Home›Rituals›Tradition›National Baptist Convention of AmericaDenominationNational Baptist Convention of AmericaChristianityPractitioner SystemVerifiedOrigin 1880 to 1915The National Baptist Convention of America traces its roots to the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, organized by Black Baptist ministers in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1880, which merged with two sister bodies in 1895 to form the National Baptist Convention. In 1915 a dispute over control of the denomination's publishing house split the convention, and the National Baptist Convention of America continued as the unincorporated body that kept the National Baptist Publishing Board under its own authority, distinct from the incorporated National Baptist Convention, USA. Now styled the National Baptist Convention of America International, it remains headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and stands among the oldest historically Black Baptist conventions in the United States.FactsIn Other Languages (1 name)Learn MoreNational Baptist Convention of AmericaConnectionsSourcesEssays About This Entity (1 essay)CommunityComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsDisputedAdherents TodayScholarly debate225,776 1Sourced to the subject's own accountThe Association of Religion Data Archives, an independent data project that aggregates denominational and survey data using a consistent methodology across denominations for comparability, counted the National Baptist Convention of America at 225,776 members across 389 active churches in a study dated 2020. Because ARDA's figures come from administrative and survey data gathered and standardised by an outside body rather than reported directly by the convention itself, and because voluntary reporting by individual congregations is uneven, its count sits well below the figure the convention reports for itself, and the two have not been reconciled by either party.Adherents TodayScholarly debate3,500,000 1Sourced to the subject's own accountThe National Baptist Convention of America reports its own membership figure, across roughly 4,000 affiliated churches, through the Baptist World Alliance, most recently in 2022 and again in 2024. That figure comes directly from the convention's own count of its affiliated congregations rather than from any outside survey, and the Baptist World Alliance does not independently audit member-body figures before publishing them, which is a different method from the Association of Religion Data Archives' standardised survey approach and is why the two counts diverge without either having been shown wrong.Membership Over TimeScholarly debateThe Association of Religion Data Archives' independent count of American congregations recorded 304,414 National Baptist Convention of America International members across 575 churches in 2010, compiled from congregation records rather than from the denomination's own reporting. 1Sourced to the subject's own accountThis is one of the widest self-reported to independently surveyed gaps recorded on this axis: the denomination's own long-standing claim of roughly 3.5 million members is more than ten times the 304,414 members and 575 churches an independent congregational count found in 2010. Historically Black Baptist conventions count individuals through affiliated local churches rather than a central membership roll, so a claimed national total can include everyone any member congregation counts as its own, while a bottom-up survey counts only the congregations it can independently locate and confirm. Neither figure has been reconciled with the other, and both are recorded here rather than treated as though one simply supersedes it.Membership Over TimeScholarly debateThe National Baptist Convention of America International has continued to state its own membership at approximately 3.5 million people in roughly 4,000 churches into the early 2020s, a church-reported figure repeated in the denomination's reporting to the Baptist World Alliance. 1Sourced to the subject's own accountThis is one of the widest self-reported to independently surveyed gaps recorded on this axis: the denomination's own long-standing claim of roughly 3.5 million members is more than ten times the 304,414 members and 575 churches an independent congregational count found in 2010. Historically Black Baptist conventions count individuals through affiliated local churches rather than a central membership roll, so a claimed national total can include everyone any member congregation counts as its own, while a bottom-up survey counts only the congregations it can independently locate and confirm. Neither figure has been reconciled with the other, and both are recorded here rather than treated as though one simply supersedes it.AttributionsChurch FamilyWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountBaptist 1StatusStatus TodayWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountLiving tradition, practised today 1FinancesInstitutional Wealth or FinancesWell-attestedIRS Form 990 filings for National Baptist Convention of America International Inc, EIN 72-1044367, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, show total revenue of about 1,036,529 dollars, total expenses of about 982,535 dollars and total assets of about 1,339,127 dollars for the fiscal year ending June 2012. 5Distinct from the separate National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated, headquartered in Nashville; the two split in 1915 and remain separate bodies. Do not conflate them.Institutional Wealth or FinancesWell-attestedThe same filing history shows total revenue of about 53,257 dollars, total expenses of about 72,516 dollars and total assets of about 756,185 dollars for the fiscal year ending June 2016, a sharp and unexplained decline from the 2012 figures. 5No filing more recent than fiscal year 2016 was found; the organisation is not required to file because the IRS designates it as a church, so this is the most recent available data, now nine years old.Basis of the Wealth FigureWell-attestedRegulator Filing 5Financial Disclosure RegimeWell-attestedAs a church, the Convention is exempt from mandatory IRS Form 990 filing in the United States; the filings that exist were voluntary or incidental, and no current annual-report practice was located. 5Wealth Figure As Of YearWell-attested2016 5Most recent year with a located filing; the 2012 figure above is recorded as its own separate fact.TrajectoryMembership Figure As OfWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own account2010-01-01 1Membership Figure As OfWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own account2022-01-01 1Basis of the Membership FigureWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountChurch-Reported Rolls 1Basis of the Membership FigureWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountIndependent Survey 1OriginsOrigin PeriodWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own account1880 to 1915 1Place of OriginWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountMontgomery, Alabama 1FounderWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountNo single founder; the 1915 split was led on the NBCA side by Richard Henry Boyd (1843-1922), who had built the National Baptist Publishing Board 1HistorySeparation or DivergenceWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountThe National Baptist Convention, over incorporation and control of the National Baptist Publishing Board 1Date of SeparationWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountfrom 1915 1BeliefDefining Doctrinal PositionWell-attestedTrinitarian: one God in three persons 1Tradition: ChristianitySourced to the subject's own accountMissionary Baptist: believer's baptism, the autonomy of the local congregation, soul liberty and the separation of church and state.Sacraments or OrdinancesWell-attestedBaptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances, acts of obedience and remembrance, and are not held to convey grace. 2PracticeBaptismWell-attestedBeliever's baptism by immersion, on a personal confession of faith. Infants are not baptised. 3Who May ReceiveWell-attestedThe convention sets no rule. Each congregation decides whom it invites to the table. 2Liturgical LanguageWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountThe vernacular 1OrganisationGovernanceWell-attestedAutonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association 1Sourced to the subject's own accountA voluntary national association of self-governing, autonomous congregationsOrdinationWell-attestedVaries between provinces or member bodies 1Sourced to the subject's own accountThe convention takes no binding position; ordination of women is decided by each autonomous congregationRelation to the StateWell-attestedNo Establishment 4In Other Languages (1 name)Narodowa Konwencja Baptystyczna AmerykiLearn MoreThe Publishing House Schism of 1915 The National Baptist Convention of America descends from the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, organized by Black Baptist state conventions meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1880 to fund missionary work in Africa outside the control of white mission boards. In 1895, that body merged with two sister conventions, the American National Baptist Convention and the Baptist National Educational Convention, to form the National Baptist Convention, which quickly became the largest Black religious organization in the United States, encompassing missions, education, and publishing under one roof. The convention's publishing arm, the National Baptist Publishing Board, was built into a major enterprise by its director, Richard Henry Boyd (1843-1922), who argued that he had founded and financed the Board largely with his own resources and that it belonged to him rather than to the convention as a corporate body. The dispute came to a head in 1915: the convention's majority voted to incorporate as the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated, placing convention assets, including the Publishing Board, under corporate control, while Boyd and his allies rejected incorporation and continued as an unincorporated body retaining the Publishing Board, which took the name National Baptist Convention of America. The split remains the founding schism of both of today's largest historically Black Baptist conventions.From Unincorporated Convention to NBCA International For most of the twentieth century the National Baptist Convention of America continued as Richard Boyd's allies had organized it in 1915, an unincorporated fellowship of autonomous Baptist congregations bound by voluntary affiliation rather than corporate structure, closely tied to the Boyd family's Publishing Board in Nashville. In the twenty-first century, a further internal dispute over incorporation and control of the convention's name and assets produced a reorganization under the fuller name National Baptist Convention of America International, Incorporated, the form under which the convention operates today. Like other historic Black Baptist conventions, the NBCA International is a voluntary association of self-governing congregations rather than a hierarchical denomination; individual churches call their own pastors and set their own positions on questions such as the ordination of women, on which the convention itself takes no binding stance. Its national headquarters are located on the campus of Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville, a historically Black college with which the convention maintains close ties. Its own materials describe a membership in the millions, though, as with most Baptist conventions, no independently audited count is published; third-party religion-census compilations have recorded far smaller figures, reflecting how differently conventions and outside researchers count affiliated churches.National Baptist Convention of AmericaFilter Results5 entriesOrigin Period Start YearAll30 (2)FrequencyAllOnce, or at a turning point in a life (4)Life Stage MarkedAllDeath and the disposal of the body (1)Entry into the community or the order (1)Marriage (1)Ordination, profession or vows (1)ObligationAllObligatory (1)Undertaken only with authorisation or transmission (1)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (5)Social FormAllPerformed by a gathered group (2)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (2)Practice StatusAllLiving tradition, practised today (4)PractitionerAllAll adherents of the tradition (1)Clergy or ordained officiants (3)Officiant Led (1)Native To RegionAllGalilee (1)Judea (2)Originated InAllGalilee (1)Judea (2)Originates In LanguageAllKoine Greek (1)Kind of ritualAllChristian Initiation and Ordination Rites (2)General Funerary Practices (1)Marriage Rites (1)Parts of the Eucharistic Liturgy (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 5BaptismNational Baptist Convention of AmericaFuneral RitesNational Baptist Convention of AmericaHoly OrdersNational Baptist Convention of AmericaMarriage CeremonyNational Baptist Convention of AmericaThe Words of InstitutionNational Baptist Convention of AmericaConnectionsAssociated WithNational Baptist Convention of America International (Wikipedia), Sources Well-attested This source names National Baptist Convention of America directly: "community edited article on the National Baptist Convention of America International."Source National Baptist Convention of America International (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributorstier 3National Baptist Convention of America International Inc, EIN 72-1044367 (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer), Sources Well-attested This source names National Baptist Convention of America directly: "72-1044367 (listed by ProPublica as National Baptist Convention Of America Inc; the organization's current public name adds International), Houston, Texas, classified Religion-Related/Protestant."Source National Baptist Convention of America International Inc, EIN 72-1044367 (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer)tier 1National Baptist Convention USA Incorporated, Denominations Well-attested This source names National Baptist Convention of America directly: "Boyd's faction left to form the National Baptist Convention of America, and the remaining body incorporated to hold clear legal title to its own assets, becoming the National Baptist Convention..."Source The Black Church in the African American ExperienceC. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiyatier 1The Black Church in the African American Experience, Sources Well-attested This source names National Baptist Convention of America directly: "Convention, USA, Incorporated, the National Baptist Convention of America, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the Church of God in Christ."Source The Black Church in the African American ExperienceC. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiyatier 1Belongs To Church FamilyBaptist Churches, Groups Well-attested Belongs to TraditionChristianity, Religions Well-attested Branch OfChristianity, Religions Well-attested Contained InBaptist, Denominations Well-attested A Baptist convention.Source National Baptist Convention of America International (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributorstier 3Historically Black Protestant Tradition, Denominations Well-attested Classified as historically Black Protestant tradition per Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.Source Pew Research Center: 2023-24 Religious Landscape StudyPew Research Centertier 1CritiquedApostolic succession, Doctrines Well-attested Critiqued HereSource Baptist Confessions of FaithWilliam L. Lumpkintier 2Celibacy / Monasticism, Practices Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. There is no monastic life and no celibate clergy, and pastors ordinarily marry.Confirmation, Rituals Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. There is no confirmation, since the profession of faith precedes baptism rather than following it years after.Infant Baptism and Christening, Rituals Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Baptism is for those who have professed faith, so the baptism of an infant is not a baptism at all and a person so treated is baptised on profession later. This is the point on which the tradition takes its name.Seven Sacraments, Practices Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are two ordinances, not seven sacraments, and neither conveys grace.The Real Presence in the Eucharist, Doctrines Well-attested Critiqued HereSource Baptist Confessions of FaithWilliam L. Lumpkintier 2Veneration of icons, Practices Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. The veneration of images is rejected outright.Veneration of saints and Mary, Practices Well-attested Critiqued HereKept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Prayer is offered to God alone, and the saints are not asked to intercede.Governed By PolityNational Association Polity, Doctrines Well-attested Holds ElementGospel Music, Sacred Sound Well-attested Thomas Dorsey's work at a Chicago Baptist church made the gospel song the ordinary music of the Black Baptist churches, against considerable resistance from the pulpit at the time.Objects and Practices of This TraditionAlmsgiving / Charity, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Giving to the needy is treated as a duty of stewardship over what is held in trust from God.Baptism, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, and it is an ordinance rather than a sacrament: an act of obedience and a public testimony, not a means by which grace is conveyed.Believer's Baptism, Doctrines Well-attested Source The New Hampshire Confession of FaithNew Hampshire Baptist Conventiontier 1Believer's baptism (credobaptism), Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Biblical inerrancy, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Christmas, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested Congregational church governance, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Congregational Polity, Doctrines Well-attested Source A History of Black BaptistsLeroy Fittstier 1Easter, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested Ecclesiastical Polity and the Validity of Holy Orders, Doctrines Well-attested Source Baptist Confessions of FaithWilliam L. Lumpkintier 2Eternal security of the believer, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Fasting, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Fasting is practised without a calendar, appointed by a congregation or undertaken privately.Foot washing, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Foot washing is kept as a third ordinance by Free Will, Primitive and some other Baptist bodies, and not by the tradition as a whole.Funeral Rites, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. The funeral is a service of the congregation, plain in form, with no prayer offered for the dead.Good Friday, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested Holy Orders, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. A congregation calls and ordains its own pastor, and ordination confers no order and no authority beyond the congregation that gave it. The two scriptural offices are pastor and deacon.Justification by faith alone (sola fide), Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Marriage Ceremony, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Marriage is solemnised by the congregation's minister and is not held to be a sacrament.Memorialism, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Observing the Sabbath, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Sunday is kept for worship as the Lord's Day, without a sabbatarian theory of it.Open and Closed Communion, Doctrines Well-attested Source Baptist Confessions of FaithWilliam L. Lumpkintier 2Ordination of Women, Doctrines Well-attested Source A History of Black BaptistsLeroy Fittstier 1Prayer, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. Prayer is ordinarily free rather than read, and the tradition has resisted set forms in public worship from the seventeenth century onward.Salvation by grace, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Scripture alone (sola scriptura), Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Separation of Church and State, Doctrines Well-attested Source A History of Black BaptistsLeroy Fittstier 1Sola Fide, Doctrines Well-attested Source The New Hampshire Confession of FaithNew Hampshire Baptist Conventiontier 1Sola Scriptura, Doctrines Well-attested Source The New Hampshire Confession of FaithNew Hampshire Baptist Conventiontier 1Soul liberty and the separation of church and state, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Holy Trinity, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Lord's Prayer, Prayers Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International.The Priesthood of All Believers, Doctrines Well-attested Source The New Hampshire Confession of FaithNew Hampshire Baptist Conventiontier 1The resurrection of Christ, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Words of Institution, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. The words of institution are read as the warrant for the Supper, which is a memorial act of obedience.Tithing, Practices Well-attested Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. The tithe is taught and expected far more explicitly here than in the older Western churches, and is the ordinary basis on which a congregation supports itself and its missionaries.Watch Night, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested Kept as Freedom's Eve on the last night of the year, a service that in the Black Baptist churches carries the memory of the night the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.Held DifferentlyOriginal sin, Doctrines Well-attested Held DifferentlySource The New Hampshire Confession of FaithNew Hampshire Baptist Conventiontier 1Predestination and free will, Doctrines Well-attested Held DifferentlySource Baptist Confessions of FaithWilliam L. Lumpkintier 2Originated InUnited States, Regions Well-attested Source National Baptist Convention of America (Wikipedia)Uses Liturgical LanguageVernacular Language, Languages Well-attested Sources1. National Baptist Convention of America International (Wikipedia)tier 3Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedialead paragraphThe National Baptist Convention of America International, (NBCA Intl or NBCA) more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States.Whole articleView the Source2. Baptist Confessions of Faithtier 2William L. Lumpkin, Judson Press, 1959The Baptist confessional tradition on polity, ordination, the ordinances and the SupperView the Source3. The New Hampshire Confession of Faithtier 1New Hampshire Baptist Convention, 1833The Baptist articles of faith of 1833 on scripture, faith, the fall and baptismView the Source4. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: First AmendmentLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law SchoolAmendment IQuote, Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.View the Source5. National Baptist Convention of America International Inc, EIN 72-1044367 (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer)tier 1ProPublicaView the SourceA History of Black Baptiststier 1Leroy Fitts, Broadman Press, 1985The Black Baptist conventions, the 1915 separation and the publishing board disputeNational Baptist Convention of America (Wikipedia)Originated In: United States, LeadQuote, Originated In: United States, LeadThe National Baptist Convention of America International, (NBCA Intl or NBCA) more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States.View the SourceEssays About This Entity (1 essay)One Denomination, Two Membership Counts Fifteen Times ApartThe single subject of this essay; four facts reducing to one unreconciled disputeRead the EssayCommunity0 members · 1 organizationVisit This CommunityBrowse OrganizationsOrganizations In This TraditionNational Baptist Convention of America International, Inc.Louisville VerifiedComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearChoose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.YearPresent1880Show This Year