The Baptist Story The Baptist Heritage Series By Lynn E. May, Jr.

The Baptist Story The Baptist Heritage Series By Lynn E. May, Jr. Who are the people called Baptists? What is their origin? How did they come to be one of the largest non-catholic groups in the world with about thirty-six million members? The Baptist story is an account of how God has moved among the people called Baptist and made them what they are today. On the basis of their doctrines, polity, and practices, Baptists believe that they are following the teachings of Jesus and the patterns of New Testament churches. Baptist churches cannot be found in every century of Christian history. Scholars have discovered Christian groups prior to the seventeenth century which resembled Baptists, but such groups taught some unacceptable doctrines. Baptists are concerned today with maintaining New Testament teachings and practices, not with establishing an historical lineage of churches to New Testament times. Throughout their history, Baptists have sought to reproduces the pattern of Christianity and church life found in the New Testament. Although not alike in every way, they all acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. Baptists have no creed. They base their faith and practice on the New Testament. Distinctive Baptist beliefs and practices are: (1) the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures; (2) the priesthood of the believer; (3) salvation as God s gift of divine grace received by man through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; (4) a regenerated church membership; (5) baptism, by immersion, of believers only; (6) two ordinances, baptism and the Lord s Supper, viewed primarily as symbols and reminders; (7) each church as an independent, self-governing body, the members possessing equal rights and privileges; (8) religious liberty for all; and (9) separation of church and state. Emergence into History Baptists emerged into history in early seventeenth century England. The translation of the New Testament into English in previous generations had helped many believers clarify for themselves the faith of first century Christians. Through Bible study, they found a new pattern of authority. Some of them withdrew from the Established (State0 Church and organized local churches on the basis of New Testament teachings and practices. By 1644 they had begun almost fifty congregations that held basic doctrines characterizing Baptists today. For over three centuries Baptists in England have experienced periods of growth and decline. Current membership in Great Britain is about 167,000. One of their

largest contributions was the launching of the modern missionary movement in 1792 through the inspiration and leadership of William Carey. The origin of Baptists in America was similar to the rise of Baptists in England. An established (Congregational) Church, which persecuted dissenters, faced those who came to New England seeking religious freedom. Many of these dissenters joined with Roger Williams in establishing Rhode Island Colony as a haven from persecution. William led some of them in 1638/39 to organize at Providence the first Baptist church in Newport which by 1644 had also adopted distinctively Baptist doctrines and practices. Baptists suffered persecution and recognition as one of the leading denominations in America and in the world. Early Development in America Persecution in New England curtailed the growth of Baptists prior to the late 1720 s when the fires of revival ushered in the Great Awakening. In spite of strong opposition, Baptists planted some churches outside the haven of Rhode Island. Baptists organized a church in Boston, the headquarters of their persecutors, on May 28, 1665. Efforts to stamp out the Baptists scattered them into other areas. For example, the Baptists who organized a church at Kittery, Maine, in 1682 endured persecution for a time. Later, pastor William Screven and his congregation left their persecutors behind and moved to South Carolina where they planted the first Baptist church in the South, now located at Charleston, South Carolina. Baptist life in the middle colonies began to develop in the last two decades of the seventeenth century. Pennsylvania offered a haven to persecuted groups. Five small churches in this area in 1707 organized the Philadelphia Baptist Association, the first one in America. As churches in other areas sensed the need for fellowship, counsel, and cooperation with sister churches, they organized similar bodies. Each member church maintained its autonomy, but all profited by their association together. The Charleston Association of South Carolina (1751) was the first such organization in the South. Although they at first looked on the movement with disfavor, Baptists profited greatly from the Great Awakening in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. They increased rapidly as evangelists made a strong appeal for personal faith in Christ. The results were amazing. In 1700 they had no more than 17 churches and 600 members. By 1790 they had gained a membership of 73,471. Baptists organized 86 new churches in Massachusetts alone between 1740 and 1790. In Virginia they constituted 151 churches and supplied members for over 40 more in Kentucky by 1784. The same year North Carolina reported 43 churches, South Carolina 27, and Georgia 6.

The evangelistic zeal of these early Baptists is best illustrated by the experience of the Sandy Creek Church, organized in North Carolina by Shubal Stearns in 1755. In only seventeen years, this church became mother, grandmother and great grandmother to 42 churches from which came 125 ministers. Persecution and opposition by civil and religious authorities continued, particularly in New England and Virginia. Authorities in Virginia imprisoned fortyfour Baptist preachers in the 1770 s. Persecution, rather than dampening, only inflamed the Baptist spirit. During the Revolution Baptists were ardent patriots. Many of their ministers served as chaplains in the army. This gained favor for them from some of their former enemies and critics as they continued their fight for religious liberty. Their ideal, complete religious freedom for all, became a part of the first amendment of the United States Constitution. Toward the end of the eighteenth century, hundreds of Baptists migrated across the Alleghenies into the territories of Tennessee and Kentucky. This rising tide of emigration marked the beginning of a period of rapid expansion westward. The largest factor behind Baptist growth in the West was not emigration but periodic revivals and the energetic ministry of their frontier preachers. America provided fertile soil for the growth of Baptists. The simplicity of their doctrine, democracy of organization, and appeal to the common person contributed to their rapid expansion. Their method of spreading the gospel was so effective, for example, that between 1781 and 1810 Baptists organized 15 associations, constituted 286 churches, and gained 16,650 members in Kentucky alone. During the same period, Tennessee Baptists organized 102 churches and reported a total membership of 11,693. By 1813 the denomination had secured a foothold in almost every part of the country and had increased to a total of more than 175,000 members. Until this point in their history, however, Baptists thought little in terms of united effort. Their scattered churches were largely independent, isolated units. The 115 associations, largely concerned with questions of doctrine and polity, prompted few cooperative enterprises. Baptists had no conventions, only one college, and no theological seminary. They lacked real unity or denominational consciousness. The call to support foreign missions, however, welded Baptists into a denomination. Forward Together Baptists formed their first national body in May, 1814, when thirty-three delegates met in Philadelphia and agreed that Baptists must send the gospel to the whole world. This milestone in Baptist history was largely the result of the call of Luther Rice. The precious year he had returned from India to unite

Baptists in support of foreign missions. The once isolated activities of the churches could now be united through the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United Stated for Foreign Missions, better known as the triennial Convention, since it met every three years. This body set in motion a plan for eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the whole Denomination in one sacred effort, for sending the glad tidings of Salvation to the Heathen and to nations destitute of pure Gospel light. Churches and associations throughout the country responded with zealous missionary activity. Baptists published missionary periodicals to inform the people. They established colleges to train missionaries and missionary-minded pastors. Some Baptists, however, opposed missions. A strong anti-mission movement developed. Some churches and associations divided over the issue, but the denomination as a whole came through this crisis more committed to missions than ever before. The General Convention confined its activities to foreign missions except for the brief period when it started pioneer work in Illinois and Missouri. Adoniram and Ann Judson were already at work in the first foreign mission field, Burma, in 1814. Gradually, the convention opened new fields in Asia, Africa, and Europe. By 1845 there were ninety-nine missionaries and eighty-two churches on foreign fields. The denomination organized other societies to promote different phases of Baptist work. The American Baptist Publication Society, begun in 1824, published literature that aided the mission program at home and abroad. The American Baptist Home Mission Society was organized in 1832. It conducted an effective missionary program, particularly in the North and West. Besides these general bodies, many states and associations had missionary societies which helped to gather funds of sustain missionary interest. By 1843 Baptists had organized twenty-five state conventions or general associations. Churches worked together through these organizations to support and promote missions in the state, the nation, and the world. Separation of Northern and Southern Baptists After over thirty years of united efforts, Baptists in the North and South separated in 1845. Several divisive issues that had begun to appear several years before finally led to the cleavage: 1. Growing tension over the slavery issue ultimately led in 1844 to the Home Mission Society s refusal to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary. This action provided the immediate explosion that produced the separation.

2. Emphasis upon decentralization in organized Baptist life had resulted in a separate organization for each phase of work: home missions, foreign missions, publication, and others. Many southern leaders, however, wanted an all-inclusive convention instead of independent societies. 3. Many in the South charged that the Home Mission Society was neglecting the mission fields in the South. Southern Baptists In response to the call of their leaders, Southern Baptists sent 293 messengers to Augusta, Georgia, May 8 1845. The constitution they adopted on May 10 created the Southern Baptist Convention, a general body organized for the purpose of eliciting, combining, and directing the work of the whole denomination. Under this plan, the Convention would conduct denominational work through various boards which would oversee such tasks as missions, education, and publication. Each board would be elected periodically by the general body and be directly responsible to it. This was quite different from the plan previously followed. Baptist in the North continued to operate under the old plan. Separate societies conducted each phase of work. They were independent of one another and of the churches. Southern Baptists, however, since 1845 have maintained direction of all general denominational work through the one central Convention which has operated on the principle of voluntary cooperation. This principle has safeguarded the autonomy of local churches, district associations, and state conventions. The new Convention at first appointed only two boards one for foreign missions and another for home missions. Three others, formed at later times, functioned for only a brief period: the Bible Boards (1851-1863), and Education Board (1919-1928). The Foreign Mission, Home Mission, Sunday School (1891), and Annuity (1918) Boards are currently operating under the direction of the Convention. As need has arisen, Southern Baptists have used other forms of organization to supplement the work of supervising and promoting denominational interests. Institutions, commissions, and standing and special committees have served this purpose. The Convention now operates six theological seminaries. Other agencies organized to promote various vital interests are: Brotherhood Commission (1907), Christian Life Commission (1913), Commission on the American Baptist Theological Seminary (1919), Education Commission (1928), Committee on Public Affairs (1936), Radio and Television Commission (1946), Southern Baptist Foundation (1947), Historical Commission (1951), and the Stewardship Commission (1961).

Standing committees and special committees have made surveys, brought recommendations, and acted in a representative capacity for the general body whenever the need arose. Baptist women formed Woman s Missionary Union, the Convention s only auxiliary, in 1888. The Executive Committee in 1927 became the executive agency of the Convention in all its affairs not specifically committed to some other board or agency. This body consists of members elected periodically by the Convention. It functions for the Convention between its annual sessions. One of the most important developments in Southern Baptist life during the present century was the Cooperative Program. Prior to its appearance, churches made separate offerings to support the various state and Convention-wide causes. As benevolent enterprises multiplied, these designations sometimes neglected important areas of work. No agency could predict its income and build a financially sound program. In 1925 the Southern Baptist Convention adopted the Cooperative Program. This method of denominational finance provides for the division of funds to the various agencies as determined by the Convention in annual sessions. This program functions on both the state and Convention-wide levels. It has helped to stabilize all of the denomination s work. Voluntary cooperation has been a major factor in the growth of Southern Baptists. Since 1845 they have increased from 4,126 churches and about 350,000 members to about 38,000 churches and more than 15,000,000 members. These churches cooperate through thirty-six state conventions and general associations. The success of Southern Baptists in their missionary and benevolent enterprises has proved the effectiveness of voluntary cooperation in denominational work. Working together in foreign missions, they have expanded their work from four missionaries and one mission field (China) in 1845 to almost four thousand missionaries serving in over 120 countries. The work of home mission shad a small beginning but survived many obstacles and became an effective force in evangelizing the homeland. Once a regional body, the Southern Baptist Convention now has churches in all fifty states. The Home Mission Board conducts numerous missionary programs in cooperation with state conventions. It also works with many language groups, migrants, the deaf, and performs other spiritual ministries. The Sunday School Board has provided literature and training for the churches since 1891. Previously, Southern Baptists had depended upon the American Baptist Publication Society and other publishers for their literature. Through its varied ministry of publication and education, the board has helped to maintain a

solidarity of denominational teaching and loyalty. Its work has also contributed to the rapid growth of Southern Baptists in the twentieth century. A ministerial training program is provided through six theological seminaries, owned and controlled by the Convention, and through numerous Baptist colleges. These institutions have helped to provide trained and stable leadership for the denomination. Local churches, with assistance from denominational agencies, have developed church program organizations to reach, teach, train, and minister to people. Sunday School, Discipleship Training, Church Music, Brotherhood, and Woman s Missionary Union have also been vital forces in training lay leaders for the churches. The latter two organizations have been effective in sharing missionary information and encouraging interest in and support of missions. All of these organizations have helped to undergird the total program of the denomination. The original plan of the Southern Baptist Convention has repeatedly proven its value. As various needs arose, the general body created new boards, institutions, commissions, and committees to conduct activities in new areas of denominational work. Southern Baptist s have continued to grow in their ability to work together in local churches, district associations, state and Conventionwide organizations. Across the years they have experienced many crises but have merged from each stronger and more influential. Other Baptist Bodies in America American Baptist Churches. After separation came in 1845, Baptists in the North continued to work through their societies for foreign missions, home missions, and publications. The women constituted their own missionary societies in the 1870 s. Baptists in the North organized the Northern Baptist Convention in 1907. This body was a corporation with restricted powers to which the churches annually sent representatives, and with which the national societies, the state conventions, and city mission societies were affiliated by voluntary action. It was a cross between the former society type of polity and that adopted by Southern Baptists in 1845. The body changed its name to the American Baptist Convention in 1950 and to American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. in 1972. In recent years this national body has developed a more centralized structure. The formerly independent national societies now function as boards whose work is coordinated through the office and all but one of the boards are located in a central office building in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. American (Northern) Baptist churches are united into regional, state, and city organizations which serve for purposes of fellowship, counsel, and cooperative

work. Through these denominational organizations, American Baptists cooperate in intra-state home missions, in education, and in raising funds to support the larger denomination. Other ministries are performed through city mission societies, seminaries and colleges, homes for children and the aged, and hospitals. The membership of the nearly six thousand American Baptist churches is more than one and one-half million. American Baptists are similar to Southern Baptists in many ways, though Southern Baptists are generally more conservative in their theology. Black Baptists. The first black Baptist church in America was formed in 1773 in Georgia. Black Baptists began organizing associations in 1836 and later formed state conventions. Several early national organizations merged in 1895 to form the National Baptist Convention in the U.S.A. A division in 1915 resulted in the formation of a second major body, the National Baptist Convention of America. The Progressive National Baptist Convention came out of another division in the parent body in 1961. These conventions conduct home mission, foreign mission, publication, and educational work. Approximately 8,700,000 black Baptists are members of churches in these three conventions, though some black churches cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention and others with American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. The doctrine and polity of black Baptists are similar to that of other Baptists. Smaller Baptist Bodies. The Baptist emphasis upon personal religion and individual experience has given rise to many different Baptist bodies. Some are small but vocal groups who maintain a separate identity, although their differences from the main bodies are generally slight. The more than thirty million Baptists in the United States are divided into over twenty-five distinct denominational bodies, ranging in membership from a hundred to more than fifteen million. The smaller Baptist bodies fall into four categories. The first is composed of those who represent the Arminian or Freewill theology: Free Will Baptists, Regular Baptists, and General Six-Principle Baptists. The second category consists of those which represent the extremes of Calvinism. They oppose all human efforts to influence people to receive the gospel on the grounds that conversion in entirely an act of God. Such are the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists and the Primitive Baptists. Included in the third category are those groups who are dissatisfied with the major conventions. Some of these are the American Baptist Association, the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, Baptist Missionary Association of America, and the Conservative Baptist Association of America. A fourth category, groups from non-english speaking backgrounds, includes the North American Baptist Conference, Baptist General Conference, and others.

The World Family of Baptists Baptists affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance total about 37,000,000 members in about 142,000 churches located in over 95 nations and dependencies. Eighty-two percent of these Baptists live in the United States. Other nations with more than 100,000 Baptists in the BWA include in order of numerical strength: India, Brazil, Nigeria, Burma, Zaire, Korea, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Philippines, Romania, Canada, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Most national or regional organizations of Baptists are affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. This body, formed in 1905, is a fellowship which serves as an agency of communication, channel of cooperation, and forum for discussion among the Baptists of the world. A Baptist World Congress is held every five years. The Baptist Heritage Baptists are no longer a minority group in America. They are second in number only to Catholics. They play an influential role in the religious and moral life of the nation. Their devotion to New Testament principles has enabled Baptists to make significant contributions to the history of America. Historians generally concede that they were largely responsible for the achievement practice of democratic polity and by their recognition of the worth of the individual, they have given to democracy a foundation that is spiritual rather than materialistic. Their greatest contribution to American life has been made through their ministry to the people. Statistical data cannot begin to indicate their influence upon America. By their insistence on religious liberty for all, the right of all men to receive the benefits of education as well as the gospel, and their attention to all classes of society. Baptists have created a rich heritage. Lynn E. May, Jr., is executive director, Historical Commission, Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee. Reprinted and distributed by permission of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, Brentwood, Tennessee. Telephone: 800-966-2278. Web site: www.baptisthistory.org.