Baptist Bible Fellowship International
The
Baptist Bible Fellowship International is a strong separatist
fundamentalist organization formed in 1950 by members who separated from the
World Baptist Fellowship. J. Frank Norris was the recognized leader of the WBF and the Bible Baptist Institute of
Fort Worth, Texas. In
1948, George Beauchamp Vick (Norris' co-pastor in
Detroit, Michigan) agreed to take the presidency of the school in Fort Worth. In May, 1950, Norris opposed Vick, ousted him from the presidency, and installed a new president. When the World Baptist Fellowship met, no solution could be found, and Vick officially resigned. Noel Smith, W. E. Dowell, Sr., Fred Donnelson, Vick, and other pastors met in the Texas Hotel and laid groundwork for a new fellowship. They moved to
Springfield, Missouri, started the Baptist Bible College, the
Baptist Bible Tribune, and this fellowship of like-minded churches and individuals. They embarked on an aggressive missions program and have continued to grow. A recent controversy over Bible versions, contemporary music, secondary separation and other issues led to division and formation of the
Global Independent Baptist Fellowship..
The structure of BBFI makes it actually a fellowship of pastors rather than churches: "Affiliation with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International is open to any Baptist pastor of a supporting Baptist church believing in and adhering to the Word of God, on the basis of the Articles of Faith appended hereto." The organizational structure includes President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors, one from each state and elected by State Fellowships. Within this organization, there are State Fellowships in each of the fifty states of the United States. Headquarters for BBFI are in Springfield, MO. The stated purpose of the Fellowship is to obey both the letter and the spirit of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Some of the largest Sunday Schools in the U. S. are found in BBFI churches. Some BBFI churches and pastors also affiliate with and support other fellowships, such as the WBF. In 1995, the Baptist Bible Fellowship had approximately 1,500,000 members in 3395 churches.
Many of these BBFI churches refer to themselves as Bible Baptist.
External link
Sources
- BBFI Directory
- Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
- Dictionary of Baptists in America, Bill J. Leonard, editor