What is a Baptist Association?
A Baptist Association is a self-governing fellowship of autonomous churches sharing a common faith and active on mission in their setting. It's purpose is to enable churches to be in fellowship and to be on mission, individually and together.
The CHURCHES of an association are free, independent, self-governing, autonomous churches that decide to associate themselves to do certain things together.
The FELLOWSHIP of churches involves oneness, shared life, and mutuality. It is a "family" of churches and a network in which churches give and receive assistance. The association as a fellowship emphasizes the relationship existing among the churches.
SHARING A COMMON FAITH- The fellowship of an association is grounded in harmony in faith and practice. Associations differ in regard to the particular doctrinal issues that are important to their fellowships in regard to the amount of diversity encouraged or tolerated on those issues. Nevertheless, the association is a doctrinally based fellowship.
ACTIVE ON MISSION refers to God's mission for the churches individually and the churches together in the association. The first responsibility of each church is to deal with that same question - What is God's mission for us together?
IN THEIR SETTING refers to the specific area in which an association has a primary responsibility. It defines a special area of responsibility but does not in any sense limit an association's involvement in the worldwide mission of Christ. An association of churches has a very special responsibility to be on mission.
Associations differ from one another is such ways as size; geographical territory; population; cultural, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics of the area; numbers;, strength, and types of churches; history; relationship to the state convention; and stage of development.
SELF-GOVERNING - An association is created by the churches and is accountable to those churches through the messengers. An association, like other general bodies of Baptists (Georgia Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Convention), is self-governing. The association is responsible for governing itself under the Leadership of Jesus Christ. The Lord's business is to be performed faithfully, effectively, and efficiently.
YOUR association is what your local church and the other churches decide to make it. The messengers and executive board members is selected by the churches make those basic decisions. The churches decide again what their association will become when they decide what percentage of their budgets will go to the associational missions,
Southern Baptists are committed to building a Kingdom churches by growing the Kingdom according to the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. You can be a part of what's happening in a specific way through involvement in your church and association.
