The Baptist Network forms as a new national connection

The Baptist Network, a new network designed to connect a diverse group of Baptist leaders across the nation, recently formed to encourage one another amid shifting social and political tensions across affiliations and organizations.

The group was created to provide connection, encouragement, and collaboration for Baptist pastors and churches, with the priority of equipping, mentoring, connecting, mission, and ministry.

Conveners of The Baptist Network include David Goatley, president of Fuller Seminary; Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington; and Warren Stewart, senior pastor emeritus of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix, Ariz.

In response to the SBC

The purpose for creating The Baptist Network is not to form a new denomination or encourage churches to leave their current affiliations, said Gregory L. Perkins, spokesperson for The Baptist Network.

“Some have grown concerned by the increasing fusion of political nationalism and Christian witness that has distracted the church from its gospel-centered mission. Others have become weary of the dysfunction, division, and institutional challenges that have hindered meaningful fellowship and collaboration,” Perkins said.

“In response to this moment, Baptist leaders have come together to establish The Baptist Network as a place of encouragement, cooperation, and kingdom-focused partnership.”

Perkins, lead pastor of The View Church in Menifee, Calif., said a group of about 40 pastors met last year in Arlington to converse.

“Many of us who are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention felt concerned with the rapid response to the terrible tragedy that was the loss of Charlie Kirk, but that same attention was not given to other lives that were lost. So, that caused many of us to pause,” Perkins said.

“And then, coupled with the ongoing conversation within the SBC about the role of women and ministry … many of us agreed that, while the senior pastor role may be filled by women, it is not up to us to dictate what a local congregation does,” he said.

“We then accelerated the formation of an independent network that honors local church autonomy and does not believe any national organization should determine a church’s polity regarding women, ministry, and the exercise of spiritual gifts,” Perkins added.

Social justice will be among the many topics addressed within the network, a topic Perkins said some believe has no place in biblical discourse.

“The conveners and framers of this new network believe that Jesus was the greatest social justice revolutionary of all time,” Perkins said.

“As we look at the Gospels, it points to him dining with tax collectors, healing the woman with the issue of blood, and engaging with the Samaritan woman at the well, among other examples,” Perkins continued. “Social justice, and our belief that it is a critical component of the freedom we find in the gospel, is also equally important.”

Affiliations and beliefs

The Baptist Network is inviting pastors and churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, American Baptist Churches USA, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and other Baptist traditions.

The invitation also extends to Baptist pastors and churches that affirm the autonomy of the local church, seek fellowship without unnecessary division, and desire a Christ-centered, gospel-focused community that prioritizes the kingdom over political ideology.

The network also welcomes those who have grown weary of being criticized or marginalized for addressing issues such as race, immigration, poverty, and justice from a biblical perspective, and those who support a church’s right to govern itself free from excessive influence or control by national organizations, including on matters related to women in ministry.

The network “affirms the historic Baptist commitment to the autonomy of the local church and believes every congregation is responsible, under the lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture, for discerning how it will engage questions related to ministry practice, including matters such as the role of women in ministry, biblical justice, and the exercise of spiritual gifts,” Perkins said.

The Baptist Network is scheduled to officially launch in September 2026 and begin with gatherings, leadership development opportunities, mentoring cohorts, and collaborative ministry initiatives.

The Baptist Network is inviting pastors and churches to consider joining a mailing list to receive additional information regarding upcoming gatherings, resources, and opportunities for engagement.