Missionary Baptists are a group of Baptists that grew out of the missionary / anti-missionary controversy that divided Baptists in the United States in the early part of the 19th century, with Missionary Baptists following the pro-missions movement position.[1] Those who opposed the innovations became known as anti-missions or Primitive Baptists[2] Since arising in the 19th Century, the influence of Primitive Baptists waned as "Missionary Baptists became the mainstream".
The beliefs of Baptist churches are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another. Baptists do not have a central governing authority, unlike most other denominations.
However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches. Baptists share so-called "orthodox" Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. These would include beliefs about one God, the virgin birth, the sinless life, miracles, vicarious atoning death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ, the Trinity (the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, together with God the Father), the need for salvation (though the understanding of means for achieving it may differ at times), divine grace, the Church, the Kingdom of God, last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness), evangelism and missions.
The National Missionary Baptist Convention of America is an African-American Baptist convention which combined the efforts of Missionary Baptist churches and organizations throughout the country with the goal of unity for capable and efficient ministry. The NMBCA also seeks to propagate Baptist beliefs, doctrines, practices and distinct moral principles. The convention consists of four boards (education, evangelical, home mission, foreign mission) and 10 auxiliaries (Ministers, Ministers' Wives & Widows, Brotherhood, Brotherhood II, Women's Missionary Union, Women's Missionary Union # 2, Junior Women, Ushers, and Nurses Corp). In addition the Convention has a Benevolence Board and Praise Team.
The Institutional Missionary Baptist Conference of America is a recent division of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, which was formed on November 15, 1988. When the NMBCA was formed, Dr. S. M. Lockridge of San Diego, California was elected president of the Convention and served until his retirement in 1994. After his retirement a series of events and contested elections eventually brought about the formation of the Institutional Missionary Baptist Conference of America around 1999. Dr. H.J. Johnson, of Dallas, Texas, General Secretary of the Convention, ran for the presidency in 1995 and again in 1998. Following the second election defeat, Dr. Johnson and his supporters withdrew and organized the Institutional Missionary Baptist Conference.