January 24

American Baptists were introduced to their missionary responsibilities in West Africa through the thousands of slaves who had been kidnaped and brought to this country from that region. Many of the people carried here brought with them the pagan witchcraft of their...

January 17

George Blaurock was an Anabaptist who became known for two things – his opposition of infant baptism and his love of music. The first historical reference to this man occurred on this day (Jan. 17) in 1525 during a public discussion of baptism. It was said by...

January 10

Daniel Defoe was born into a English Christian home in 1661. As a young man he fell in love with the word of God, and during a period when there were few copies of the Bible, he was one of many to copy it in short hand for future use. Being a good writer, he began to...

January 3

On this day (January 3) in 1644 the British Parliament, which was then controlled by the Presbyterians, passed a bill making sprinkling the official act of “baptism” in England. The bill read, “The minister is to demand the name of the child, which being told him, is...

December 27

Benajah Harvey Carroll was born on this day (Dec. 27) in 1843. His father was a Baptist preacher and the rest of his family were devoted Christians. His brother, J.M. Carroll, authored the often-published booklet “Trail of Blood.” Despite being surrounded by the...

December 20

John William Jones was married on this day (Dec. 20) in 1860. That fact has nothing to do with today’s vignette, it just gives us a reference to the calendar. John Jones was born in 1835, and he was born again while a teenager. He was preparing himself for missionary...

December 13

Edward Pierce was born in Gates County, North Carolina, on this day (Dec. 13) in 1870. The Lord saved his soul when Edward was sixteen, and shortly after that he was called to preach the gospel. He graduated from Wake Forest College and then from Southern Baptist...

December 6

According to David Benedict’s Baptist history, a church was formed in Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1780. On this day (December 6), a year later, Samuel Fletcher was ordained as their pastor. He was 33 years old, had been saved about thirteen years, and had been...

November 29

In the 1870’s the First Baptist Church of Portland, Oregon became burdened for the many Chinese who were moving into their city. Pastor D.J. Pierce wrote to E.Z. Simmons, a Baptist missionary who was on furlough from China, asking if he would come up from...

November 22

On this day (Nov. 22) in 1755 sixteen Baptists, originally from New England, formed the Sandy Creek Baptist church in what is now northern North Carolina. The church immediately called Brother Shubal Sterns to become their under shepherd and leader. With the blessing...

More than eight thousand people attended the funeral service of William Knibb who died of yellow fever on this day (Nov. 15) in 1845. Bro. Knibb served as one of the first Baptist missionaries in Jamaica. When he first reached his field, he was shocked at what he...

November 8

The Cloughfold Baptist Church in England had its beginning in 1692 when two cousins, David Crossley and William Mitchel wanted to establish a “Protestant Dissenters” congregation. David Crossley was raised by a godly aunt and trusted Christ for his salvation before he...

November 1

In 1755 a church was established in North Carolina made up of refugees from New Jersey. It was called “Jersey Settlement,” and their first pastor was John Gano. When the local Indians made life miserable for the settlers, Gano returned north and many members fled from...

October 25

Allen Wyley, a resident of Culpeper, Virginia, was born again as a young man and was baptized by David Thomas in 1765. He earnestly prayed that a Baptist preacher would come to his community to establish a church. One day when he heard that the Separate Baptist,...

October 18

Massachusetts and Plymouth were two separate colonies, both established by Protestant dissenters. Over time the Plymouth colony became more amenable towards other faiths, but it was not so in Massachusetts. On this day (October 18) in 1649 the Court of Massachusetts...