It is the largest Baptist body in the United States and the largest Protestant denomination in the country, organized in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia.
The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 after a division with northern Baptists over whether slaveholders could serve as missionaries. Its cooperating churches are autonomous and affirm the Baptist Faith and Message, most recently revised in 2000. Churches cooperate through state conventions and national entities for missions, theological seminaries, and publishing.
Sources
Primary
- The Baptist Faith and Message (2000)
Secondary
- Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins, Baptists in America: A History