170 Years of Mission
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In 1852, Gustaf Palmquist, an immigrant from Sweden, baptized three adults in Rock Island, Illinois, establishing the first Swedish Baptist congregation in the United States. These followers of Christ had a strong conviction about the Bible as the Word of God and a passion for living holy lives as followers of Jesus Christ. They began reaching other Swedish immigrants with the life changing message of the Gospel, seeing lives transformed by the power of Christ.
By 1856, a small group of churches made up of immigrant "Bible readers" discovered they could be more effective if they worked together in mission. The movement spread rapidly along the Mississippi River to other cities in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the growing city of Chicago. These annual gatherings provided vital training for pastors who lacked seminary education, equipping them to spread the Gospel more effectively.
By 1879, God's blessing on their evangelistic efforts was evident: the movement had grown to 3,000 baptized believers and 65 congregations, all independent, all willing to collaborate on the one thing that matters, lives changed by Jesus, person by person. These churches began reaching across ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic boundaries. Their theology was rooted in the basics of biblical faith.
In 1888, the missional vision expanded beyond American shores when Johanna Anderson became the first Converge missionary to Burma, marking the beginning of a global missions movement. As English became the predominant language and churches continued to be planted among diverse populations, the fellowship became known as the Baptist General Conference by 1945.
While the landscape of the United States dramatically changed, the core mission remained constant: proclaiming the Word of God, reaching people for Christ, planting churches, and sending missionaries to the nations. The movement maintained a deep commitment to Christlike living in a world that often stands opposed to biblical values.
As a missional movement, the Baptist General Conference became a beautiful, multiethnic, global family of believers and churches, diverse, yet united around the shared mission of fulfilling Christ's Great Commission. Church planting accelerated, and missionaries carried the Gospel to nations around the world.
By the early 21st century, more than a fifth of all churches had been planted within the previous 15 years. Many church planters found that while they held firmly to their historic convictions and the authority of Scripture, the name Baptist created barriers in reaching their communities. Similarly, the name was putting missionaries and their national partners at risk in several countries overseas where they were faithfully proclaiming Christ.
In 2008, the board of overseers approved a new missional name, Converge Worldwide, while retaining the historic name Baptist General Conference for legal purposes. The new name better serves church planters and missionaries in their efforts to expand Christ's kingdom and reach people with the Gospel. Our historic beliefs centered on the Word of God stand unchanged, but the new name helps new generations continue the mission of making disciples, planting churches, and sending missionaries that was begun many generations before.
Today, Converge MSC is one of 10 regions continuing the same missional focus that began in 1852, proclaiming the Word of God, reaching people for Christ, planting churches, and sending missionaries to transform lives around the world.