Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
Baptist Christian association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (AWAB) is an international progressive Baptist Christian association of churches. The headquarters is in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
| Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists | |
|---|---|
| |
| Classification | Mainline |
| Theology | Progressive Baptist |
| Region | 5 countries |
| Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Origin | 1993 |
| Congregations | 192 |
| Seminaries | 5 |
| Official website | awab |
History
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The Association has its origins in the founding of American Baptists Concerned for Sexual Minorities in May 1972 by members of the American Baptist Churches USA who supported the inclusion of LGBTQ people.[1]
At a convention in San Jose, California in 1993, the Association replaced the latter.[2] In 1996, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California ordained Randle R. Mixon, the first openly gay Baptist minister.[3]
In 2007, it had 69 member churches.[4]
The organization merged with the Affirming Network of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 2024.[5]
According to an association census released in 2025, it has 192 churches in five countries.[6]
Beliefs
Marriage
The association supports blessings of same-sex marriage. [7]
Schools
It has five member theological institutes.[8]
