Baptist Union of Australia

Baptist Union of Australia (BUA) - the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. It is currently headed by Reverend Ross Clifford.

The Baptist work in Australia began in Sydney in 1831, over forty years after the British penal colony was established. The first preacher was John McKaeg. The first baptism was in Woolloomooloo Bay in 1832. It was not until 1835 that the first church was established in Hobart Town by Henry Dowling, a strict Calvinist. John Saunders, sent by the Baptist Missionary Society of England, formed a church in 1836. The first state Union was formed in Victoria in 1862. The national Baptist Union was founded in 1926 by representatives from existing state unions.

The Baptist Union of Australia is a member of the Asian Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. Ministry arms of the BUA include the Australian Baptist Missionary Society, Australian Baptist World Aid, Aboriginal and Islander Baptist Council of Australia, Crossover Australia, New Settlers' Baptist Association, and Northreach. The National Baptist is published as a quarterly promotional magazine. Headquarters are in Melbourne. The national work is divided among 7 state unions, which operate independently, with the national body functioning as an advisory council. In 1995, the Union was composed of 64,560 members in 785 churches.

Part of a series on Baptists

Historical Background Christianity General Baptist Particular Baptist

Doctrinal distinctives Prima scriptura Sola scriptura Baptist ordinance Baptist offices Baptist confessions Autonomy of the local church Separation of church and state

Pivotal figures John Smyth Thomas Helwys John Bunyan Andrew Fuller John Gill Charles Haddon Spurgeon Samuel Sharpe

Major Baptist Associations Alliance of Baptists American Baptist Baptist World Alliance Conservative Baptist Association of America Conservative Baptist Association of the Southeast Cooperative Baptist Fellowship National Baptist Convention Southern Baptist Convention Baptist Union of Great Britain Brazilian Baptist Convention

External links

• Baptist Union of Australia - official Web Site
• Baptists in Australia - a short history of Baptists in Australia
• Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT - link to the Baptist churches of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
• Queensland Baptists - link to the Baptist churches of Queensland
• Baptist Union Of Victoria - link to the Baptist churches of Victoria
• Baptist Churches of South Australia - link to the Baptist churches of South Australia
• Baptist Union of Tasmania - link to the Baptist churches of Tasmania
• Baptist Churches of Western Australia - link to the Baptist churches of Western Australia

References

• From Woolloomooloo to 'Eternity': A History of Australian Baptists by Ken R. Manley (Paternoster, 2006, 2 volumes, ISBN 1-84227-194-6 & ISBN 1-84227-405-8)

• Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.

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