Relationships With Other Organizations
Virginia and Texas are unique among Southern Baptists, having established two separate state coordinating bodies, both adhering to the Southern Baptist Convention. Within Virginia, several churches left the BGAV in September 1996 to create a rival Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV); since their first meeting of 158 churches in 1997, the SBCV has grown to represent over 500 churches, which is one-third the size of the BGAV's 1400 churches. Since the BGAV does not prevent its member churches from dually aligning with another Baptist group, some of its members may also affiliate with the more conservative SBCV, though the BGAV and SBCV often disagree on priorities.
The BGAV joined the Baptist World Alliance in 2004 after the Southern Baptist Convention pulled out of the alliance. At the time, BGAV Executive Director John V. Upton, Jr., said, "Virginia Baptists have been a part of the BWA since its beginning in 1905. Our membership up to this point had been through the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The decision of the SBC to leave the BWA has automatically removed our membership. In this annual meeting Virginia Baptists have overwhelmingly voted to maintain that historic and strategic relationship." The BGAV contributes more to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) than does any convention or union in the world.
In 2006, the BGAV received some Georgia Baptist churches requesting affiliation across the border. The move is unusual for Southern Baptist churches which almost universally affiliate with conventions in their states or region. But it represents a growing interest in denominational links by affinity rather than geography, say some observers.
Read more about this topic: Baptist General Association Of Virginia
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