NETHERLANDS WELCOMES BAPTISTS IN CELEBRATION OF 400TH ANNIVERSARY
By Eron Henry

The Union of Baptist Churches in the Netherlands is, in international terms, a small union, with only 84
churches and 11,500 members.
Yet, this country’s capital is the cradle of Baptist life. It was in Amsterdam in 1609 that John Smyth and
Thomas Helwys gathered a group of roughly 40 English dissenters who had fled their home country in
order to enjoy the liberty of worship according to conscience. Yet, the Baptist church did not take root in the
Netherlands until more than two centuries later. Some of the British exiles, including Helwys, returned to
England, forming the first Baptist church there, while others, such as Smyth, a former Church of England
priest, remained in Holland and joined the Mennonite church.
But as the Netherlands is the fountainhead of early Baptist beginnings, it was to that country that the
Baptist World Alliance (BWA) returned in July 2009 to revisit its roots as the international organization
continued its celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.
The 400-year anniversary was a major theme in the program throughout the week of July 27 to August 1, in
worship, study, discussions, and fellowship.
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BWA DECISIONS CONTINUES
the following areas: worship and fellowship, mission and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, relief
and sustainable community development, and theological reflection.”
A new Nominations Committee was formed, and will replace the Officers Search Committee, which
proposed the names of the BWA president and vice presidents. The Nominations Committee will also play a
vital role in naming persons who serve on BWA committees and commissions. The committee is made up of
two nominees from each region and three “at large” members. The BWA president and general secretary are
ex-officio members of the Nominations Committee.

NEW MEMBER BODIES
Two conventions and unions have been admitted into membership within the BWA, the Argentine Baptist
Association (ABA) and the Uganda Baptist Convention (UBC).
The ABA was formed in August 2005 and comprises 40 churches with approximately 5,000 members.
The UBC was organized in May 2000 and has a membership of more than 21,000 in 366 churches. The
UBC engages in mission work in Southern Sudan among Sudanese refugees who returned home after living
in exile in Northern Uganda. The UBC has member churches in Yei, Nimule, Juba, Kejikeji, Tombura, Kapeota,
and Torit in Southern Sudan.
The number of member bodies within the BWA is now 216.
AWARDS
Leena Lavanya Kumari of Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh, India, was presented with the 2009 Denton and
Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. The award was recognition of Lavanya’s philanthropic work, human rights
advocacy, and church planting endeavors in Narasaraopet and surrounding towns and villages.
BWA President David Coffey received the “Baptist of the Year Award” for 2008 from the Baptist Center for
Ethics, based in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. Robert Parham, founder and executive director,
was given permission to present the award to Coffey during the Gathering.
These far-reaching decisions and actions by the BWA Executive Committee and General Council
complimented the convivial atmosphere, fellowship and sharing that formed part of the BWA Annual Gathering
in the Dutch town of Ede, about an hour outside of Amsterdam.
PHOTO: David Maddox, a member of the BWA Promotion and Development Executive Committee,
presents the Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award to Leena Lavanya of India CELEBRATING 400 YEARS:

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