History of Baptists in Alabama facts for kids

The history of the Baptist movement in Alabama began even before Alabama became a state. Baptists are a type of Christian group. Their story in Alabama shows how faith communities grew and organized over time.

Early Baptist Churches in Alabama

The very first Baptist church in what was then the Alabama territory was the Flint River Baptist Church. It started on October 2, 1808. Twelve people founded it at James Deaton's house, a few miles north of Huntsville. This church is now known as the Flint River Primitive Baptist Church. Its first pastor was John Nicholson.

Before this, several Baptist preachers were already in the area, like John Canterbery and Zadock Baker. More churches were formed in the following years. The second Baptist church began on June 3, 1809. It was first called West Fork of Flint River Church. Soon after, it was renamed Enon Baptist Church. In 1861, the Enon church moved to Huntsville. It became the First Baptist Church of Huntsville in 1895. John Canterbery was this church's first pastor, starting on August 5, 1809.

How Baptist Churches Grew in Alabama

Churches often form groups called "associations" to work together. The Flint River Association was the first and oldest group of Alabama Baptists. It started on September 26, 1814. The Flint River Baptist Church and Enon Baptist Church were founding members. At first, some churches in this association were from Tennessee. The Flint River Association still exists today. It includes three Primitive Baptist Churches in the Huntsville area: Briar Fork Church, Hurricane Church, and Flint River Church.

The first Baptist church in southern Alabama was Bassett Creek church. J. Courtney founded it in 1810. The number of Baptist churches grew quickly. By 1820, there were 50 Baptist churches in Alabama. In 1821, there were 70. This growth continued. By 1825, there were 6 Baptist Associations and 128 churches. In 1833, there were 250 churches. By 1836, the number reached 333 churches. And by 1840, there were 500 churches and 30 associations.

Big Baptist Groups and Conventions

In the 1800s, it was hard to travel and communicate across Alabama. This led to different Baptist "conventions" forming. A convention is a larger group of churches and associations working together. The most well-known and largest was the Alabama Baptist Convention. It was founded in 1823 near Greensboro.

Members of Siloam Baptist Church in Marion and the Alabama Baptist Convention helped start colleges. They founded Judson College in 1838. They also founded Howard College in 1841, which is now known as Samford University. Other conventions also formed. These included the General Association of Middle Tennessee and North Alabama (1841) and the East Alabama Baptist Convention (1856). After the U.S. Civil War, the General Association of South Eastern Alabama was formed.

African American Baptist Conventions

During this time, African American Baptists were not part of the Alabama Baptist Convention. So, they formed their own groups, separate from the white organizations. The Alabama Colored Baptist State Convention was founded in 1868 in Montgomery. In 1974, it changed its name to the Alabama Missionary Baptist State Convention. By the early 2000s, this convention included over 1000 churches.

Later, other groups formed from this convention. In 1898, the New Era Progressive Baptist State Convention split off. Another split in 1920 created the New Era Baptist State Convention. The Progressive National Baptist Convention was formed in 1961. This happened after disagreements over leadership and civil rights. These four groups were major conventions in the late 1900s and early 2000s.

Historical Records

Much of this history is kept in the library at Samford University. Baptists are the largest Christian group in Alabama. The university's records include detailed notes from church meetings across the state. They also have the personal writings of many Baptist leaders. All issues of the Baptist newspaper, The Alabama Baptist, from 1835 onwards, are also stored there.