Our Faith
1. American Baptists believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God that serves as the final written authority for living out the Christian faith.
2. For American Baptists the local church is the fundamental unit of mission in denominational life. Baptists always have maintained the need for autonomous congregations.
3. American Baptists partake of two ordinances or sacraments: believer's Baptism and Holy Communion.
4. American Baptists believe that the committed individual Christian can and should approach God directly, and that individual gifts of ministry should be shared. They have rejected creeds or other statements that might compromise each believer's obligation to interpret Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
5. American Baptists take seriously the call to evangelism and missionary work.
6. American Baptists support religious freedom and respect the expressions of faith of others. This includes support for the separation of church and state.
7. American Baptists acknowledge that God's family extends beyond our local churches, and that God calls us to cooperative ministries. That outreach extends worldwide through our relationships with the Baptist World Alliance, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the World Council of Churches, and other groups.
8. American Baptists have been called to be Christ's witnesses for justice and wholeness within a broken society. As Part of that wholeness American Baptists support the Civil Rights Movement and the role of women to minister in the church as equal partners and servants with men. American Baptists have ordained women to ministry for 125 years!
9. American Baptist Churches USA celebrate the racial, cultural and theological diversity witnessed within its membership. American Baptist Churches USA is the most racially inclusive Protestant body.
10. American Baptists heed the biblical call to renewal and the need for a vital witness in a new millennium.
(Modified from 10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists 5/00 ABC/USA)
