Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (Hiligaynon: Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon) is a Baptist Christian denomination churches union, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Philippines. Headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines, it was founded in 1900 as the first and oldest organized Baptist churches union in the Philippine islands when the Philippines was opened to Protestant missions after the succession of the Philippines by Spain to the United States in 1898.

Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches
AbbreviationCPBC
ClassificationMainline Protestant
OrientationCongregationalist and Evangelical Baptist
PolityCongregationalist
LeaderRev. Dr. Jerson Narciso, BTh, M.Div. (General Secretary)
AssociationsBaptist World Alliance, World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
RegionPhilippines
HeadquartersJaro, Iloilo City, Philippines
Origin
  • 1900 (Earliest establishment)
  • May 23, 1935 (Formal organization)
Congregations1,079
Members600,000
Official websitecpbc.org.ph

The CPBC is responsible through association and concordat with the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in founding and having affiliation presently with the Jaro Evangelical Church (the first Baptist church in the Philippines and first Protestant church outside Manila), Central Philippine University (the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines in Asia), the CPU College of Theology (first Baptist Theological Seminary in the Philippines), the Filamer Christian University (first Baptist school in the Philippines), and the Capiz Emnanuel Hospital (first Baptist hospital in the Philippines). The Iloilo Mission Hospital on the other hand, was founded by the Protestant Presbyterians as the first American and Protestant hospital in the Philippines, but it was handed over to the Baptists (CPBC) in the 1930s in which it is subsequently affiliated with.

History

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches has its origins in a foreign mission of the American Baptist Missionary Union on the island of Panay in 1900.[1][2]

The Jaro Evangelical Church (the first Baptist and second Protestant church in the Philippines), the precursor of the Convention of the Philippine Baptist Churches, was organized in Jaro in February 1900.

Eric Lund, a Swedish Baptist minister working under the auspices of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and one of the founding fathers of the Jaro Evangelical Church, translated the entire Bible into Hiligaynon, and the New Testament into two other dialects. In 1905, the Bible School and Jaro Industrial School were established through a grant given by the American Baptist, business magnate and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller. The both schools later merged and became Central Philippine University, the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines and Asia.

In 1935 the formal formation of Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches was established.[3] The Convention has allowed ordination of women to the ministry since 1980.[4]

According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 1,079 churches and 600,000 members. [5]

Core Mission Principles
  • Being grounded in the Biblical tradition
  • Engagement in prophetic and priestly functions
  • Building a community that heals and restores broken ties
  • Developing of strong and responsible leaders
  • Achieving stability through full support of member churches and organizations
  • Building of a deeper and stronger relationship with other mission partners
  • Deep and genuine concern for the lost, the poor, the weak and the needy
  • Faithfulness to the Baptist legacy of missionary service
  • A dynamic, relevant and responsive servant organization
  • Deep commitment to the implementation of a holistic and comprehensive ministry
  • Full use of appropriate technology to enhance programs and ministries

Theology and practice

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final authority in matters of faith. The CBPC affirms as a Protestant church with the Trinity, that the one God exists as three persons in complete unity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord through whom those who believe can have fellowship with God. He died, taking on the sins of the world, and was resurrected, triumphing over sin and death.

CPBC churches recognize two ordinances: Believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is by immersion, and those being baptized must be of an age to understand its significance. Believing in the priesthood of all believers, the CPBC avoids using creeds, affirming the freedom of individual Christians and local churches to interpret scripture as the Holy Spirit leads them. The CPBC affirms the ordination of women.

Education

Baptist missionaries founded many schools and universities in the Philippines. Most notable of these is Central Philippine University (CPU),[6] the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines and in Asia (after Silliman University in Dumaguete City), while Filamer Christian University is the first Baptist school in the Philippines.

CPU's earlist forerunner, the Central Philippine University College of Theology which was established four months earlier than the university's second precursor, the Jaro Industrial School, is the first Baptist theological seminary in the Philippines.

The CPU College of Nursing, an academic institution for nurses founded in 1906 as Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses by the Presbyterian Protestant American missionaries through the present day Iloilo Mission Hospital, is the first Nursing School in the Philippines.[7] The Central Philippine University College of Nursing is also one of the leading nursing schools in the Philippines.

Central Philippine University's official student governing body, the CPU Republic (Central Philippine University Republic), is the oldest student government in the South East Asia. It was organized in 1905, one year after the founding of the school.[8] The University's official publication, the Central Echo (CE) is the official student publication of CPU. It was founded in 1910, five years after Jaro Industrial School opened. It is one of the oldest student publications in the Philippines.

See also

References
  1. William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 442
  2. J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 788
  3. J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 788
  4. Michael Edward Williams, Walter B. Shurden, Turning Points in Baptist History, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p.
  5. Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020
  6. Iloilo City#Education
  7. https://www.scribd.com/doc/15885553/Pioneer-Nursing-Schools-and-Colleges-in-the-Philippines
  8. Peter C. Phan, Christianities in Asia, John Wiley & Sons, USA, 2011, p. 109-110
  • Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
  • The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, by H. Leon McBeth

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