INTRODUCTION: WHO ARE BAPTISTS?

The name 'Baptist' began as a derogatory term used by their opponents. It rises from the Baptist practice of immersion in water in contrast to the convention of baptising infants. It was coined in the seventeenth century by opponents to the new movement but rejected by followers themselves. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that Baptists accepted the use of the label to describe themselves.

BAPTISTS SHARE THE SAME PROTESTANT, REFORMATION HERITAGE WITH MANY OF THE MAINLINE DENOMINATIONS. This includes The Free Church of Scotland, The Church of Scotland, The Scottish Episcopal Church, The Church of England, The Congregational Churches and The Lutherans denominations. The roots of the Baptist movement date back to the sixteenth century and the post-Reformation period.  The first Baptist congregation appeared in 1609 in Holland. This included the Church of England minister, John Smyth, associate Thomas Helwys and number of people who had fled religious persecution  in England.    It was here that they first performed what was considered a radical and scandalous act of undergoing Believer's Baptism.

Their three core beliefs went on to shape future Baptist belief and practice. They were:

• The Bible, not church tradition or religious creed, was the guide in all matters of faith and practice.
•  The Church should be made up of believers only. That is, those who personally, confess faith in Christ, not all people born in the local parish and baptised as infants.
•  The Church should be governed by those believers, not by hierarchical clergy such as bishops and archbishops.

In 1612 Helwys and others returned to England to establish the first Baptist Church on English soil.  He eventually died in prison because of his baptist convictions.  Throughout the seventeenth century, Baptists continued to be persecuted for their beliefs, being known as 'Separatists', 'Nonconformists' or 'Dissenters'. They refused to become members of the Church of England, saying Christ - and not the monarch - was head of the Church.  The Baptist movement came to Scotland with Oliver Cromwell's troops in the mid 17th century. When the army withdrew, these churches disappeared, and for the next 100 years Baptist life in Scotland ceased to exist. Baptist churches were to be established in the eigthteenth century through the influence of a number of individuals who had personally embraced Baptist convictions. In addition, the late eigteenth century saw the beginning of the modern missionary movment as we know it through the sending of Baptist, William Carey to India. The nineteenth century saw a period of significant growth for the Baptist movement. Great preachers such as Charles Haddon Spurgeon in London and Alexander Maclaren in Manchester drew crowds in their thousands.
Today, Baptists form the fifth largest Christian church in the world. Baptist churches are found in almost every country and have about 40 million members worldwide. In Britain, several thousand churches belong to the various Baptist Unions in the UK, and have in excess of 150,000 members.

BAPTISTS SHARE THE REGULAR/ORTHODOX BELIEFS OF ALL THE MAJOR CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS that are expressed in the creeds and confessions of the early church such as The Apostles Creed and The Nicean Creed . However, there are several features that mark them out from other traditions, although none of them is exclusive to Baptists alone:

 BELIEVERS BAPTISM: This is perhaps the most obvious difference between Baptists and other denominations. This practice rose out of their convictions regarding who actually constitutes the church, the Body of Christ.  Baptists concluded from scripture that it is only those who have received eternal life through their personal confession of faith in Christ.   Not surprisingly, Baptists reject infant baptism, seeing no credible support for it in the Bible.  Some churches will re-baptise those who were baptised as infants in another Christian tradition, others respect that various denominations do things differently.  The Lighthouse Church respects those who, by conviction, stand by their infant baptism but will baptise on request any who wish to undergo Believer’s Baptism. 
The baptism is carried out by full immersion. Most Baptist churches have a baptistry, which is more or less a small pool in the church capable of gently immersing an person. Baptists believe that this practice most faithfully represents the witness of the New Testament practice of baptists.

PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS: Baptists believe that everyone, ordained or lay, is directly responsible before God for his/her own walk of faith before Christ.  Baptists believe that Christ alone is the great High Priest performing the priestly intermediary role before God on a person’s behalf.  Therefore, no other earthly intermediaries such as clergy are necessary to represent Christians before God.  Every believer has direct access to, and acceptance before God the Father through God the Son by means of God the Holy Spirit.  That means that in Baptist churches which appoint a Minister and Elders, they are equal member in the church meeting but with special responsibilities in terms of ministry as determined by the congregation.

CONGREGATIONAL: Baptists believe in congregational church government. That is, each church can govern itself with absolute autonomy.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: Baptists believe that the state and church should be separate from one another in terms of authority and control.  This applies to any external Christian or secular power, such as the state, being involved in church matters. Therefore Baptists reject the idea of an established or state church.  This conviction resulted in the persecution of the early Baptists and their emergence as the first advocates and campaigners for freedom of conscience and belief.