Two Cameroonian Baptist leaders have taken center stage on the global religious scene… Rev. Dr. Charlemagne Nditemeh and Mr. Edison Yuniwo were officially inducted into leadership roles within the Baptist World Alliance during its 23rd World Congress in Brisbane, Australia.
Cameroon’s influence in the global Baptist community has received a significant boost as two of its religious leaders were officially inducted into leadership roles within the Baptist World Alliance, BWA, during its 23rd Congress held in Brisbane, Australia. Rev. Dr. Charlemagne Nditemeh, former Executive President of the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC), and Mr. Edison Yuniwo, current President of the All-Africa Baptist Fellowship, AABF, were both commissioned on July 10, 2025, in front of over 4,000 delegates from 134 countries and territories. The BWA Congress, held from July 7 to 12 under the theme “Living the Good News” (Luke 4:18–19), is the world’s largest gathering of Baptist denominations.
The induction of the two Cameroonians was widely celebrated as a major achievement for both the CBC and the nation. Rev. Dr. Nditemeh was appointed to serve in two key BWA commissions, the Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Unity and the Commission on Multi-faith Relations. Mr. Yuniwo was inducted into the BWA Resolutions Committee, a body that drafts the BWA’s official positions and responses to pressing global issues. Reacting to his induction, Edison Yuniwo said: “As members of the Resolutions Committee, we are called to proclaim the Good News with boldness.
This is not just an honor, but a call to deliberate and Spirit-led service.” Rev. Dr. Nditemeh, who will serve a five-year term alongside Baptist leaders from the USA and Jamaica, described his appointment as humbling. “It is a responsibility beyond national and continental borders. In the Commission on Doctrine and Unity, I will help address areas of disagreement within the global Baptist family, such as the ordination of female ministers,” he noted.
He also hinted at pushing for reforms to protect Baptist conventions like the CBC from internal instability: “I will propose that when a convention is hijacked and destabilized from within, as the CBC was by a faction that took it to court, the BWA should intervene and suspend such a group if necessary.” As part of the Commission on Multi-faith Relations, Rev. Nditemeh also emphasized peaceful coexistence with people of other religions, highlighting that even in places where evangelism is restricted, Christians can witness through their lifestyles.
The BWA represents 51 million baptized believers from 266 Baptist unions and conventions, including three from Cameroon, the Cameroon Baptist Convention, the Native Baptist Church, and the Union des Églises Baptistes du Cameroun, UEBC. A member of the CBC from Yaoundé commented that this was a proud and prayerful moment for the church: “It is not only a recognition of their personal faith journeys, but a spotlight on Cameroon’s growing voice in global Christian leadership.” The next BWA Congress will take place in five years, but both Nditemeh and Yuniwo will serve until 2030, playing vital roles in shaping the direction of the global Baptist movement.
