| National Baptist Convention of America International | |
|---|---|
 Emblem | |
| Abbreviation | NBCA |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Baptist |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| President | Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. |
| General Secretary | Rev. Shelton C. Dixon |
| Chief Operating Officer | Langston E. Gaither |
| Associations | World Council of Churches;Baptist World Alliance |
| Region | mainly the United States and Canada but has a presence inAfrica |
| Founder | Rev.R. H. Boyd |
| Origin | 1915 |
| Separated from | National Baptist Convention |
| Separations | National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (separated 1988) |
| Members | 225,776 |
| Other names | National Baptist Convention of America (very common),Boyd Convention,National Baptist Convention |
TheNational Baptist Convention of America International, (NBCA Intl orNBCA) more commonly known as theNational Baptist Convention of America or sometimes theBoyd Convention, is aChristian denomination based in theUnited States. It is a predominantlyAfrican AmericanBaptist denomination, and is headquartered inLouisville,Kentucky.[1] The National Baptist Convention of America has members in the United States,Canada, theCaribbean, andAfrica. The current president of the National Baptist Convention of America is Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. ofLake Charles,Louisiana.
The first name of the denomination was theNational Baptist Convention of America; it was later incorporated as theNational Baptist Convention of America, Inc.[2] It was sometimes known as theBoyd National Convention.[3] The current name of the convention is theNational Baptist Convention of America International, which is incorporated as theNational Baptist Convention of America International, Inc.
In 1915, leaders and pastors of theNational Baptist Convention, USA disputed the ownership and operation of the independently-owned National Baptist Publishing Board inNashville,Tennessee. The National Baptist Publishing Board was founded and led byRev. R. H. Boyd out of concern with publishing companies established and led by white Baptists. He did not have financial support from the NBC USA and financed it himself using real estate inTexas and assistance from theSouthern Baptist Convention.[3]
The National Baptist Publishing Board fulfilled Boyd's goal of providingblack Baptists with religious materials written by other black Baptists, primarilyperiodicals andSunday School materials, but also including some books. At its beginning, the National Baptist Publishing Board took over responsibility for publishing theNational Baptist Magazine and it launched the newTeacher's Monthly in 1897. The company started making aprofit as early as the first quarter of 1897, when it distributed more than 180,000 copies of published materials.[3] The National Baptist Publishing Board became the principal source of religious publications for black Baptists worldwide.[4]
By 1906, it grew to become the largest African American publishing company in the United States.[3] It is credited with being the first publisher of the old songs of Negro slaves, and it produced more than 25songbooks andhymnals by 1921, includingGolden Gems: A Song Book for the Church Choir, the Pew, and Sunday School (1901) andThe National Baptist Hymnal (1903).[5] Its publications are considered to have played a key role in establishing anAfrican American Baptist religious and racial identity in the United States.[6]
The dispute between Boyd and the NBC USA began due to the National Baptist Publishing Board's success. Pastors and other leaders within the convention were suspicious of the company and sought greater control, while Boyd asserted that the National Baptist Publishing Board was independent. The publishing company was incorporated as an independent entity in 1898. Boyd, who served as the National Baptist Convention secretary of missions from 1896 to 1914 while also leading the National Baptist Publishing Board, claimed that the company regularly contributed some of its profits to themissionary work of the NBC USA, but this was disputed.[3][2]
Following confrontations at the annual meeting of the National Baptist Convention inChicago in 1915, Boyd and his supporters formed the National Baptist Convention of America, which became known informally as "National Baptist Convention, Unincorporated," and was sometimes derisively called the "Boyd National Convention."[2][3] The leaders remaining in the original conventionincorporated in 1916, adopting the name "National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc." The National Baptist Convention, USA,sued unsuccessfully to obtain ownership of the National Baptist Publishing Board and subsequently created its own Sunday School publishing board.[3] In 1988, another controversy surrounding the publishing board (now the R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation) led to the formation of theNational Missionary Baptist Convention of America in 1988.
From 1986 to 2003, the convention was led Rev. E. Edward Jones, acivil rights icon who was the pastor for fifty-seven years of the Galilee Baptist Church inShreveport,Louisiana.[7]
In the early 2000s, the NBCA participated in theJoint National Baptist Convention,[8] which it joined again for the 2024 session.[9]
The NBCA's headquarters were formerly located inDallas,Texas. In 2017 the convention moved its headquarters to Louisville,Kentucky on the campus ofSimmons College of Kentucky during the tenure of Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. By 2018 under his leadership, the convention affiliated with theBaptist Seminary of Kentucky (primarily affiliated with the theologically moderate to progressiveCooperative Baptist Fellowship).[10][11] It also hosted a conference with the theologically liberalProgressive National Baptist Convention in 2018 alongside the Cooperative Baptists.[12]
In 1944, the convention had 2,352,339 members, and in 2000, the National Baptist Convention of America grew to about 3.5 million members in the United States.[13] It became the third-largest predominantly African American Christian body in the United States after the National Baptist Convention, USA and theChurch of God in Christ. In 2022, its self-reported membership stagnated with an estimated 3.5 million members in approximately 4,000 churches according to a separate study by theBaptist World Alliance.[1]
A prior 2020 study from theAssociation of Religion Data Archives numbered 225,776 members in 389 active churches in the United States.[14] In 2010, it had 304,414 members in 575 churches.[15] According to theWorld Council of Churches, it had a global membership of 5,000,000 members.[16] As of 2024, the NBCA continues to estimate 3.5 million global members,[17] as also estimated since 2018.[18] Its claimed, self-reported membership has been contested.[19]
Some members of this convention have dual affiliation with otherBaptist denominations, and the National Baptist Convention of America promotes partnership with the Cooperative Baptists "to engage in multi- racial experiences of worship, fellowship, disaster relief, educational advancement and healthy dialogue that brings about oneness in the body of Christ. Local member NBCA and CBF churches develop stronger ties for the work they embark upon together to the Glory of God."[20]
The National Baptist Convention of America's members denounce same-sex marriage and same-sex unions, and as the NBC USA, they considerhomosexuality an illegitimate expression of God's will.[21] The National Baptist Convention of America also doctrinally rejects theordination of women, though some congregations throughout the United States and Canada have attempted to ordain women as deacons, ministers, and pastors.[22]
Its ecumenical partners (theCooperative Baptist Fellowship andChicago Theological Seminary of theUnited Church of Christ)[23][24] permit women's ordination, and some of them affirm same-sex marriage as well as gender transition.[25][26][27][28][29] In response to the theological differences between the Cooperative and National Baptists, NBCA president Dr. Tolbert in 2020 stated, "We get more done realizing we don't have to agree on everything."[30]
The National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated (NBCA), is a fellowship of voluntary churches approximating three and half million African-American Baptists whose initial roots stemmed from the organization of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention of the United States.
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