The Baptist Church
The Baptist Church is found in almost every country in the world and have existed, even under other names, since the apostles. For Baptists, the concept of family is important. The church can only be as strong as the families that are in that church. The church is not so much a particular place or building as it is a family of believers, committed to God, to one another, and to Christ's great commission to win the lost to Christ. Each local Baptist church appoints its own pastors to have particular responsibility for preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. Most Baptists emphasize the local church . These local churches are autonomous, which means they are self-governing and self-reliant. A Baptist church can range in size from twenty or more members to many thousands. Although Baptist Distinctives teach that each church is an independent entity, there are established Baptist conventions that do not uphold this distinctive as Independent Baptists do. Although many place the Baptist...