Baptist World Alliance Welcomes Baylor University as Member Partner
BWA unanimously approves Baylor as the global network’s third higher education Member Partner
Representatives from new Baptist World Alliance member partners hold a specially commissioned glass globe handcrafted by a BWA Baptist artist collective in Bulgaria. Top right is Truett Seminary Dean Todd D. Still, who represented the University at the annual gathering in Lagos, Nigeria. (Courtesy of Baptist World Alliance)
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At its Annual Gathering this week in Lagos, Nigeria, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Council unanimously approved 13 new members, including Baylor University as a full Member Partner. Baylor will join the BWA’s membership of 266 Baptist organizations across 134 countries and territories that represent more than 51 million Baptists worldwide.
“Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world, and we are thrilled to join the Baptist World Alliance as a Member Partner. We believe this relationship will help us continue to fulfill our mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service,” Baylor President Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., said. “The Baylor Board of Regents recently approved expansion of our longstanding university motto by adding Pro Mundo to Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana – codifying the influence our students, faculty and alumni have across the globe. We are For the Church, For Texas and now For the World. We look forward to collaborating and having the ability with the Baptist World Alliance to impact the world for Christ in even more significant ways in the future.”
With a vision to network the Baptist Family to impact the world for Christ, the Baptist World Alliance is a global movement of Baptists sharing a common confession of faith in Jesus Christ bonded together by God’s love to support, encourage and strengthen one another while proclaiming and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit before a lost and hurting world.
"It is always a joy to welcome new members into the BWA family," said Julie Justus Williams, BWA Director of Global Partnerships and Unity. “I am grateful for the support of the regions and current member partners who faithfully walk through the application process with incoming members. Together we are a growing family impacting the world for Christ.”
As the world’s largest Baptist university and a premier Christian Research 1 university, Baylor provides a vibrant residential community for more than 20,000 students and has nearly 200,000 living alumni – including nearly 2,000 graduates of Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary – who lead and serve across the globe in countless contexts.
Baylor joined the BWA as an Associate Member in 2022 with the intent of seeking full membership once educational institutions were given access, which occurred in July 2023. In November 2023, the Baylor Board of Regents affirmed the University’s intent to apply as a full member. The BWA partnership will deepen Baylor’s Baptist roots as the University will continue its longstanding relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), which also is a BWA member.
General Secretary & CEO Rev. Elijah M. Brown, Ph.D.
Baylor’s membership application was developed collaboratively with the University’s Office of Spiritual Life and Truett Seminary, which will become a full Member Partner as well, after having been an Associate Member for five years. Todd D. Still, Ph.D., The Charles J. and Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Dean and The William M. Hinson Chair of Christian Scriptures at Truett Seminary, represented Baylor at the BWA Annual Gathering in Lagos. Still has served as chair of the Theological Education Commission of the BWA since 2020.
Baylor is the third higher education institution approved by the BWA as a Member Partner. Fellow Texas Baptist institutions Dallas Baptist University and Howard Payne University were the inaugural higher education Member Partners last year. Baylor will soon begin to operationalize this new partnership with opportunities for engagement anticipated across the Baylor Family.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
ABOUT THE BAPTIST WORLD ALLIANCE
The Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1905, is a fellowship of 253 conventions and unions in 130 countries and territories comprising 51 million baptized believers in 176,000 churches. For more than 100 years, the Baptist World Alliance has networked the Baptist family to impact the world for Christ with a commitment to strengthen worship, fellowship and unity; lead in mission and evangelism; respond to people in need through aid, relief, and community development; defend religious freedom, human rights, and justice; and advance theological reflection and leadership development.