A Protestant denomination considered the third largest in the whole world, the baptist church traced its roots from the year 1500’s which is about the same time as the major Reformation occurred in Europe. They were first called Anabaptists as the first ancestors of the Baptist Church of today. These Christians were led to the belief that they must already be at age to be baptized. They don’t believe in infant baptism since they must first be able to understand to choose baptism in their own free will. It is because of this reason that the Baptist Church became very unpopular among all the other Protestant religions of the day. Because of this, the Baptists were being persecuted and some were even killed for their beliefs.

Roger Williams put up the first Baptist Church in the United States in Rhode Island in the year 1637. At this time, there was a religious awakening that occurred in about 200 years or so. The Baptist Church then began to obtain a huge following and expand increasingly. People felt free to join as they feel more self-determining with their choice of religion. They were free to exercise their religious freedoms and they are not forced to join the church that they were born into.

The Baptist church had two divisions in the earlier times when they first started, the General and the Particular. The General Baptists believed that anybody can be free from the punishment of Jesus Christ if they were baptized and knows how to follow His example. The other group belonging to the Particular Baptists assumed that only a chosen few will be benefited from the Atonement. This group is the stricter among the two groups.

Nowadays, this church including the baptist church Lexington; is divided into 5 parts where each part branches out from the basic belief that an individual has the power to believe, feel, and choose what is right for him. When an individual church member is presented with a doctrine, he can choose whether to follow it or not. Therefore, each Baptist Church congregation has the option of what they will preach during the church services. They don’t follow a Baptist hierarchy similar to the ones found in the Catholic Church and other religions belonging to the Protestants.

Today, the Baptists are separated due to their faith practices which are the following:

1. The Southern Baptist Conference. This is located in the southern U.S. which started when the South wanted to rationalize human slavery as a way of life.

2. American Baptist Convention. This is an assembly of Baptists who are smaller in number and are more liberal.

3. The National Baptist Convention. This is considered the single largest denomination made up of African Americans in the U.S.

4. The Independent Baptists, including the independent fundamental baptist, are those who have not chosen any group to belong to.

5. The International Baptists belong to the small group of congregations scattered throughout the world.

Nowadays, jobs as youth pastors are among the most sought-after and important positions in our society. At home, the youth are not getting enough of the attention and time their parents should be giving them. Most parents are too busy with work and other activities they rarely have time anymore to teach their kids what is right from wrong, hence the kids may dangerously believe in anything. At this strategic time, every man and woman will now decide on what they really believe in while most teenagers have made their decision whether they are for the materialistic world or living for the Lord at 18 years of age.

In the country today, jobs as youth pastor are available in most of the major denominations, though it is difficult to know and understand the beliefs of each of the diverse denominations. Before accepting the job with any of the denominations, you should first understand what their fundamental beliefs are.

The Assembly of God churches like the Assembly of God churches in Lexington KY; are quite similar to that of the Baptist denomination. They are considered one of the fastest growing denominations in the US. Until today and even at the start, they believe that speaking in tongues is the first proof of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. They also have woman pastors. Members of the church don’t consider drinking in moderation a big issue. They are neutral in their position on most political issues. The churches sing modern day worship songs though the older denominations sing hymns also. Hillsong music started from the Assembly of God church where it now sprouted and has been sang all over the world.

The Baptist church is one of the biggest denominations in the US today as seen by their visibility in politics. On most issues, they lean more toward conservative values. They don’t allow women to serve in the pulpit; hence they don’t hire women as youth pastors. They believe in the philosophy that you can have salvation and not lose it once you become a Christian. Unlike the belief of the Assembly of God churches like the Assembly of God churches in Lexington KY, they don’t believe in speaking in tongues. Their values in drinking alcohol are also stricter since they don’t believe that Christians should drink alcohol no matter what the reason. Their music is very conservative when in the older churches. However, worship songs are sang in new denominations during the Sunday morning services.

The Nazarene denomination youth pastor jobs are similar to the Baptist denomination where they don’t believe in the “once saved, always saved philosophy” of the Baptists. They don’t believe that smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol is okay. A woman can be a pastor in this denomination and they don’t believe in speaking in tongues, unlike the Assembly of God churches in Lexington KY.

The Methodist denomination is the most liberal among the other denominations in the church today. They have many female pastors, are liberal in their positions on some political issues, have stated publicly that they welcome people of all sexual orientations, though they don’t believe in gay marriage. They sing hymns in Sunday morning services where they tend to be more conservative than Assemblies of God denominations or the Baptist churches.