Association of Baptist Churches in Israel
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The Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABCI) is a Baptist association of churches in Israel.
Shukri Musa, who was baptized by George W. Truett at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, was the first known modern Baptist to enter Israel (then Mandatory Palestine). He arrived in 1911, with the support of the Illinois Baptist State Association, and began in Zefat, where he baptized his first convert. He later founded a church in Nazareth. The Southern Baptist Convention sent missionaries in 1923. A congregation was established in Jerusalem in 1925, and another in Haifa in 1936. In 2001, the Association of Baptist Churches established a "twinning" agreement with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, which is promoted by the organizations as "a means to support each other in prayer, developing ministry, mutual benefit from the experience of the other, fellowship and encouragement."¹
The churches of the ABCI are conservative in their theology. They oppose the practice of women pastors. Due to their circumstances, individual churches often emphasize their positions on the Old and New Covenants. The Jerusalem Church, having suffered the original body adopting charismatic practices, emphasize their stand on spiritual gifts. Premillennialism is the predominant eschatological belief, though some younger believers are adopting Amillennialism.
In 2004, the ABCI had 19 congregations with about 2000 members. The congregations are ethnically and linguistically diverse, with 13 Arabic-speaking, two Hebrew-speaking, two Spanish, one Filipino, and one Russian. The majority of Baptist believers live in Galilee. A "K-12" school (founded 1949), which is housed in the Evangelical Baptist Church at Nazareth, is a ministry of the Association. The Association of Baptist Churches is a member of the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. In addition to the churches of the ABCI, there were two churches in Israel affiliated with the American Baptist Association (1 each in Jerusalem and Ramallah) and one Reformed Baptist church near Tel Aviv. Christians make up about 2% of the religious affiliation in Israel, and Baptists are only a small part of that. Yet, the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel is the largest individual evangelical body in Israel. The majority religion is Jewish - about 80%.
External link
- ABCI Official Web Site (http://www.baptist.org.il/)
- Baptist Twinning with Israel (http://www.centralba.org.uk/Twinning/)
- Jerusalem Baptist Church (http://www.jerusalembaptistchurch.org/)
- The Local Baptist Church - Nazareth (http://www.lbc-nazareth.org/)
Reference
- Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
- Yearbook, American Baptist Association
Footnote
- 1. "Twinning" started in the Bedfordshire Association (which is now part of Central Association) circa 1999, then the entire Baptist Union later adopted the idea.