The Progressive National Baptist Convention formed in 1961 after civil-rights-oriented Baptist ministers led by L. Venchael Booth of Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati, failed to replace Joseph H. Jackson, the long-time head of the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA).[5][6] The older group stood aloof from the civil rights movement which was often led by local Baptist ministers;[7] the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA) often preached spiritual salvation rather than political activism. The dissidents nominated Gardner C. Taylor as president of the NBC USA.[8]
After a fist fight between reformers and stand-patters,[9] in which one elderly minister was accidentally killed, Jackson's supporters won. King was ousted from the NBC USA and his goal of using the united power of the black Baptist community to promote civil rights came to nothing.[5] His defeat prompted the formation of the new predominantly African American Baptist denomination.[10]
Thirty-three delegates from 14 states gathered at Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati to discuss the issue.[11] The vote to organize passed by one vote. L. Venchael Booth, pastor of Zion Baptist in Cincinnati, was elected first president of the convention.[12] The convention was originally formed as the "Progressive Baptist Convention" and the word "National" was added to the name in 1962. The convention has grown from the original founding numbers to member congregations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.
Following a path of political activism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention supported groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and methods such as affirmative action. Famous civil rights leaders who were members of the PNBC include Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Mays, Ralph Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker, and Gardner C. Taylor. The Progressive National Baptist Convention bills the "progressive concept" as "fellowship, progress, and peace."
In 1969, Uvee Mdodana Arbouin became the first ordained woman pastor in the convention.[13]
The Progressive National Baptist Convention celebrated its 50th Annual Session in Washington, D.C., in August 2011.[16] The PBNC has partnered with the predominantly white mainline American Baptist Churches USA since 1970.[17]
In 2022, the Progressive National Baptist Convention elected Jacqueline A. Thompson as second vice president, which made her the first woman to hold an elected leadership role in the Progressive National Baptist Convention.[18]
On January 22, 2024, before the Joint National Baptist Convention, the PNBC called for a ceasefire in Gaza.[19]
Statistics
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, in 1963, the PNBC had 500,000 members in 394 churches before growing to 2.5 million members in 1991 spread throughout 1,400 churches.[20] Since then, the convention's membership has stagnated, similar to the National Baptist Convention of America at the time. By 2009, the same organization numbered the PNBC as having 1,010,000 members in 1,500 churches. According to a census published by the Baptist World Alliance in 2022, however, it self-reported 1,500,000 members in 1,362 churches.[21] In another study by the World Council of Churches, its membership was approximately 2,500,000.[22]
Doctrine
In the denomination, many members identify with Progressive Baptist theology—being theologically moderate to liberal; this contrasts with the theologically conservative to moderate National Baptist Convention and National Baptist Convention of America. The Progressive National Baptist Convention collectively also recognizes the ordination of women.[11] Contrasting, its predecessor—the NBC USA—has no official position on women's ordination, though women do serve as pastors in the convention. According to the PNBC, it creates "opportunities for women in ministry to learn and serve."[23]
The Progressive National Baptist Convention allows locally autonomous congregations to determine policy regarding same-sex marriages, and the PNBC has not taken an official stance on the issue, leaving room for diversity of opinion.[24]
↑ "Home". Progressive National Baptist Convention. Retrieved 2023-07-14. PNBC was formed to give full voice, sterling leadership and active support to the American and world fight for human freedom. The convention was the convention -denominational home and platform for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who addressed every annual session of the Convention until his death in 1968. New generations of Progressive Baptists are continuing the struggle for full voter registration, education and participation in society, economic empowerment and development, and the realization of universal human rights and total human liberation for all people.
↑ "Contact PNBC". Progressive National Baptist Convention. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States. In 1845, the Southern Baptists separated from the Triennial Convention in order to support slavery, which the southern churches regarded as "an institution of heaven". During the 19th and most of the 20th century, it played a central role in Southern racial attitudes, supporting racial segregation and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy while opposing interracial marriage. In 1995, the organization apologized for its history. Since the 1940s, it has spread across the United States, having affiliated churches across the country and 41 affiliated state conventions.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 originally as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.
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The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is a predominantly African American Baptist denomination, and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The National Baptist Convention of America has members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Africa. The current president of the National Baptist Convention of America is Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States, established after the fundamentalism controversy within The Southern Baptist Convention. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, and headquartered in Decatur, Georgia. According to a census published in 2023, the CBF claimed 1,800 churches and 750,000 members.
The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (FGBCF) or Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International (FGBCFI) is a predominantly African-American, Charismatic Baptist denomination established by Bishop Paul Sylvester Morton—a Gospel singer and former National Baptist pastor. Founded as a response to traditional black Baptists upholding cessationism, Full Gospel Baptists advocate for the operation of Charismatic Christian spiritual gifts, while also holding to some traditional Baptist doctrine.
The World Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is an international Pentecostal denomination.
Theodore Judson Jemison, better known as T. J. Jemison, was the president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. from 1982 to 1994. It is the largest African-American religious organization. He oversaw the construction of the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee, the headquarters of his convention.
The black church is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are also led by African Americans, as well as these churches' collective traditions and members. The term "black church" may also refer to individual congregations, including in traditionally white-led denominations.
Claude William Black Jr. was an American Baptist minister and political figure. Black was born in San Antonio, Texas, which was segregated at the time. Black's parents are Claude Sr., who served as the Vice President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and Cora Black, who was a housewife.
Religion of black Americans refers to the religious and spiritual practices of African Americans. Historians generally agree that the religious life of black Americans "forms the foundation of their community life". Before 1775 there was scattered evidence of organized religion among black people in the Thirteen Colonies. The Methodist and Baptist churches became much more active in the 1780s. Their growth was quite rapid for the next 150 years, until their membership included the majority of black Americans.
Gardner Calvin Taylor was an American Baptist preacher. He became known as "the dean of American preaching".
Joseph Harrison Jackson was an American pastor and the longest serving President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church is a Baptist church known for its progressive theology located in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, right beside North Carolina State University. Pullen, called "a fiercely independent Baptist church" whose traditions have "earned it a reputation far and wide as the South's premier liberal church," has a long history of civil rights activism, and is currently a leader on key issues of the day, from LGBTQ rights to activism in Moral Monday protests to alliances with like-minded people in distant places from Cuba to Nicaragua to Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains and Black Sea.
The District of Columbia Baptist Convention (DCBC) is a coalition of Baptist churches in or near the Washington, DC area. The DCBC is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. It also holds a separate membership in the Baptist World Alliance.
The Joint National Baptist Convention, also known as the Joint Black National Convention, or National Baptist Joint Board Session, was initially a joint meeting in 2005 of the four predominantly African American Baptist denominations operating under the derivatives of the name "National Baptist Convention." Its participants—the National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; Progressive National Baptist Convention; and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America—represented over 17 million African American Baptists in the United States in 2004. The latter three organizations have either originated from or traced their origin to the National Baptist Convention, USA—or the mother church.
The Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, also known as the Lott Carey Global Christian Missional Community, Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, USA, or simply Lott Carey, is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, and has a predominantly African American membership.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention, is a Baptist Christian denomination headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. It is also the largest predominantly and traditionally African American church in the United States and the second largest Baptist denomination in the world.
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