What Does Baptist Mean?

A Baptist is defined as a member of the Baptist church and a follower of the Baptistic doctrines. Baptist pertains to or is characteristic of the Baptist church. Baptist churches are a part of a faction of the Christian faith that is considered to be an Evangelical movement. It is a denomination of Protestants and not Roman Catholics. Baptists lay great stress on the baptism of each believer by full immersion. This is performed after a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour.

Baptist churches have a system of congregational governance. It gives each individual Baptist church the autonomy to govern itself and make its own decisions. These churches are sometimes associated with organisations such as the Southern Baptist Convention as their affiliated members. Some of the famous volumes written about the Baptist community are the book entitled History of the Baptists, which was written by T. Armitage in the year 1887, the Baptist Hymnals of 1975 and 1991 and the National Baptist Hymnal.