Missionary Baptists

The Missionary Baptist church is a Christian denomination that emerged in the American South during the late 19th century. Missionary Baptists separated from the Southern Baptist Convention due to theological differences. Missionary Baptists believe in the classic tenets of the Baptist polity: the autonomy of local congregations and the view that baptism and church membership are reserved for mature congregants. The defining characteristic remains an enduring insistence on local church autonomy.

In the United States, two sizable Missionary Baptist church associations operate today: the American Baptist Association (ABA), established in 1924, and the Baptist Missionary Association of America (BMAA), established as the North American Baptist Association in 1950. The collective membership totals over a million people.