Expert: David Ralston - 12/13/2004

Question
Dear Pastor.

Please explain to me the difference between a Southern Baptist and a Missionary Baptist.  I thought a Baptist was a Baptist.

Barbara

Answer
Dear Barbara,
In my answer to your question about Missionary Baptists and Southern Baptists, I mistakenly identified the two most common groups of "Missionary" Baptist Churches as the ABA and the MBA.  I should have wrote:  'the ABA and the BMA".  The BMA is the Baptist Missionary Association and it is a great group of churches.  I am very familiar with them and hope my mistake in the order of their intitials did not confuse you. Thanks and may the Lord bless you and guide you.
David Ralston

PREVIOUS ANSWER:
Dear Barbara,
Thank you for your question.  There are differences in Baptist churches as to their affiliations, fellowships and conventions.  While all Baptist Churches are autonomous or self-governing, they differ as to what missionary boards or groups that they chose to work with.
The Southern Baptist Convention with about 55 thousand US churches and 5,000 missionaries is the largest single group of Baptist churches in the world. Most churches in this convention support missionaries through the denominational, International Mission Board which is administered by the SBC convention.  Quite a few Baptist churches among Southern Baptists also support other missionaries and missionary projects that are not affiliated with their convention, but almost all Southern Baptist churches support the Southern Baptist Convention and also the International Mission Board of the denomination.  
Sometimes churches in the SBC have in their name, Missionary Baptist Church.  
Usually, however, when you read the words 'Missionary Baptist Church' on the name of a Baptist church it means that this church is part of one of two other groups of Baptist churches.  These groups are the ABA and the MBA.
First is the American Baptist Association of churches (ABA) whose offices are in Texarkana, Arkansas.  This group of Baptist churches believe like most other Baptists with a few exceptions.  
While most Baptists believe in missions, the ABA usually believe that there should be no mission board involved in the sending out of missionaries.  Rather, they believe that it is the job of the local church where the missionary is sent from to take on the responsibility of supplying the need of the missionary, overseeing their support amount, recommending them to other churches of like faith for support and serving as oversight of the missionary on the field.  Some ABA churches also teach 'Baptist Bride' and 'Baptist Succession' doctrines that are not taught in most Baptist Churches.  Almost all ABA Churches also believe in 'closed communion' which is the practice of excluding visitors from the churches' communion service, even if that visitor is a Christian and a Baptist of like faith.  
This practice of 'closed communion' is not widely practiced among most Southern Baptist Convention churches.  (The majority of Baptist Churches practice 'close' communion, in which a visitor who is saved, right with God, and is in a church of like faith and practice, is also invited to partake of the Lord's Table with the local church.)
Almost all ABA churches put 'Missionary Baptist' in their name.
The second group of churches that usually put 'Missionary Baptist' in their name is the Missionary Baptist Association (MBA).  This is a group of Baptist Churches that split off the ABA in the 1950s.  Many MBA churches have duel association in the Southern Baptist Convention.  
They support missionaries with the MBA missionary board, sometimes they contribute to the SBC and Internal Mission Board, and support Independent Baptist Missionaries who are affiliated with non-Southern Baptist boards.  
In addition to these 3 groups of missionary minded Baptist Churches, there are over ten thousand independent Baptist churches who associate with missionary boards like the Baptist Bible Fellowship with 500-1,000 missionaries, the Baptist International Missions Inc. which has about 1,000 missionaries, World Baptist Fellowship with 100s of missionaries, and other godly and dedicated missionary groups of churches.  All these Baptist churches are missionary in emphasis and believe in following the Great Commission.  They do use various boards and methods to get the gospel out to the lost world as our Lord commanded us to do in Matthew 28:19-20.
Some of these churches also have Missionary Baptist in their name!
While much more could be said about the varying practices of Baptist Churches, I hope this answer will help answer your question.  While many Baptist churches differ in convictions of who or who they should not fellowship with, and differ in less essential issues like music styles and standards of dress and lifestyle, almost all do agree on the main issues.  Those main issues are things like the Inspiration and Authority of God's Word the Bible, the gospel of Christ and it's necessity to save sinners, obedience to the Great Commission of Christ to preach the gospel in all the world to every person, and the importance of every soul in the sight of God, and that every person is precious to God and deserves to hear that Christ died for sinners on the cross and only through Christ can sinners be saved.
Almost all Baptist churches believe in baptizing by immersion just as the pattern of the New Testament.  They teach that baptism does not save us, but rather is a witness and demonstration of our faith in Christ and our obedience to follow Him in our life.  
Almost all Baptist Churches believe in self-government of each local church and that no outside authority has a right to impose their rule over that of the local church itself and its members.
Almost all Baptist Churches agree that salvation by Christ is the first and most important matter for every person and that it is the local churches greatest mission to make sure everyone in our community has this witness and message given to them. After Christ is accepted as personal Saviour, Biblical Baptism then follows conversion to Christ and never precedes it.  These are some of the areas that most Baptists are alike in whether they actually put 'Missionary' in their name or not.
God bless you Barbara and may He lead you in all His perfect way.
Sincerely, David Ralston