The Baptist denomination is growing worldwide. The fastest-growing population is in Africa, and the second is in Asia. The slowest growth is taking place in Europe and North America, where the Baptist increase was once the greatest. What are the Contributions of Baptists? Baptists are not perfect. However, Baptists have made and continue to make many meaningful contributions. Practically every aspect of human life has benefited from these contributions. Through evangelism and missions, God has used Baptists to help transform the lives of millions of people as they have come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptists minister to a plethora of human hurt—physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. Baptist hospitals and clinics, child and elder care organizations, disaster-relief groups, counseling centers, and numerous other entities bind up broken bodies and spirits, restore shattered lives, and contribute to the overall wellbeing of people of all ages, races, and conditions. Baptists apply the gospel of Christ in various ways to attack ills of society, such as poverty, racism, injustice, crime, hunger, corruption, abuse of women and children, drug addiction, and sexual perversion. Baptists provide numerous educational opportunities to a massive number of people. By furnishing a vast number of books, periodicals, and Internet resources, Baptists enable individuals to garner knowledge. By fostering schools, universities, and seminaries, Baptists make available formal academic studies. Perhaps the most distinctive Baptist contribution has been that of religious liberty and its corollary, the separation of church and state. Historians, both secular and religious, recognize Baptists as leaders in the struggle for religious freedom, a struggle that continues. Why Do Baptists Function as They Do? WhyhaveBaptists grown from a handful of people, hounded and persecuted by both religious organizations and governments, to one of the largest denominations in the world?Why have Baptists sacrificed comfort, possessions, and even life itself to minister to others and to work for religious freedom for all? Although no simple answer exists to questions such as these, the why of Baptist action is rooted in basic Baptist beliefs. Baptists are a vastly diverse people. Nevertheless, they hold certain basic doctrines and practices in common.
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