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The American Baptist denomination (official name: "American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.") has 1.6-million members in 5,800 churches nationwide. Its headquarters is in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. It was the product of the north-south split of Baptists during the Civil War. (Earlier this century, ABC/USA was known as the
"Northern Baptist Convention".) ABC/USA is considered to be the most evangelical of the mainline denominations. Its members generally range from mid-left to mid-right in theological and political orientation, and it remains firmly committed to both evangelism and social action. ABC/USA participates in both the National Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals. Some better-known American Baptists include Tony Campolo (author, and professor at Eastern
College), J. Alfred Smith (pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland), and the late Martin Luther King Jr. The American Baptist Churches of the West is the regional body of ABC/USA covering the 220 ABC churches of northern California and northern Nevada. The headquarters for the ABCW is on Grand Avenue in Oakland. Other local ABCW institutions include: the American Baptist Seminary of the West (Berkeley), the American Baptist Homes of the West (17 retirement communities), the Center for Ministry (a ministry vocational counseling
center in Oakland), plus Redwood Glen and Sierra Pines conference centers. The Cross and Orb is an ancient Christian symbol of Jesus' present and future rule over the world. The American Baptist symbol is an adaptation of the Cross and Orb, expressing that Jesus is also in the world, reconciling people
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