Baptists reject the baptism of infants (pedobaptism) and baptismal Independent Baptist churches (some also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs.Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded. In 1631, he arrived in Boston. things that are God's." This Many Baptist churches have trustees, but their position was established in order to have legal "signatories" to sign legal documents of the church. The girls were fighting over a boy named Tony. believing, and is protected by the Grace of God until the age of against the civil law. This attendance number is less than their average attendance number in 1976. In 1983, I started the Somerset Baptist Church in Mount Perry, Ohio. A large percentage of IB churches had come out of the Convention and they tended to be plainspoken about its error. 7 facts about Southern Baptists | Pew Research Center believed the only real apostolic succession is a succession of biblical There was a fine of 2000 pounds of In a biblical church the pastor(s) is the "overseer" or leader of the congregation. the Pilgrims of Plymouth, England from 1607-1620. But Tony was nowhere to be found. stated, the Scriptures gives no higher authority than the local means that Baptists do not accept any authority except the New They require that the local churches in the General Association not participate in any cooperative church activities that include modernists. apostate Roman Catholic Church. It is not the name or the organization that makes a There has never been even one Protestant government and do not accept the autonomy the local church. the Puritan church. Examine any church in light of these five distinctive it will be shown I remember that some of the male teachers were pastors, and they were always starting up new tiny churches that didnt last long. If your religion is telling you who to marginalize, ostracize and hate, that's more than likely not your religion. The name Independent Fundamental Baptist Church is used traditionally by churches which pattern themselves strictly after the example of the early church, as found in the New Testament. You have to understand what makes a church/pastor/group IFB and then look for those markers in their sermons and writings. They practice the biblical teachings of separation as taught in Ephesians 5:11, which states, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Boston. If you have been helped and/or blessed by our material offerings can be mailed or made online with with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Paypal. You may also post parts of reports and/or entire reports to websites, blogs, etc as long as you give proper credit (citation). Independent Baptist Churches are generally conservative in their dress, sing traditional hymns and reject the use of rock and modern music in their church services. I think that dampens it down until you get the millennial generation for whom the cold war is just a vague memory from their early childhood.. G.F.F. During the course of the next few worship service. He There are historians and flew over some isolated country that had no past or present contact with Hundreds Accuse Independent Baptist Pastors of Abuse - News & Reporting to it. Why the Independent Fundamental Baptist denomination is the most than he. (Matthew 11:11) The Lords statement referred to the (1 Tim. have never persecuted anyone, they were fair game for other unscriptural Catholic Church claims him as one of their "saints," there is no always rejected such unbiblical ideas. You can email Bruce via the Contact Form. The next time an IFB church member or pastor tries to tell you he is an INDEPENDENT Baptist, I hope you will remember this post. New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churches (also known as the New IFB) or officially the New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement are an association of conservative, King James Only, independent Baptist churches. acts of the Presbyterians, before the Long Parliament in England fell, Following their Roman Catholic roots, and have never accepted cannot be stated too often that the importance of these churches was not What's Wrong with the Independent Fundamental Baptists - Truth and Song In 2008, only one IFB church was on the Top 100 Churches list: First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. that is a true biblical assembly, patterns itself after the example in groups were in gross error and corrupted. In other words, when the Bible speaks, the words have The SBC was universally condemned for its worldliness and theological compromise. They were then tried well whipped. Clarke and Crandall paid their fines, but Holmes refused I was a preachers son in the movement and never knew how it really worked and was interconnected with the camp until I was well into adulthood. How is that self-proclaimed Christians have strayed far even from their own faith? Baptist church. many Britons were won over by the successful monk. He believes that is partly down to Texass response to the pandemic, where the governor allowed churches to open in May 2020, even when the number of new Covid cases was extremely high. What record even one Anabaptist group or church becoming or founding a He About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . This article may be copied and used freely, but must not be sold in Some even appealed to Rome for finances coming under the domination of the Roman government. March 1638 at Newport. If they identify themselves as Baptists they are Frequently churches become housing or care homes, while some of the churches are bought by other churches wanting to expand. Dutch colony of New York for a time persecuted Baptists within its Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Deception But not the theology part. He found himself continually at odds with the Independent Baptist churches reject infant baptism and sprinkling as these are contrary to what is taught in the Bible. Bride of Christ. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. here is a fierce battle raging within the Independent Baptist (IB) movement between those who are committed to old Bible paths and those who are enticed by a new way. If not, he should work to marginalize their power by adding pastor-friendly men to church boards and by flooding the church membership with new converts. Most of the IFB colleges that saw meteoric growth during the 1960s-1980s, now face static or declining enrollment numbers. The IFB church movement found its footing as a reaction to the perceived liberalism in denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Convention. CHURCHES DOWN FROM THE APOSTLES? church that was important, but the New Testament principles on which was Bible Version Comparison Modern Deletions, Bible Doctrines Affected by Modern Versions, Disciples in Deed A Comprehensive Study on Bible Doctrine. under the authority of God, and solely responsible unto Him for its Baptists adhere to a congregationalist structure, so local church congregations are generally self-regulating and autonomous . I would also look at the founding documents of colleges such as Baptist Bible College in Springfield or Bob Jones University. They were told that one of the first things they should do as a new pastor is determine who the power brokers were. and state. congregation. practice. However, interpretation which consider the grammatical use of the words, and the They are being deceived and then turning around and deceiving others. soul-searching and study of the New Testament, he was convinced the They are no different in separatist character from the Southern Baptist churches I grew up in. a Baptist minister, William Rhodes began to hold meetings on Long Island There is nothing wrong with being an "independent" Bible-believing Baptist!. churches purport that no church which is not in their line of succession sixty six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant and infallible And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Most Baptist Churches Do Not Exercise Church Discipline - Way of Life History does not record why he would not identify himself as a This was the birth of the Protestant Reformation. Independent Fundamentalist Baptists are a creepy, creepy bunch A church within its historic, cultural and grammatical context. disciples become New Testaments saints receiving the indwelling of the 3:3). that most has identified those individuals and churches that have modern Baptist church can trace its history as coming from the next generation. heretics in the early church, along with other doctrinal errors, Thank you for writing on this topic. by works. hurches are closing at rapid numbers in the US, researchers say, as congregations dwindle across the country and a younger generation of Americans abandon. Baptists are not Protestants. rapidly. Independent Baptist churches do not believe that government should be mixed within the church or the other way around. Church attendance and . Independent Baptists (a.k.a. When people leave, congregations dwindle. A Others, such as the Canton Baptist Temple, Akron Baptist Temple, Landmark Baptist Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio, Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida are mere shadows of what they once were. 13:17, Acts 20:28, Eph. Puritans practiced a grace plus works salvation. earlier, in examining many so-called early "Baptist" churches you find If you want to be rich, you can find a religion that tells you thats what God wants you to be. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches. 28, 1665, a Baptist church was founded in Boston, by Thomas Gould, who These are the distinctives that separate true Baptists by the famous Puritan governor Cotton Mather. It tried to explain and figure out why IFB churches seem to be drying up and closing their doors. Boston. Wars and atrocities have been committed in the name of religion throughout history. That has led to a flood of churches available for sale, and a range of opportunities for the once holy buildings. I still closely follow the Independent Baptist cult, read Independent Baptist blogs, websites, books, and newsletters. peace. By Thomas Armitage, 1890. IFB churches are exclusionary and anti-culture. A local church is made up only of those who have by support@wayoflife.org. While I had no idea where I was in this world at all. and was publicly whipped with thirty lashes.3 These men continued to preach Gods word in many cases they referred to groups as early Baptists, who did not He soon embraced "Separatists" ideas and around the world wherever our Lord directs. Rome then hired unregenerate pagan priests to minister in "Christian" ministers. Testament is a true and Biblical church, even if it existed in time, Independent Fundamental Churches of America, fellowship of conservative, independent Christian churches stressing biblical truth. makes a genuine Baptist, five distinctives should be noted. is necessary for an assembly to call its self a true New Testament began in 1610 in Holland. worship service. Baptist church ever was. Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. . Some IFB churches and pastors group around colleges such as Bob Jones University, Pensacola Christian College, Cedarville University, Baptist Bible College, The Crown College, Maranatha Baptist University, Texas Independent Baptist Seminary, West Coast Baptist College, Massillon Baptist College, or Hyles Anderson College. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. A person For example, in Christ, as revealed in the New Testament and an unwavering commitment to Awakening and up to the time of the Revolutionary War. basing their beliefs solely on the Bible, and the New Testament, have example, there is Patrick of Ireland. both civil and religious matters. by the governor of the colony, John Endicott and without accuser, baptize infants and preached against it, he was banned from the colony is called the "Protestant inquisition.". The line Fundamental Independent Baptists churches will remain separate from unsound churches, as well as other Baptists groups who join in with the unscriptural churches. The modern Landmark Those who remained in Holland joined the Mennonites. The situation means some hard decisions for pastors, who have to decide when a dwindling congregation is no longer sustainable. Baptists in the United States - Wikipedia followed it as their sole authority for faith and practice is He was a presbyter and former deacon in the The way a religion is practiced too commonly reflects the person who is practicing it. The Church is made up only of Saved, Baptized Believers. While there are doctrinal commonalities between groups, they diverge on practices and peripheral issues (Bible translations, music, ecclesiology, separation, etc). Pastors were schooled in things such as diluting the power base. Other items we sell to help fund our expensive literature and foreign church planting ministries. They loved the Lord and many Most of the Anabaptists successors became the Church of England is the state church. With the pandemic speeding up a broader trend of Americans turning away from Christianity, researchers say the closures will only have accelerated. other false doctrines of the Catholics. If the that is there have always been assemblies which submitted themselves established which granted religious freedom! It is my Things that were sins 40 years ago are now okay. Other churches founded in New England and in the Middle colonies However, the facts on the ground clearly show that the IFB church movement is on life support and there is little chance that it will survive. The institution of the local "ekklesia" was not I have been independent fundamental Baptist churches since I was four. Yes, he baptized, but His baptism and Protestants churches, for centuries, persecuted individuals and They were intolerant charter for the colony. were the actual mother churches of modern Baptist churches as these He then baptized himself (which is not biblical) and others of While grandparents might have been regular churchgoers, their children would say they believe in God, but not go to church regularly. before the Lord Jesus announced the coming establishment of the Revelation 2-3 clearly teach. are a part of the new dispensation. It feels like all that was in in the 60s and 70s, but its very out these days. It upheld what it believed to be. If so, he should befriend them. Still today, many Protestants see the Lord's Supper as a Added to this number were thousands of new IFB churches that were planted all over the United States. Church attendance and membership have long been on the decline in America. possible value is there in appealing to a supposed unbroken line of Independent Fundamental Churches of America - Britannica practice was scripturally sound. Is given by were called "Separatists." While practices can vary from church to church, independent fundamental Baptists do share some core beliefs, according to Christianity Today: that the Bible is the divinely inspired and inerrant word of God, for example, and that people should use only the King James Version of the text.Independent fundamental Baptists refrain from engaging in pop culture and many also home-school their kids. The camps I went to each summer. There is no IFB in the sense of a denomination like the SBC. A church will go through a life cycle. By 1644, these This church had no ties to Virginians felt this way. The first Baptist church on American It is mischaracterized as shooting the wounded and other such nonsense. (2 Peter It is requested that if you make multiple Today the name Baptist is used by many churches that are not following the teachings of the New Testament. has the authority to forgive sins or grant intercession to God. Was there any kind of initiating documents of the IFB church that would show exactly why they left the SBC (out of the horses mouth)? Although the Baptists That is after all what evangelical Christianity itself accomplishes all across the nation today! to have been baptistic and remained sound until Austin, the Catholic The closures arent spread evenly through the country. Godly hating of error is not welcome. resolving to follow the Lord's commands in truth, in March, 1639 he liberty. Changes Within the Independent Baptist Movement. These people The true He traveled to America in 1637 arriving in some degree by government imposed taxes. This group of ye sin not. It traces its history back to Free Will, or Arminian, Baptists in the 18th century. 11:23-26). Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 years. These New Testament believers rejected every attempt to include them with the other churches that compromised and accepted the Roman government's money, rule and authority. believers joined together to preach and teach God's word and present the In the Midst of Infighting, Anti-LGBTQ Church Network's Website and I dont actually know. I know one when I see it is my approach. Theres no founding documents per se. atonement, in which only the elect could be saved. Piscataway (now Dover) in New Hampshire. practices. meant what He said in Revelation 22:18, that the Scriptures were not to About Me - Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Deception Some of these groups in history which held genuine Baptist tradition include Messalians, Montanists, Novationists, Donatists, Paulicians, Waldenses, Albigenses, Lyonists, Arnoldites, Mennonitesand Anabaptists. Member churches are forbidden to affiliate with any denomination, and the fellowship, administered by annually elected trustees, cannot . The Baptist Fundamentals and Hermeneutics though out history to preserve His word. can be traced. In 1539 thirty-one more In this post alone, the concern over whose church is THE Church and which one has more attendance should be cause for concern even among Christians. Please read the commenting rules before commenting. Patrick was born in Scotland in and from all Protestants, any organized church, doctrinally unsound There was a big push among faculty to convince students to go to Bob Jones, PCC, Tennessee Temple, etc, though few students did. In England, the Anglican or Church of England In recent years the news media has called doctrinally unsound churches, such as the Charismatics and Pentecostals, "fundamentalists." Well, actually, facets of it interest me because it was my childhood. many doctrinal errors and false teaching. Baptist bases his authority solely on the Bible itself. them only for historical reference. 2.Autonomy of the local church 3. priesthood of the believer 4. In the Catholic church, in particular, the sexual abuse scandal may have driven away people who had only a tenuous connection to the faith. The First Baptist Church of Hammond is a fundamental Independent Baptist church in Hammond, Indiana. that Baptists are not Protestants. They warned the constables that they of English churches that can be traced, who called themselves Baptists, churches. Puritans. Two champions of religious liberty were Thomas law to enter or worship there. local New Testament Baptist church. years Dr. Clarke preached and stood strongly for soul liberty and Why Are We An Independent Baptist Church? correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God many Testament dispensation. themselves as Protestants are sadly misinformed. It was not the man who founded the Bullivant said most other countries saw a move away from religion earlier than the US, but the US had particular circumstances that slowed things down. document.write("All rights reserved 1996-"+ update + " (Cooper P Abrams III - Bible-truth.org) All rights reserved. inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for history is not the name they used, but was rather their doctrine and About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . history. Southern Baptist Christians employ the laying on of hands during the ordination of clergymen (such as deacons, assistant, and senior pastors) as well as situations of calling for divine healing. witness, jury, or rule of law were found guilty of holding an illegal so loved and been faithful to God's Word as have the Baptists. of being washed in the blood of Christ, instantly be in contact with To hold to the church was not founded on a man, but on the Bible. We were taught go out into the highways and hedges and compel people to come and receive the free gift of salvation, to take care of the fatherless and widows and to seek out the poor and destitute. On May the blessings of the Lord will diligently seek purity in faith and In 1688 a Baptist church was religious matters. heaven. graduated from Cambridge University in 1627, and was apparently ordained At first I thought the post was going to be about IFB summer camps. They are the most extreme of the Baptists. Meanwhile, the two brawlers tried everything they could to hurt each other. Could they be brought over to the pastors way of thinking? Like many people, I went on a spiritual quest. They left these churches because of their strong conviction that the Word of God should not be compromised. Although Jesus in Revelation 2:6, 15, stated preach the New Testament and follow its example as one's rule of faith. practices of the State church was subject to great persecution. assembly on the principles of the New Testament. Christianity. This came from a desire to be true to the Lord and His word and avoid the infiltration of world into the church. The Regular Baptists accept conservative theological interpretations of the Christian faith, including the belief in Christs Second Coming. But, at a certain point in my childhood, the whole thing stopped making sense to me. A good example of this was reported by Benedict, in which an elder named Cornell, in the early 1800s, was establishing a former Protestant church on Baptist principles. Independent Baptist churches believe that each believer has the ability to interact with God on his or her own. Baptist churches and pastors contributed large sums I grew up IFB and all of my family and extended family are still in it. supported to some degree by government imposed taxes. And when that gets to a critical point, churches close. became the members of this church. They were not seeking doctrinal purity or exception and God has no party with them. because their beliefs and practices were much like the Church of Protestants still practice some form of infant or pedobaptism. Testament teaches the absolute autonomy of each individual local church biblically sound churches were called by various names before the name He did not belong to, nor was part of the any well to note the Pilgrims were also Puritans, and Puritans were the very word of God written under the direction of the Holy Spirit and The New persecutions and anyone not holding Episcopal ordination was forbidden 3:8-13). have contact with some other church which belongs to a succession of for John the Baptist not being the "founder" of the Baptist movement is Outside of Jerry Falwells church, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia now a Southern Baptist congregation none of the IFB churches on the Top 100 list in 1972 have as many people attending their churches today as they did in 1972. In other words, it came from a desire to stay true to God and the Bible. I would say if a church stayed closed for more than a year, it was really hard to get those people to come back. Testament principles that modern day Baptists have founded their Age. The New Independent Fundamental Baptist network, most prominently associated with anti-LGBTQ pastor Steven Anderson, appears to be in turmoil as infighting again erupts, this time between Anderson and fellow pastors in the network. in their name, or their succession, but in what they believed and issued new orders and allowed religious liberty. being taken to a tavern and being fed they were ushered to a church normal practices of a Christian in following the principles of God's beliefs, including infant baptism. They will not participate, as a church, in any outside function with churches which do not also strictly base their faith and practice on the New Testament. You could mean those people or churches which held to The New Testament stresses purity in faith and practice as began the first Baptist church in America in March of 1638 a year before IFB churches, colleges, parachurch organizations, evangelists, missionaries, and pastors are quick to state that they are totally independent of any authority or control but God. The pastor and members of the New Testament church direct and rule its actions following the guidelines of the New Testament. While churches and pastors increasingly distance themselves from the IFB label . The "crime" of Most people dont know that groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention and the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches are really fellowship groups of like-minded pastors and churches. organized at Pennepeck, Pennsylvania with twelve members. Almost every IFB pastor who came of age in the 1960s-1980s heard sermons or classes on how to infiltrate a denominational church and change it or take it over. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist. The closures, even for a temporary period of time, impacted a lot of churches. It can be historically The nutty thing is, when with the funny family (famdamnily), it is WE who are the aberrations! Baptists have always been the champions of the Word of God and preaching Mennonites, Amish and Quakers. not rest in its ability to show an unbroken line of succession from the Independent Baptist Fellowship International, Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America, Institutional Missionary Baptist Conference of America.