NAB and GLA Profile

In 1843, Rev. Konrad Fleischman founded the first North American Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA. This German immigrant dreamed of reaching people, especially other immigrants with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He knew his one church could only do so much. So, in 1865, a small group of German-speaking churches formed the North American Baptist Conference. Because of their support for, and influence with, one another, they impacted not only their local communities but other parts of the world. This first generation of North American Baptists laid the foundation and values for others to come.

Because of that commitment to making disciples of Jesus Christ, the NAB Conference grew into a family of churches representing many cultures and heritages throughout Canada and the United States. While you can still hear German spoken in a few churches, you will also hear English, Cambodian, Spanish, Chinese, Urdu, French, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, and Russian.

"Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all soul and
with all your mind … (and)
Love your neighbor as yourself."

Today, the North American Baptist Conference consists of over 400 churches with more than 74,000 who worship with them in the United States and Canada. North American Baptists are a diverse group of believers with a common mission. Our churches come in all sizes, shapes, and distinctive ministries but share the ultimate aim of living out the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-39) and Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) of Jesus Christ. North American Baptists have always been known for their passion for global missions and our worldwide outreach to Cameroon, Nigeria, Brazil, Japan, Central and Eastern Europe, Mexico, and the Philippines.

"Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Each of our local churches chose to be part of the North American Baptist Conference because they wanted to be part of a larger church family focused on developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. That voluntary decision to cooperate with others is a very important witness to our unity in Him.

Much of that cooperation can be seen locally through 13 NAB Regions. Regions are an important ministry of our Conference, allowing many of our churches to network, maximize resources, and partner on important initiatives.

The Great Lakes Association is a region of churches affiliated with the North American Baptist Conference. It is made up of 28 churches in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana with 6,054 members and 6,889 people (on average) who worship each week in those churches.  In 2006, GLA churches reported 903 people making decisions to become Christ followers and 192 baptisms.

God is at work in each of these churches and our cooperative ministries and we hope this Web site will give you a picture of what is happening. The GLA is not an exclusive group of churches and we look to partner with others who desire to see the expansion of God’s Kingdom and give themselves to that end – for His abounding glory.