Abstract:
The Baptist Union of Southern Africa’s (hereafter BUSA) future is conspicuous unless it
understands the context within which it ministers in our ‘rainbow nation’. As a union of
churches, BUSA faces significant challenges that have been highlighted through a mixedmethods
research approach. Through many months of data collection at the Baptist Union
archives, an online survey and informal interviews spanning many parts of South Africa, the
researcher practically demonstrates the importance of the cumulative results for the future of
BUSA. This article highlights, in overview fashion, a few of the major challenges that need to
be urgently addressed in the light of BUSA’s historic ecclesiological presuppositions that have
their roots in the missional ministry of Hugo Gutshe who saw each of his Baptist congregants
as missionary, and expanded the influence of BUSA in South Africa.
