This history of the Alliance of Baptists is composed of three parts: Leaving Zion, Reimagining Zion, and Living Zion.

Part I - Leaving Zion - provides a chronological historical overview from Baptist beginnings, a history of the Southern Baptist controversies that led to the birth of the Alliance, and a summative history of the Alliance from its formation in 1987 to its life and ministry in the second half of the 21st century.

Part II - Reimagining Zion - provides a more detailed and topical history of the Alliance of Baptists. These chapters provide a brief history of the creation of the Alliance Covenant, which serves as the framework for the seven subsequent chapters that address a particular tenet of the covenant and the ways in which the Alliance of Baptists "lived into" these covenant principles.

Part III - Living Zion - changes trajectory from a traditional source-based methodological perspective to a more ethnographic perspective. Within this section are brief congregational studies that examine the Sunday morning services and experiences of eight Alliance congregations from eight states. These studies attempt to provide a description of how Alliance congregations operate, rather than a birds-eye view of the organization's history. They also showcase some of the diversity and similarity within Alliance congregations.