This week in Christian history: Georgian king martyred, Baptist denomination founded

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, November 10, 2024

Progressive National Baptist Convention formed – Nov. 15, 1961

Progressive National Baptist Convention members sing praises during a prayer service at the Joint Winter Board Meeting of the National Baptist Conventions in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 26, 2005.

This week marks the anniversary of when the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), a historically black denomination that supported the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was formed.

The PNBC was the byproduct of the upheavals of the civil rights movement, being birthed from a two-day gathering held at the Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, featuring over 30 church leaders.

The Rev. T. M. Chambers was elected the first president of PNBC, while the nascent body became the denomination that King and other Baptist civil rights advocates joined.

“As a result of this involvement from members of the Civil Rights Movement, the centerpiece of the PNBC witness became one of social justice and human liberation as a mandate of the Gospel,” stated the PNBC.

“In essence, the PNBC became a living African American Christian organism, vibrant with energy and committed to the social gospel for the transformation of U.S. society.”

The PNBC boasts of having approximately 2.5 million members, including around 1.5 in the U.S. and around 1 million abroad.