| Progressive National Baptist Convention | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PNBC |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Baptist |
| Theology | |
| Polity | Congregational |
| President | David Peoples |
| Associations | National Council of Churches Baptist World Alliance |
| Founder | L. Venchael Booth |
| Origin | 1961 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Separated from | National Baptist Convention |
| Congregations | 1,362 (Self-reported, including international churches; 2022) 363 (ARDA; 2020) |
| Members | 1,500,000 (Self-reported, including international members; 2022) 254,571 (ARDA; 2020) |
| Missionary organization | PNBC Missions |
| Official website | www |
TheProgressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), incorporated as theProgressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., is aBaptist denomination emphasizingcivil rights andsocial justice.[1] The headquarters of the Progressive National Baptist Convention are inWashington, D.C.[2] Part of theBlack church tradition, since its organization, the denomination has member churches outside theUnited States, particularly in theCaribbean andEurope. It is a member of theNational Council of Churches and theBaptist World Alliance.[3][4]
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The Progressive National Baptist Convention formed in 1961 after civil-rights-oriented Baptist ministers led byL. Venchael Booth of Zion Baptist Church inCincinnati, failed to replaceJoseph H. Jackson, the long-time head of theNational Baptist Convention (NBC USA).[5][6] The older group stood aloof from thecivil rights movement which was often led by local Baptist ministers;[7] the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA) often preached spiritual salvation rather than political activism. The dissidents nominatedGardner C. Taylor as president of the NBC USA.[8]
After a fist fight between reformers and conservatives,[9] in which one elderly minister was accidentally killed, Jackson's supporters won.Martin Luther King was ousted from the NBC USA and his goal of using the united power of theblack Baptist community to promote civil rights came to nothing.[5] His defeat prompted the formation of the new predominantly African American Baptist denomination.[10]
Thirty-three delegates from 14 states gathered at Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati to discuss the issue.[11] The vote to organize passed by one vote.L. Venchael Booth, pastor of Zion Baptist in Cincinnati, was elected first president of the convention.[12] The convention was originally formed as the "Progressive Baptist Convention" and the word "National" was added to the name in 1962. The convention has grown from the original founding numbers to member congregations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe andAfrica.
Following a path of political activism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention supported groups such as theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and methods such asaffirmative action. Famous civil rights leaders who were members of the PNBC include Martin Luther King Jr.,Benjamin Mays,Ralph Abernathy,Wyatt Tee Walker, and Gardner C. Taylor. The Progressive National Baptist Convention bills the "progressive concept" as "fellowship, progress, and peace."
In 1969, Uvee Mdodana Arbouin became the first ordained woman pastor in the convention.[13]
In the early 2000s, the Progressive National Baptists united with the National Baptist Convention,National Baptist Convention of America, andNational Missionary Baptist Convention as theJoint National Baptist Convention;[14] in 2024, the PNBC cooperated with the four conventions again in order to establish a joint agenda for African American Baptists.[15]
The Progressive National Baptist Convention celebrated its 50th Annual Session inWashington, D.C., in August 2011.[16] The PBNC has partnered with the predominantly white mainlineAmerican Baptist Churches USA since 1970.[17]
In 2022, the Progressive National Baptist Convention elected Jacqueline A. Thompson as second vice president, which made her the first woman to hold an elected leadership role in the Progressive National Baptist Convention.[18]
On January 22, 2024, before the Joint National Baptist Convention, the PNBC called for aceasefire in Gaza.[19]
According to theAssociation of Religion Data Archives, in 1963, the PNBC had 500,000 members in 394 churches before growing to 2.5 million members in 1991 spread throughout 1,400 churches.[20] Since then, the convention's U.S.-based membership has stagnated, similar to the National Baptist Convention of America at the time. By 2009, the same organization numbered the PNBC as having 1,010,000 members in 1,500 churches. In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives reported the PNBC had 254,571 members in 363 churches in the United States.[21] According to a census published by theBaptist World Alliance in 2022, however, it self-reported 1,500,000 members in 1,362 churches altogether.[22] In another study by theWorld Council of Churches, its global membership was approximately 2,500,000.[23]
In the Progressive National Baptist Convention, many members and affiliates identify withProgressive Baptist theology—being theologically moderate to liberal; this contrasts with the theologically conservative to moderateNational Baptist Convention,National Baptist Convention of America, andNational Missionary Baptist Convention. The Progressive National Baptist Convention collectively also recognizes theordination of women.[11] Contrasting, its predecessor—the NBC USA—has no official position on women's ordination, though women do serve as pastors in the convention and in other leadership capacities. According to the PNBC, it creates "opportunities for women in ministry to learn and serve."[24] The Progressive National Baptist Convention also allows locally autonomous congregations to determine policy regarding same-sex marriages, and the PNBC has not taken an official stance on the issue, leaving room for diversity of opinion.[25]
PNBC was formed to give full voice, sterling leadership and active support to the American and world fight for human freedom. The convention was the convention -denominational home and platform for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who addressed every annual session of the Convention until his death in 1968. New generations of Progressive Baptists are continuing the struggle for full voter registration, education and participation in society, economic empowerment and development, and the realization of universal human rights and total human liberation for all people.