Baptists in the Northwest.

Baptists trace their beginnings in the United States back to 1638, and they gladly claim a history that has spanned 366 years. Baptist churches in the Northeast and the South often celebrate anniversaries that remind us all just how long this denomination has been on the American scene.

Baptists in the Northwest trace their beginning back to 1844, which means that even the oldest church in the area cannot celebrate an anniversary of more than 160 years. And many of the churches that make up the various Baptist groups in the Northwest are considered to be "new" churches because they are less than fifty years old.

While Northwest Baptists may not have as long a history as other Baptists in the country, their history is remarkably diverse and is replete with wonderful stories of pioneer Baptists. The Baptist diversity in the Northwest has resulted from both the numerous varieties of Baptist groups that have settled in the area and from the ethnic diversity found there.

The Northwest Baptist Convention (NWBC) provides an excellent example of this ethnic diversity. This convention has approximately 430 affiliated churches and missions located in Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho, and of these churches and missions, more than 135 hold worship services in a language other than English. Each Sunday, seventeen different language congregations gather to worship in Baptist churches. And one of these congregations, a Korean church in Tacoma, is the largest Baptist church in the NWBC.

When the Baptist History and Heritage Society met in the NWBC building in May 2004, those in attendance met some of the pioneers of Baptist work in the Northwest, including Cecil Sims, retired executive director of the convention. Sims, now seventy-four years old, shared personal and often colorful insights he has gained about Northwest Baptists during the forty years he has lived and served there. He also provided the meeting participants with an overview of the theological beliefs and polity structures of the American, Conservative, Primitive, Regular, and Southern Baptist groups.

This issue of the journal contains Sims's paper, as well as many of the other papers presented at the meeting, including one by Michael Kuykendall on the origins of Northwest Baptists; three papers on various ethnic groups by Chung-Yan Joyce Chan, Michitsugu (Mitch) Yokoi, and Martha Jean Mugg Bailey; a paper on the theological influences on Northwest Baptists by Stephen Stookey; and Bill Sumners' paper that points to books, collections, and other literature on Northwest Baptists available at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. If you missed the annual meeting, you will now have the opportunity to learn more about Baptists in a region of the country that is too often overlooked by Baptist historians.

This issue also contains three other articles you will want to read: Ken Sehested's award-winning sermon, "Faith on the Run: Why I'm Still a Baptist," Joe Early's "Israel S. Campbell: 'The Father of Black Texas Baptists,'" and Richard Pierard's "Baptist Historiography in the New Century: What Themes Should We Be Addressing?" Pierard's article was presented to the Fellowship of Baptist Historians, and I believe his address about topics in Baptist studies that need attention can and should serve as a challenge to our society members to get busy addressing the themes he has set forth. The Baptist world continues to diversify and to grow, which means Baptist historians continue to have much work to do.