Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches
Encyclopedia
The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Inc. (Hil: Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon) is the oldest Baptist
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...

 organizational body in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Colporters translated and distributed Bibles in the Philippines beginning in the 1890s. Eric Lund (1852-1933), a missionary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (now International Ministries), and Braulio Manikin established a mission on the island of Panay
Panay Island
Panay is an island in the Philippines located in the western part of the Visayas. Politically, it is divided into five provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas Region. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the...

 in 1900. A church was organized there, at Jaro
Jaro
-Philippines:*Jaro, Leyte a municipality in the province of Leyte*Jaro, Iloilo City a district of Iloilo City-See also:*Jaro–Winkler distance*Jaro Medien a German music company*Jaro Records, a subsidiary of Rank Records...

, in February 1901. Lund translated the entire Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 into Hiligaynon
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...

, and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 into two other dialects. In 1905, the Jaro Industrial School (now known as Central Philippine University
Central Philippine University
Central Philippine University is a non-stock, non-profit Christian institution of higher learning in Iloilo City, Iloilo, Philippines. It was founded in 1905 by American Baptist missionaries as an elementary school for poor boys which eventually opened up a high school in 1920. It converted into...

) was established. The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches was formed May 23, 1935.
The American missionaries then created the Philippine Baptist Missionary Group, which maintained offices in Iloilo City
Iloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...

 until they were closed in 1991. Unlike many Baptist groups, the Convention has allowed ordination of women to the ministry since 1981.

In 1999, the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches had 104,000 members in 763 churches, according to BWA statistics. Headquarters are located on Fajardo St., Jaro, Iloilo City. Within the convention operates ten provincial associations, two hospitals, two community centers, one college, and two universities. Central Philippine University is affiliated with the Convention and maintains partnership ties with the International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches in the USA. The Convention is a member of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation 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...

 and the Baptist World Alliance
Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...

.

There about 20 different Baptist groups in the Philippines, including the Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines
Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines
The Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines is an organization guiding cooperative ministries of fundamental Baptists on the islands of the Philippines....

, which represents a schism from the American Baptist missions and "Convention" churches before the national organization was created. Over 25% of all Baptists in the Philippines are members of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches.

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