The Core Beliefs of British Baptists Aligned with the Old Baptist Union of England
The Old Baptist Union (OBU) was founded in 1880, largely through the work of itinerant preacher Henry Augustus Squire, and represents one of the most historically distinctive strands of English Baptist life. Today the Union remains small — around 16 churches and approximately 700 members in England and Wales — but its theological identity is clearly defined.
The One True God and the Holy Trinity
OBU churches hold to orthodox Christian Trinitarianism, believing in one living God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — Creator and sustainer of all things visible and invisible. Jesus Christ is affirmed as fully divine and fully human, the eternal Son of God incarnate, and the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Godhead active in the world and in the believer.
Scripture as the Supreme Authority
The Bible — Old and New Testaments — is held as the inspired Word of God and the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This places OBU churches firmly within the evangelical tradition, and the Union is a member of both the Free Churches Council and the Evangelical Alliance.
General Atonement
The most theologically distinctive conviction of OBU churches is their commitment to general atonement — the belief that Christ's death made full provision for the salvation of all people. Their precise formulation is that "God has made a full provision for the salvation of all men, but that those only will be saved who repent of their sins and accept Christ, by faith." The gospel is therefore to be freely and urgently preached to every person.
Believers' Baptism by Immersion
In common with all Baptist traditions, OBU churches practice believers' baptism — the immersion of those who make a personal, conscious profession of faith in Christ. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace, a public declaration of dying to self and rising to new life in Christ.
The Laying On of Hands
One of the most historically distinctive practices of the OBU is its strong emphasis on the laying on of hands following baptism, rooted in the Six-Principle Baptist tradition drawing on Hebrews 6:1–2. This act, performed by elders, is understood as a solemn setting apart of the newly baptised believer, a prayerful invocation of the Holy Spirit, and a reception into the full fellowship of the church.
The Gifts and Work of the Holy Spirit
OBU churches hold a lean charismatic position — affirming that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including divine healing, may still be claimed and exercised in the present age, subject to the sovereign will of the Spirit. This gives OBU churches a warmer, more experiential tone than many Reformed Baptist congregations, while stopping short of full Pentecostal theology.
Personal Holiness
A strong emphasis on personal holiness — the ongoing transformation of the believer's life by the Holy Spirit — runs throughout OBU piety and practice. The Christian life is expected to bear visible fruit in changed character, ethical conduct, and separation from worldliness.
Congregational Church Government with Elders
OBU churches operate under a model that blends congregational and presbyteral principles. Each local church is self-governing and autonomous — the classic Baptist insistence on the independence of the gathered congregation — but each church appoints elders who exercise pastoral oversight and spiritual authority within the fellowship. The Union's executive body, the Council of Management, is composed of the ordained Ministers of all member churches.
Religious Liberty
Rooted in the legacy of Thomas Helwys, who first argued in England that the state has no authority over the conscience in matters of religion, OBU churches maintain a firm commitment to freedom of conscience and religious liberty for all people.
Summary
OBU churches stand as a small but theologically coherent expression of the oldest stream of English Baptist life — evangelical in gospel conviction.