Baptist churches are Christian communities that share a core faith with other Christian denominations but have some important characteristics that distinguish us. Perhaps most notably, Baptists derive their name from the practice of believers’ baptism, by total immersion into water, on a personal profession of faith. Unlike a number of other denominations we do not baptise infants but only those who are old enough to make a clear declaration of their own free will.

Freedom, and particularly religious freedom, has always been central to Baptist beliefs. When believers come together for worship and learning they do this as a group of people who have freely chosen to do so.

The Baptist denomination has a particular emphasis on the local church. Each local church is self-governing and self-supporting, ranging in size from a handful of members to many hundreds. Although each Baptist church is an independent entity, Baptists nonetheless have always believed in associating with one another – and so the churches come together in regional, national and international spheres to promote and support the fellowship of Baptists everywhere.