Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF) is a regional organization of the Baptist World Alliance, a worldwide fellowship of churches that subscribe to Baptist distinctives. The APBF was formed in the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1973 as the Asian Baptist Federation (ABF).[1] It adopted its current name in 2007 after a resolution was approved during the ABF Congress held in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2 May to 6 May 2007.[2]
Brief history in Asia and the Pacific
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One of the earliest Protestant missionaries to Asia was an English Baptist named William Carey who was one of the founders of the Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (today known as BMS World Mission) in 1792.[3][4] He started his work in the Dutch controlled Serampore north of Calcutta, India in 1793, initially focussing on Bible translation, preaching, teaching, and the founding of schools. One of the major schools established by this mission is Serampore College, founded in 1818.
Other pioneers include Joshua Marshman and William Ward who together with Carey became known as the Serampore Trio.[5] Of the three, Ward was instrumental in converting American Congregationalist missionary, Adoniram Judson, to Baptist beliefs and baptised both Judson and his wife, Ann Haseltine Judson, in Serampore.[6]
Judson later began Baptist missionary work in Burma on 13 July 1813 upon his arrival in Rangoon.[7] Today most countries in Asia have Baptist believers and churches.
Organization
The APBF represents almost 60 Baptist denominations (known as conventions or unions) from 20 different countries, encompassing almost 30,000 congregations with more than 5 million baptized believers.[2] The single largest member of the APBF is the Myanmar Baptist Convention which claims more than 1.1 million baptized believers.[2][8]
The principal officers of the APBF are:[9]
| Office | Name | Territory |
|---|---|---|
| President | Rev. Edwin Lam | Singapore |
| Vice Presidents | Mr. Bijoy Sangma
Mr. Ratu Inoke Kubuabola Rev. Mark Wilson |
India
Fiji Australia |
| General Secretary | Rev. Dr. Vesekhoyi Tetseo | Okinawa, Japan |
| Treasurer | Mr. Peter Leau | Australia |
Ministries
- Mission & Evangelism
- Chaired by Tim Hyunmo Lee of South Korea, the Mission & Evangelism committee organizes consultations and encourages partnership within member bodies.
- APBF Communications
- Chaired by Bijoy A. Sangma of India, ABPF Communications seeks to improve the network of Baptist within Asia by sharing news and information about the work of member bodies. It publishes the quarterly APBF Digest and manages the online presence of the APBF.
- APB Aid (Relief & Development)
- Chaired by Les Fussell of Australia, the Relief & Development committee mobilizes resources to support member bodies in responding to calamities and providing development aid.
- Theological Education
- Chaired by Miyun Chung of South Korea, the Theological Education committee provides the infrastructure for fellowship and partnership between the more than 50 Baptist theological colleges and seminaries in Asia.
- Asia Baptist Peace Network
- Chaired by Alan Marr of Australia, the Asia Baptist Peace Network seeks to be involved in conflict resolution and training Baptists for peace making.
- Co-opted Members in the APBF Executive Committee
- Makoto Kato from Japan and John Kok from Malaysia.
- Asian Baptist Youth Fellowship
- Chaired by Vesekhoyi Tetseo of Japan, the Asia Pacific Baptist Youth Fellowship conducts training programme and conferences at sub-regional and region wide levels including a major youth conference once in four years.
- Asian Baptist Women's Union
- Chaired by Precey Caronangan of the Philippines, the Asian Baptist Women's Union conducts training programmes for women leaders and hosts a major regional level conference once in five years.
- Baptist Women's Union of the South West Pacific
- Chaired by Sue Peters of Australia, the Baptist Women's Union of the South West Pacific networks as a resource body for women's ministries across the South West Pacific, encourages and supports women leaders and hosts a major regional conference every five years.
- Asian Baptist Men's Department
- Led by a team of dedicated lay people, the Asian Baptist Men's Department seeks to reach out to Baptist men and involve them in ministry and also improve the quality of their faith so as to impact society.
Members
As of 1 February 2011, 57 conventions and unions are represented in the APBF:[10][11]
See also
References
- ^ Asia Pacific Baptist Federation: About APBF Archived July 22, 2012, at archive.today
- ^ a b c Baptist World Alliance News: Asian Federation changes name, elects new leadership Archived July 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ William Carey University: Center for Study of the Life and Work of William Carey, D.D. (1761-1834) - Baptist Missionary Society
- ^ BMS World Mission: BMS origins and early days
- ^ "The Rest of the Serampore Trio". Christian History & Biography (36). October 1992. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "The Life and Work of Adoniram Judson, Missionary To Burma". Theological Studies.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ Glimpses of Christian History: 13 July 1813 • A Miserable, Dirty Town for the Judsons Archived February 16, 2006, at archive.today
- ^ Myanmar Baptist Convention: Affiliation and Partnership Archived July 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "APBF Leaders - APBF". APBF. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ^ Baptist World Alliance: Member Bodies and Statistics Archived 2008-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Asia Pacific Baptist Federation: APBF Member Bodies Archived July 23, 2012, at archive.today
- ^ Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India: Members[permanent dead link]