Australian Baptist Ministries (formerlyAustralian Baptist Union, thenBaptist Union of Australia,) is anBaptistChristian denomination inAustralia. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church inSydney. The headquarters is inBelmont. It is affiliated with theBaptist World Alliance.
Baptist work in Australia began inSydney in 1831, forty-three years after the British penal colony was established.[1] The first preacher was John McKaeg, who conducted the first Baptist service on Sunday 24 April inThe Rose and Crown Inn on the corner ofCastlereagh andKing Streets. The first baptism, of two female congregants, was conducted by McKaeg inWoolloomooloo Bay on 12 August 1832.[2]
It was not until 1835 that the first church was established inHobart Town by Henry Dowling,[3] a strictCalvinist. John Saunders, who had been sent by theBaptist Missionary Society of England to Sydney in 1834, raised the funding to erect a second church which was opened on 23 September 1836.[4][2] The first state Union was formed inVictoria in 1862. The national Baptist Union was founded in 1926 by representatives from existing state unions.[5] In 1978,Marita Munro became the firstwoman ordained pastor within the body.[6] In 2009 it was renamed Australian Baptist Ministries.[7] In 2024, all state associations now ordained women, with Karen Haynes being the first woman ordained within Queensland Baptists, which was the last state to allow ordination of women.[1]
Australian Baptist Ministries is a member of theAsia Pacific Baptist Federation (formerly Asian Baptist Federation) and theBaptist World Alliance. Ministry arms of ABM includeBaptist Mission Australia (formerly known as the Australian Baptist Missionary Society and then as Global Interaction), Australian Baptist World Aid, Baptist Care, and a number of Delegated Bodies which represent communities of practice, developing strategies and resources that benefit the Australian Baptist movement.[9] These include: Crossover Australia, and Crossover Remote (formerly Northreach). The national work is divided among one territory and six state unions, which operate independently, with the national body functioning as a governance council to facilitate collaborative ministries and mission initiatives across the Baptist movement in Australia.
From Woolloomooloo to 'Eternity': A History of Australian Baptists by Ken R. Manley (Paternoster, 2006, 2 volumes,ISBN1-84227-194-6 &ISBN1-84227-405-8)
Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
_(cropped).jpg)
Christianity portal