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The '''Confessional Baptist Association''' (or simply "'''CBA'''"), previously known as the '''Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America''' (or simply "'''ARBCA'''"), is an association of [[Reformed Baptist]] churches in the [[United States of America|United States]]. The headquarters is located in Mansfield, Texas. | |||
==History== | |||
On November 12–13, 1996, fifteen [[Reformed Baptist]] churches met at [[Heritage Church (Mansfield, Texas)|Heritage Church]] in Fayetteville, Georgia to begin the planning of a national association of churches. Four months later on March 11, 1997, the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America was founded in Mesa, Arizona. The union was founded in 1997 as the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America by 24 member churches from 14 states.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Baptist river: essays on many tributaries of a diverse tradition|page=273|year=2006|first=William Glenn, ed|last=Jonas|isbn=0-88146-030-3|publisher=Mercer University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cJjleldIVEC&pg=PA273}}</ref><ref name= "EAR"/><ref name=CT>{{cite news| title = News Briefs| newspaper = Christianity Today | date = May 19, 1997|access-date= February 4, 2012| url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1997/may19/7t659d.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Church Directory|url= http://www.arbca.com/arbca/pdfdirectories/2012FebruaryDirectory.pdf|publisher=Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America|access-date= February 11, 2012}}{{dead link|date=May 2013}}</ref><ref>''[[Handbook of Denominations|Handbook of denominations in the United States]]'' (12th ed., 2005), p. 211.</ref> | |||
In 2022, the organization moved to legally dissolve the current organization, and created a new organization headquartered in Mansfield, Texas named "Confessional Baptist Association" along with a new set of bylaws for the new association. In 2023, the association held its first general assembly at [[Oak Grove Baptist Church (Angier, North Carolina)|Oak Grove Baptist Church]] in Angier, North Carolina, which consisted of the 13 founding member churches of the new association. | |||
==Theology== | |||
The association's churches all subscribe to the [[Second London Baptist Confession (1689)]]. The association's General Assembly has noted that their adherence to this Confession means "the model for (association) churches is [[Puritanism|Puritan]] and not one of a number of competing contemporary ones."<ref name=principle>{{cite web|title=A Position Paper Concerning the Regulative Principle of Worship | author=Theology Committee of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America | publisher=Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America | date=March 8, 2001 | url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/churchplantmedia-cms/arbca_carlisle_pa/regulative-principle.pdf | access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> | |||
==Theological training== | |||
ARBCA originally founded the [[IRBS Seminary|Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies (IRBS)]] at [[Westminster Seminary California]] which provides training for seminarians as part of studies toward a [[Master of Divinity]] degree program. The seminary is now located on the campus of Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas and maintains a relationship with the CBA and other organizations. | |||
==Missions== | |||
In 2000, ARBCA merged with the ''Reformed Baptist Mission Services (RBMS)'', a foreign missions organization.<ref name=autobio>{{cite web|url=http://www.arbca.com/history|title=History|publisher=Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America|access-date=2013-05-26}}</ref> RBMS, though founded 12 years before the ARBCA,<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the Baptists |page=472|year=2009|first=William H. |last=Brackney|author-link=William H. Brackney| isbn=978-0-8108-5622-6|publisher=Scarecrow Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Noz7WtnOV-kC&pg=PA472}}</ref> had acted as the foreign mission arm of the association, until the dissolution of ARBCA in 2022.<ref name="EAR"/> | |||
The association is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense as an endorsing agency for United States military chaplains.<ref>{{cite web|title=Armed Forces Chaplains Board Endorsements | publisher=US Department of Defense | url=http://prhome.defense.gov/RFM/MPP/AFCB/Endorsements.aspx | access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> | |||
==Church Planting== | |||
The mission of CBA is to assist local churches in the planting of Reformed Baptist churches that subscribe to the [[Second London Baptist Confession (1689)]]. | |||
In 2023, at the 1st General Assembly, the Confessional Baptist Association conditionally agreed to financially support Redeemer Reformed Baptist Church in Belton, Texas which is an existing church plant of Emmanuel Reformed Baptist Church in Georgetown, Texas. This funding was provided to temporarily assist the pastoral efforts of the Emmanuel Reformed Baptist Church's elders (in their search for a candidate for church planter), until the association's next opportunity to discuss a long-term funding plan for the church plant at the next annual general assembly. | |||
==External links== | |||
[[Category:Reformed Baptists denominations in North America]] | |||
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1997]] | |||
[[Category:Baptist denominations established in the 20th century]] | |||
[[Category:Organizations based in Pennsylvania]] | |||