The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC) (Hiligaynon: Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon) is a BaptistChristian denomination in the Philippines. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and is headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City. CPBC was founded in 1900 as the oldest and first organized union of Baptist churches in the Philippines. This occurred after the country opened to Protestant American missions in 1898, following Spain's transfer of the Philippine islands to the United States.
In the 1930s, CPBC also became affiliated with the Iloilo Mission Hospital, initially founded by Protestant Presbyterians and later transferred to the Baptists (CPBC). The Iloilo Mission Hospital is the first American and Protestant hospital in the Philippines.
The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches has its origins in a foreign mission of the American Baptist Missionary Union on the island of Panay in February 1900,[1][2] when the Philippines islands was opened to the Evangelical missions after it was ceded to the United States administration.
Eric Lund, a Swedish Baptist minister working under the auspices of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and one of the founding fathers of the Jaro Evangelical Church, translated the entire Bible into Hiligaynon, and the New Testament into two other dialects. In 1905, the Bible School and Jaro Industrial School were established through a grant given by the American Baptist, business magnate and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller. The two schools later merged and became Central Philippine University, the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines and Asia.
In 1935 the formal formation of Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches was established.[3] In 1980, Angelina Buensuceso became the first woman ordained pastor in the Convention.[4]
According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 1,079 churches and 600,000 members.[5]
Core Mission Principles
Being grounded in the Biblical tradition
Engagement in prophetic and priestly functions
Building a community that heals and restores broken ties
Developing of strong and responsible leaders
Achieving stability through full support of member churches and organizations
Building of a deeper and stronger relationship with other mission partners
Deep and genuine concern for the lost, the poor, the weak and the needy
Faithfulness to the Baptist legacy of missionary service
A dynamic, relevant and responsive servant organization
Deep commitment to the implementation of a holistic and comprehensive ministry
Full use of appropriate technology to enhance programs and ministries
CPU's earliest forerunner, the Central Philippine University College of Theology which was established four months earlier than the university's second precursor, the Jaro Industrial School, is the first Baptist theological seminary in the Philippines.
Central Philippine University's official student governing body, the CPU Republic (Central Philippine University Republic), is the oldest student government in the South East Asia. It was organized in 1905, one year after the founding of the school.[10] The University's official publication, the Central Echo (CE) is the official student publication of CPU. It was founded in 1910, five years after Jaro Industrial School opened. It is one of the oldest student publications in the Philippines.
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