Topic: Baptist History

Instructor:  Rob Harrod
Hosted by:  Grace Baptist Church, Christchurch.

The first of two sessions exploring Baptist History. We will be looking at the defining marks of a church from Scripture and then begin to trace out how these have been pursued in the life of Baptist churches down through the centuries. In the course of this we will identify what have been some of the historic distinctives of faithful Baptist churches. In this session we will briefly touch on some baptistic groups, including the Anabaptists, in earlier centuries, before focusing in on the beginnings, and early development, of modern Baptist history in the seventeenth century. We will in this way provide the background to and context for the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.

The Roving Classroom is a yearly program involving four block-study sessions that are taught by various pastors within the fellowship (and on some occasions, by invited guest speakers).The classroom is hosted at varied (and roving) geographical locations around New Zealand, as each church offers to host a weekend. Each year the calendar will be ordered around the four traditional theological categories (Exegetical; Systematic; Historical; Practical Theology). Topics within these broader categories are both diverse and relevant, allowing for a truly holistic ministerial training.