The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF) is a federation of 65 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Okinawa City, Japan.
History
English missionary William Carey started his work in the Dutch controlled Serampore north of Calcutta, India in 1793, initially focussing on Bible translation, preaching, teaching, and the founding of schools.William Carey University: Center for Study of the Life and Work of William Carey, D.D. (1761-1834) - Baptist Missionary SocietyBMS World Mission: BMS origins and early days One of the major schools established by this mission is Serampore College, founded in 1818.
Other pioneers include Joshua Marshman and William Ward who together with Carey became known as the Serampore Trio. Of the three, Ward was instrumental in converting American Congregationalist missionary, Adoniram Judson, to Baptist beliefs and baptised both Judson and his wife, Ann Haseltine Judson, in Serampore.
Judson later began Baptist missionary work in Burma on 13 July 1813 upon his arrival in Rangoon.Glimpses of Christian History: 13 July 1813 • A Miserable, Dirty Town for the Judsons
The APBF was formed in the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1972 as the Asian Baptist Federation (ABF). Erich Geldbach, Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 249Asia Pacific Baptist Federation: About APBF It joined the Baptist World Alliance in 1975. William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2021, p. 43
It adopted its current name in 2007 after a resolution was approved during the ABF Congress held in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2 May to 6 May 2007.Baptist World Alliance News: Asian Federation changes name, elects new leadership
Organization
The APBF represents almost 60 Baptist denominations (known as conventions or unions) from 20 countries, encompassing almost 30,000 congregations with more than 5 million baptized believers. The single largest member of the APBF is the Myanmar Baptist Convention which claims more than 1.1 million baptized believers.Myanmar Baptist Convention: Affiliation and Partnership
The principal officers of the APBF are:
OfficeNameTerritoryPresidentRev. Edwin LamSingaporeVice PresidentsMr. Bijoy Sangma Mr. Ratu Inoke Kubuabola
Rev. Mark WilsonIndia Fiji
AustraliaGeneral SecretaryRev. Dr. Vesekhoyi TetseoOkinawa, JapanTreasurerMr. Peter LeauAustralia
Members
According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 65 member associations in 22 countries, 40,000 churches.Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, We Represent, ebf.org, Japan, retrieved May 5, 2023
See also
Baptist World Alliance
References
External links Asia Pacific Baptist Federation