The Baptist way of being the church is living together in community. The church is not so much a particular place or building, but rather a family of believers, committed to Christ, to one another and to the service of God in the world. In this Baptist family everybody is equal, for everybody has a part to play in the service of God. There is no hierarchy of bishops or priests exercising authority over their members. Equality of status, however, does not mean that all have the same role and each local Baptist church appoints its own leaders – or ministers – to have particular responsibility over preaching, teaching and pastoral care. Working alongside the minister are also deacons, who together with the minister form the leadership team of the local church.

Each Baptist church is independent and we are, therefore, self-governing and self-supporting, with the church members providing the time, talents and financial resources to enable all that we do. Despite this independence, Baptists have always believed in associating with one another – and so we come together in regional, national and international spheres to promote and support Baptists everywhere. We also join in with churches from a whole range of backgrounds and affiliations through the local churches together network.