Arizona Southern Baptist Convention
Encyclopedia
The Arizona Southern Baptist Convention (ABSC) is an autonomous association of Baptist
churches in the state of Arizona
. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
. On 1921-03-27, with Rock as their pastor, a group of people left the Calvary Baptist Church to form the First Southern Baptist Church, as a protest against the Northern Convention's stances on open communion, alien immersion, and interdenominational comity. In August of the same year, this new church joined the Southwestern Baptist Association of New Mexico.
On 1928-09-21, Rock led the formation of the Baptist General Convention of Arizona. In May 1929, this was associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It retained the name Baptist General Convention of Arizona until 1960, when it changed its name to the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention.
As of 2000 there were 323 Southern Baptist congregations in Arizona, with 138,516 adherents.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches in the state of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
History
The ABSC was formed in 1928, but its origins are in the division between the Arizona Baptist Convention and the Northern Baptist Convention some years earlier, starting in March 1917 when a group of Baptists who objected to the liberal positions being held by the ABC, left the First Baptist Church of Phoenix and formed the Calvary Baptist Church of Phoenix. The pastor of the new church was C. M. Rock, who came from Asheville, North CarolinaAsheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. On 1921-03-27, with Rock as their pastor, a group of people left the Calvary Baptist Church to form the First Southern Baptist Church, as a protest against the Northern Convention's stances on open communion, alien immersion, and interdenominational comity. In August of the same year, this new church joined the Southwestern Baptist Association of New Mexico.
On 1928-09-21, Rock led the formation of the Baptist General Convention of Arizona. In May 1929, this was associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It retained the name Baptist General Convention of Arizona until 1960, when it changed its name to the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention.
As of 2000 there were 323 Southern Baptist congregations in Arizona, with 138,516 adherents.