BRITISH BAPTISTS URGED TO RECAPTURE A PASSION FOR THE WORLD’S NEEDY
By Andy Renshaw
British Baptists were urged to recapture the passion for mission, justice and religious freedom of their
forebears as they celebrated 400 years of Baptist history & heritage at the Baptist Assembly that was
held in Bournemouth, England, May 1–4. The Assembly took place ahead of a major gathering of Baptists in the
Netherlands this July to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.
For more than 300 years, Baptists have focused on those outside the church as well as those who are already believers.
Neville Callam, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), challenged delegates to meet God’s call to mission
today. “How is your church responding to the needs that cry out for Christian response in the community?” he asked. “And
you, how are you responding to God’s call for you to be a missionary in your time?” Echoing Johann Oncken’s famous motto,
Callam asked, “‘Every Baptist a missionary’ – are you one of them?”
The new president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Kingsley Appiagyei, who was inducted on the opening night
of the Assembly, also called on Baptists to have a passion for non-Christians. “The church needs disciples. We are more
interested in our church buildings than in making disciples. We need to regain a real passion for the lost,” he said.
David Coffey, President of the BWA, affirmed a need to engage with people from other faith traditions. Interviewed
about dialogue between evangelicals and Muslim faith leaders, he said, “I think evangelicals have always found ‘dialogue’
a dangerous word, and they are suspicious that dialogue leads to syncretism: some evangelicals suggest if you get involved
in Christian/Muslim conversations then you’re going to go down a slippery path.”
But he maintained the necessity of dialogue nonetheless. “For me, all evangelism has an integrity about it which involves
dialogue. You can’t talk to anybody of whatever faith background without there being dialogue, and genuine dialogue involves
sharing the good news about Jesus,” Coffey said. He added, “The BWA response to the Muslim letter, A Common Word, was
biblically faithful and bold in its call for religious liberty and the freedom to evangelize with sensitivity.”
Assembly participants were called to pray and act for justice around the world. Lauran Bethell, American Baptist
International Ministries Global Consultant on issues of prostitution and trafficking, urged delegates to have compassion
on those working in the global sex industry. She also challenged Baptist churches to change their attitudes, saying “I pray
that our churches would be places where the issues of intimacy and sexuality would be addressed as God-given, and that
our churches provide the places where victims and victimizers are liked, can find hope and healing and unconditional
compassionate love.”
Baptists were reminded that their movement was born out of a struggle against oppression, a struggle to be free – something
that a huge number of Christians across the world are still experiencing. International humanitarian campaigner Caroline Cox,
founder and chief executive of HART International, urged Baptists to pray for the persecuted church. “We must remember
that we have our
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PHOTO: Kingsley Appiagyei being installed into office as president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain
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