Baptist Union of New Zealand

The Baptist Union of New Zealand is an association of Baptist churches in the country of New Zealand.

Several Baptists settled in New Zealand in the 1840s, but the first Baptist minister, Decimus Dolamore from Yorkshire, England, did not arrive until May 1851. Dolamore settled in Nelson and was involved in the formation of the first Baptist Church in New Zealand - Nelson Baptist Church - that same year. He was instrumental in obtaining a change in the law to allow Baptist ministers to perform marriage ceremonies. Until 1854, only Catholic and Anglican priests were allowed to do so.

The Canterbury Baptist Association was formed in 1874. This association started the "New Zealand Baptist" magazine, which has been published monthly since January 1881. The "Baptist Union of New Zealand" was formed at Wellington in October 1882. At the time the Union was formed, there were 22 Baptist churches, with 1,890 members. The "New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society" was formed at the 1885 conference of the Baptist Union. At the 1891 conference, the Union established a plan to divide the country into four districts - "Otago/Southland" (org. 1892), "Auckland" (org. 1892), "Canterbury & Westland" (org. 1892), and "Central" (org. 1896). Central District was later divided into the Central District Association and the "Wellington" Association, and "South Auckland" was formed in 1939. South Auckland was later divided into the "Waikato" Association and the "Bay of Plenty" Association (now Bay of Plenty & Eastland). The "Top of the South" Association was formed in 1990. Some groups were called "auxiliary" and some "association", but in 1957, the term "auxiliary" was dropped in favor of the term "association". There are currently 9 associations. The "Baptist National Centre" is the registered office of the Baptist Union of New Zealand, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society and Baptist Care Limited, and is located in Penrose.

According to Union statements, they believe "the true humanity and Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; the atonement made on the cross by our Lord for the sin of the world; the person of the Holy Spirit as the one who sets apart, empowers, and imparts spiritual gifts to the church; the inspiration of the Bible and its authority in all matters of faith and practice; salvation and membership in the Church by faith in Christ alone; membership of the church for the regenerate; [and] the immersion of believers as the scriptural form of water baptism."

The Union supports education through "Carey Baptist College" in Penrose, and "Te Whare Amorangi", designed for Maori men and women, in Papatoetoe.

In 2006, Baptist Union membership included 23,118 baptized believers in 244 churches and fellowships.

Prominent New Zealand Baptists

*Decimus Dolamore - first Baptist minister in New Zealand
*Thomas Spurgeon - successful evangelist and son of famous English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon
*Charles Dallaston - "the Father of the Baptist Union"

External links

* [http://www.baptist.org.nz Baptist Churches of New Zealand] - official Web Site

References

*"A Handful of Grain: The Centenary History of the Baptist Union of New Zealand (Volumes 1-4)", by Paul Tonson, J. Ayson Clifford, G. T. Beilby, & S. L. Edgar
*"Baptists Around the World", by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
*"The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness", by H. Leon McBeth