III.

History

John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, English separatists of Congregational persuasion, founded the first Baptist church on Dutch soil at Amsterdam in 1609. Smyth eventually applied to join the Mennonites, and Helwys returned to an unfriendly England. There, in 1611 or 1612, he led a small group of Christians in establishing the first Baptist church on English soil, at Spitalfields, near London. As they grew in number, English Baptists came to be divided between General Baptists and Particular Baptists. The former, who were Arminians (see Arminianism), believed that the spiritual benefits of the death of Jesus applied potentially to all people; the latter believed, with the Calvinists, that those benefits applied only to the elect (see Predestination). Eventually these two groups united in the 19th century, when theological issues had changed and the need of an effective missionary advance helped to draw them more closely together. From their base in England, Baptists have grown to number nearly 1 million members in Europe.

It was in America, however, that Baptists experienced their greatest growth. Roger Williams, an English Puritan clergyman, founded the first Baptist church in America at Providence, Rhode Island, in 1639. About the same time, physician and minister John Clarke established a Baptist congregation at Newport, Rhode Island. Frequently the subject of bitter persecution, the denomination at first grew slowly, but Baptist growth accelerated in the 18th century, largely as a result of the movement known as the Great Awakening. Later in the same century, the Baptists ardently supported the American Revolution and thus became more popular. In the 19th century the Baptists, like most other Protestant denominations, split over the issue of slavery. This led to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. In 1907 the northern Baptists drew together their various educational and missionary societies to form the Northern Baptist Convention (now the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.). In the midst of their growth, the Baptists had a strong appeal for members of the black community, due in part to evangelistic outreach, informal preaching, emotional appeal, and autonomous polity. Today, seven-eighths of the black population in the United States that claims denominational affiliation belongs to either a Baptist or a Methodist church.

In Canada, Baptist congregations were first formed about 1760, and the longest continuous history of a single Baptist church is claimed by a congregation organized in Horton, Nova Scotia, in 1765, now known as Wolfville United Baptist Church. About 0.5 percent of Canadians are Baptists, the largest number of which live in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Baptists historically have been ardent proponents of education; they are responsible for the founding of Bates, Colby, and Wake Forest colleges, as well as Brown, Temple, Bucknell, Colgate, Redlands, Baylor, and Furman universities.

The four largest Baptist denominations in the United States (according to their membership in 1999) were the Southern Baptist Convention (15.9 million); the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. (1.5 million); the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. Inc. (8.5 million); and the National Baptist Convention of America (3.1 million). The latter two are black Baptist groups. The remarkable growth of the Southern Baptist Convention (an increase in membership of more than 250 percent between 1940 and 1980) is accounted for in part by aggressive missionary and revivalistic outreach, zealous preaching, and, in the judgment of some, greater centralization of denominational machinery. The southern Baptists are more conservative in theology than their northern counterparts and more revivalistic in methodology. Northern and southern Baptists have also differed on racial and ecumenical matters. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the only major Protestant denomination not affiliated with the National Council of Churches or the World Council of Churches.