sustainable development.
Commission on Racial, Gender, and Economic Justice
This commission deepens awareness of the biblical portrait of equal dignity among all people, as well as the individual and corporate sin that maligns this reality. It provides biblical and theological reflection designed to identify and confront all forms of racism, sexism, and economic injustice in the church and beyond. It engages in research; develops resources; and challenges Baptists to work for racial and gender justice, ethnic reconciliation, and human flourishing, especially in local communities.
Religious Freedom, Human Rights, and Justice Network
Committed to a biblical understanding of the image of God in every person, we defend an ethic of life; support religious freedom for all; stand in solidarity with the marginalized; advocate at every level; train and network proactively; and mobilize for religious freedom, human rights, and justice.
Commission on Christian Ethics
This commission identifies and reflects on issues of personal and social morality with a view of furthering practical Christian discipleship in both the church and the world. It helps develop BWA resources and white papers on critical issues, designs resources for congregational study within the Baptist family, and equips individuals to live with prophetic biblical witness today in both word and deed.
Commission on Religious Freedom
This commission resources BWA Baptists in their advocacy for the advancement of religious freedom for people of all faiths or no faith, especially Baptists who experience or are threatened by persecution. It develops theological resources, provides information on issues of religious freedom, prepares reports and research papers, assists the BWA in direct advocacy, and empowers through training and mobilizing greater engagement on behalf of religious freedom.
Commission on Human Rights, Peacebuilding, and Reconciliation
This commission explores how the BWA and BWA Baptists can further human rights broadly and peace and reconciliation specifically. It monitors situations; assists Baptist victims of violence or oppression; raises awareness of human rights abuses; and mediates when Baptists are involved in conflict, either with each other or with others. It reflects theologically; networks; engages alongside the work of the BWA, particularly at the United Nations; and resources Baptists at local, national, and international levels.
Theological Reflection and Leadership Formation Network
Called to discipleship, we advance multicultural and multilingual training, empower next generation leaders, encourage meaningful dialogue and praxis, and engage in relevant theological reflection and transformational leadership.
Commission on Interfaith Relations
This commission reflects on interfaith relations in order to foster mutual respect and to promote the common welfare of Baptists and their neighbors of other religions. It probes the mandate to evangelize while also living as persons of peace. It seeks to increase mutual understanding and interaction between people of different religious communities. It suggests ways to diffuse violence and conflict rooted in religious ideology or language. It develops toolkits, resources Baptists worldwide, and participates in appropriate interfaith conversations and relationship-building endeavors.
Commission on Theological Education
This commission works to advance theological education among Baptists. It considers a wide range of endeavors, including theological education within local churches, certificate programs, nonaccredited initiatives, distance learning, online opportunities, and formal accredited programs. It engages in reflection, analyzes Baptist methodologies, and promotes strategies that lead to sound ministerial formation among Baptists worldwide. It proactively works alongside BWA initiatives and helps advance quality theological education, especially in countries and communities where it is least available.
Commission on Transformational Leadership
This commission advances leadership formation among Baptists. It nurtures effective congregational ministry built upon Christian education and leadership for both ordained and lay church members. It promotes biblical and practical strategies that lead to faithful Christian discipleship, leadership, and ministry within and beyond the local church. It deepens understanding of a calling to whole-life discipleship and Christian leadership in church, business, government, education, and social sectors. It enhances initiatives to cultivate global Baptist leadership and to invest in emerging leaders.
BWA Commissions
Overview
- Strengthen Worship, Fellowship, and Unity
- Lead in Mission and Evangelism
- Respond through Aid, Relief, and Community Development
- Defend Religious Freedom, Human Rights, and Justice
- Advance Theological Reflec2on and Transforma2onal Leadership
Commissions are established by the Leadership Council to help the BWA engage with the worldwide BWA family in deeper reflection, study, engagement, or action. This may include creating resources, undertaking research, presenting and publishing reports and papers, participating in formal BWA dialogues and conversations, or engaging in advocacy.
At the start of each quinquennial cycle, each Commission establishes an intended outcome(s) to achieve by the conclusion of the quinquennium. The determined outcome(s) should be in accordance with the established Commission Charter and any additional prioritizes encouraged by the BWA General Secretary or the relevant BWA team member. Commissions cannot direct the work of any BWA team member but in a spirit of collaboration, support and extend the ministry area and where possible, the work of the relevant BWA team member. With One Lord, one faith, one baptism, we seek to serve as those bonded together by God’s love to support, encourage, and strengthen one another while proclaiming and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to a lost and hurting world.
Worship, Fellowship and Unity
Centered in Jesus Christ and rooted in deep spiritual life, we strengthen our worldwide family through ongoing gatherings; pastoral presence; mutual friendships; and the cultivation of worship, fellowship, and unity. This Ministry Area most closely associates with the Bible Path of the Acts 2 Movement.
1. Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity
This Commission will identify, reflect on, and clarify issues of doctrinal importance to Baptists. It will share in theological conversations between the BWA and other Christian communities in furtherance of Jesus’ prayer for the unity of the church and participate in programs to improve inter-church understanding and cooperation, especially in relation to Christian World Communions, making findings available to the wider BWA family. It will analyze the causes of disunity among Baptists and promote ways to overcome this disunity.
2. Commission on Baptist Heritage and Identity
This Commission will seek to clarify issues pertaining to the heritage and identity of the Baptist family with a view to furthering the local congregation’s understanding of its place and calling in the mission of God, in the culture, and in the worldwide Baptist movement. It will record the story of God’s participation and dealings among Baptists around the world and produce materials for use by Baptists and others who are interested in understanding Baptist identity.
3. Commission on Worship and Prayer
This Commission will identify and explore issues around international worship and prayer, seeking to facilitate the global family in their reflection and engagement on the understanding and practice of worship and prayer among Baptists to encourage corporate responses to God’s gracious love and promote habits of healthy Christian formation, develop and identify materials for use by Baptists in their daily walk with God, and provide worship resources for churches. The Commission remit will also include practical support to the BWA team by providing support, facilitation, and/or practical resources that might include appropriate worship, music, liturgies, litanies, and prayers.
** Global Communication Cohort
The BWA established this cohort for individuals with skills and experience in the fields of communication and media to provide insight, support and collective action; to build awareness worldwide; and to deepen engagement, fellowship, and unity across the Baptist family. This is an invitation only cohort working closely with the BWA Director of Communications and Media. To be considered for participation, please contact the BWA at communications@baptistworld.org.
Mission and Evangelism
1. Commission on Evangelism and Discipleship
2. Commission on Faith and Business
3. Commission on Strategic Cities and Least Reached People Groups
Aid and Community Development
1. Commission on Humanitarian Aid and Community Development
This Commission engages in response to ongoing significant vulnerability experienced by many BWA Baptists as well as many people around the world in the myriad of man-made crises and natural disasters. This Commission will address global challenges related to humanitarian aid, community development, and crisis response, in keeping with kingdom values. Good practices and innovative approaches will be explored and developed to equip the BWA, BWA Member and Ministry Partners, and Baptist churches around the world to engage with the humanitarian aid sector as a local actor with a church identity in the delivery of humanitarian aid efficiently and equitably to promote a more just world.
2. Commission on Racial, Gender, and Economic Justice
This Commission will seek to deepen awareness of the biblical portrait of equal dignity for all people, as well as the individual and corporate sin that maligns this reality. It will provide biblical and theological reflection designed to identify and confront all forms of racism, sexism, and economic injustice in the church and beyond. It will engage in research, develop resources, and challenge Baptists to work for racial and gender justice, ethnic reconciliation, and human flourishing, especially in local communities. The Commission will work to develop comprehensive strategies to address the unique challenges faced by marginalized populations and advocate in collaboration with various stakeholders for equitable access to resources and support services to create a more just and inclusive society for all in keeping with the values of the Kingdom of God.
** Creation Care Initiative
The BWA has established a Creation Care Initiative to provide biblical and theological reflection and provide the BWA and Baptists more broadly with resources that includes practical tools, sustained engagement, and resources for use in congregational worship, personal practices, and innovative sustainable development. This is an invitation only initiative working closely with the Director of BWAid. To be considered for participation, please contact the BWA.
Religious Freedom, Human Rights and Justice
1. Commission on Human Rights, Peacebuilding, and Reconciliation
This Commission will explore and resource how the BWA and the global Baptist family can further human rights broadly and peace and reconciliation specifically. It will monitor situations, assist victims of violence or oppression including Baptist victims, raise awareness of human rights abuses, and mediate when Baptists and others are involved in conflict, either with each other or with others. It will reflect theologically; network; engage alongside the work of the BWA, particularly at the United Nations; and resource Baptists to act similarly at local, national, and regional levels.
2. Commission on Religious Freedom
This Commission will explore how the BWA and the global Baptist family can pursue the advancement of religious freedom for people of all faiths or no faith, including on behalf of Baptists who experience or are threatened by persecution. It will monitor situations, assist victims of persecution including Baptist victims, raise awareness of religious freedom abuses, and continue to advance a Baptist commitment to religious freedom for all and religion differentiated from nationalism. It will develop theological resources, provide information on issues of religious freedom, prepare reports and research papers, empower through training, mobilize greater engagement on behalf of religious freedom alongside the work of the BWA, particularly at the United Nation; and resource Baptists to act similarly at local, national, and regional levels.
3. Commission on Safeguarding
This Commission will be guided by biblical principles to focus on resourcing the BWA, Member and Ministry Partners, and Baptist churches on how to foster churches and all parts of the Baptist family as places of wellbeing that protect vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and victims of abuse. Through research, dialogue, identifying and developing recommended programs, organizing awareness campaigns and educational initiatives, widely disseminating findings, and fostering multilingual policies, practices, and guides, the Commission will strengthen safeguarding practices, equip advocacy for systemic changes, and promote the safety, dignity, and empowerment of individuals both within the church and the broader community with compassion, respect, and protection.
Theological Reflection and Transformational Leadership
Called to discipleship, we advance multicultural and multilingual training, empower next generation leaders, encourage meaningful dialogue and praxis, and engage in relevant theological reflection and transformational leadership. This Ministry Area most closely associates with the Neighbor Path of the Acts 2 Movement.
1. Commission on Faith and Technology
2. Commission on Healthy Churches
3. Commission on Multifaith Relations
** NxtGen Leadership Initiative
The BWA has established a NxtGen Leadership initiative to identify, energize, and mobilize emerging Baptist leaders aged 18-34 from around the world, engaged professionally in both marketplace and ministry roles, who will be mentored, challenged, and empowered toward opportunities for key leadership in the BWA and Baptist movements throughout the BWA family. This is an invitation only initiative working closely with the BWA Director of NextGen Leadership. To be considered for participation, please contact the BWA.