The Baptist movement’s 400th anniversary celebration opened on Friday with a challenge to Baptists to forget neither where they have come from nor their present calling.

General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, Neville Callum, told Baptists that people had cultivated the art of “forgetting what ought to be remembered”, a tendency he said was rooted in “the frequency of ingratitude in contemporary life”.

He warned that a failure to remember would result in a loss of identity for Baptists, while “selective memories” would only mislead them.

“We must remember and we must remember right,” he said.

Pointing to the 125th anniversary of the death of Johann Onken, pionner of the Baptist Church in Germany, he urged Baptists not to forget the movement’s commitment to evangelism.

“Shall we not remember that part of the genius of Baptist witness in Europe is in its committed participation in the ministry of evangelism,” he said. “Can we afford to forget the challenge to us from that apostle of European Baptists encapsulated in the memorable words ‘Every Baptist is a missionary’?”

Mr Callum urged Baptists to “recapture the passion” of the likes of Onken for converting those who do not believe.

“Perhaps the greatest challenge Christians in Europe face is the evangelism of their continent,” he said.

“Baptists have a very important role to play in this event. Will you affirm a new major responsibility to evangelise those who do not have a saving knowledge of Jesus? And will you agree to draw on resources from outside of your continent to aid you in this vital work?”

He encouraged Baptists to see the future in terms of its opportunities.

“We can do so knowing that with God all things are possible. Go forward with the past as both a resource and learning tool, the present as a time to reaffirm commitment to evangelism, and the future as the open door of opportunity as God’s Spirit works.”

The 400th anniversary celebrations – Amsterdam400 - have brought together Baptists from 61 countries for three days of worship and reflection.

Greetings from the Conference of European Churches were read out on the first day, while Alle Hoekema of the Mennonite World Conference handed over the gift of a newly published timeline of Mennonite history.

Local Councillor Alderman Carolien Gehrels also welcomed Baptists to the city of Amsterdam.