May 29

John Gano was ordained to the gospel ministry by the Baptist church in Hopewell, New Jersey, on this day in 1754. John’s mother was a Baptist, but his father was a Presbyterian, so the young man was raised under a cloud of theological confusion. After his conversion,...

May 22

Joseph Ivimey came into this world at Ringwood, England on this day in 1773. I mentioned him a week or two ago, because the Lord saved him and called him into His ministry. In his youth he was sent to live with his uncle to learn a trade, and it was through that...

May 15

J. E. Feisser was a minister in the Dutch Reformed denomination in Holland during the 19th century. The early part of his life was not pleasant. He lost his wife and two children, then his own health began to deteriorate, and he lost his right eye. Immersed in...

May 8

John Bates was born in Bugbrook, England in 1805. As a twenty-two-year-old, he moved to London to find work, and it was there he found the Saviour. He was born again, baptized and joined the Eagle Street Chapel, pastored by the Baptist historian, Joseph Ivimey. Two...

May 1

While the War for Independence was being waged in America, the Baptists in England were watching with great interest. The 1689 Edict of Toleration, as its title stipulates, provided some degree of religious toleration, but as long as there was one religious...

April 24

On this day in 1854 James Voller preached his first message as pastor of the Bathhurst Baptist Church in Sydney, Australia. It was only twenty-three years earlier that the first Baptist worship service was given to the Lord in that country. Something which made...

April 17

For several reasons, I rarely present anyone from the 20th century in these little histories. Today, I’m going to make an exception. Florence Almen had been serving in a Baptist mission in French Equatorial Africa. After a short furlough in America she bought passage...

April 10

Joshua Morse was born on this day in 1726 when his parents were living in the colony of Rhode Island. Even though his grandfather was a Baptist, his parents were not, and Joshua was not raised in the light of the Word of God. Nevertheless, at the age of sixteen he...

April 3

Abraham Marshall was the son of Daniel and Martha. When he was just a baby, his parents began an effort to evangelize the Mohawk Indians in rural Connecticut, but when Shubal Sterns invited them to join him, they moved to Sandy Creek, North Carolina. While serving...

March 27

The baby born on this date in 1828 was given the name of his father, Edward, a Baptist preacher who served the Lord in Virginia. When Edward was only eight years old, his missionary-minded father moved the family to Alabama. Eventually, the Lord saved the soul of...

March 20

Samuel L. Straughan was ordained to the ministry on this day in 1806. He was raised on a Virginia farm and had only two or three years of formal education. But it is said that “during his childhood, he exhibited a sobriety and manliness of character much beyond his...

March 13

Before the establishment of the first permanent Baptist church in America, there was an attempt to organize a congregation just south of Boston. Six godly men, the principle leaders in the attempt, were arraigned before the General Court in Boston on this day in 1639....

March 6

Hezekiah Johnson was born in Maryland on this day in 1799. His Father was a Baptist preacher and the family moved to Ohio in 1816 to serve the Lord. Hezekiah professed faith in Christ when he was 26 and two years later he was ordained, moving to Iowa to plant a...

February 27

Samuel Stillman was born on this day in 1737. The first eleven years of his life were spent in Philadelphia, after which he resided in Charleston, South Carolina. There he came under the gospel preaching of Oliver Hart. Still in his youth he saw himself as a sinner...

February 20

Andrew Gifford was born into a home where his father and his father before him were both Baptist pastors; and both suffered for their faith, being persecuted and imprisoned. At an early age the testimony of his parents bore fruit, and Andrew trusted Christ as his...