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Denominations - Protestant

Short profiles of selected Christian denominations in the U.S.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Baptist, Mainline Protestant

Date Founded:  1991

Membership/Number of Clergy:  The CBF does not count individual members, but does count churches.  There are 1,800 churches in the Fellowship.

Headquarters:  160 Clairemont Avenue, Suite 500, Decatur, GA 30030

Schools & Seminaries: Go to  http://cbfky.org/theological-education to find a list of the 17 locations.

Publications:  fellowship!

Website:  https://cbf.net/

Social Media:  Facebook, Twitter

Core Beliefs (taken from CBF website):

Our understanding of Baptist faith and practice is expressed by our emphasis on freedom in biblical interpretation and congregational governance, the participation of women and men in all aspects of church leadership and Christian ministry, and religious liberty for all people.

  • Soul Freedom — We believe in the priesthood of all believers and affirm the freedom and responsibility of every person to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or the control of clergy or government.

  • Bible Freedom — We believe in the authority of Scripture. We believe the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, is central to the life of the individual and the church. We affirm the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

  • Church Freedom —We believe in the autonomy of every local church. We believe Baptist churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whomever they perceive as gifted for ministry, and to participate as they deem appropriate in the larger body of Christ.

  • Religious Freedom — We believe in the freedom of religion, freedom for religion, and freedom from religion. We support the separation of church and state.

Short History:  CBF member churches felt the Southern Baptist Convention was departing from the historical Baptist distinctives of Biblical Freedom and Church Freedom. The trend for these churches are work toward toward more liberal theologies.

Local Churches close to the LPTS campus (there are more locations, search the Church Locator below for a comprehensive list): 

Highland Baptist Church, 1101 Cherokee Rd, Louisville, KY 40204.  

Crescent Hill Baptist Church, 2800 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206 -- Member church of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists

Jeff Street Baptist Community, 800 E Liberty St, Louisville, KY 40204 -- Member church of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists

St. Matthews Baptist Church, 3515 Grandview Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky 40207. 

Church Locator: https://cbf.net/churches