May 10

If, for some reason or other, you were invited to preach or speak in a Methodist church, at a Rotary Meeting, or at a city council meeting, would you select baptism as your subject? What would your subject be, if you were given an opportunity to speak privately with...

May 3

When Pastor Cantlow baptized that teenage boy on this day in 1850, he probably had no idea of the spiritual and historical significance of what he was doing. Perhaps no Baptist, since John, could begin to understand what lay a head for any baptismal candidate. On this...

April 26

The Broadmead Church in Bristol, England was founded in 1640. In the church minutes it was described as a “Baptized Congregation” meaning that it employed immersion. For about fifteen years one of the early members, of the church, Brother Edward Terrill,...

April 19

A J. Gordon wrote two hymns which we sometimes sing – “My Jesus I Love Thee,” and “In Tenderness He Sought Me.” Both of those hymns reflect his up-bringing in the doctrines of sovereign grace. “I love Thee because Thou hast first loved...

April 12

Robert Lowry was born on March 12 in 1826. His parents were Presbyterians, but after Robert was born again and began studying the Word of God, he determined that immersion was the Biblical mode to follow, so he was baptized by George Ide, pastor the First Baptist...

April 5, 1878

Dr. William Brisbane, became a Baptist through a different channel than most to which I have referred. He was born into an aristocratic family near Charleston, South Carolina, but none of my reference books could give me the year. His early education was entrusted to...

March 29

  This material was taken from a “Christian Messenger” article, published on this day in 1871. Isaiah Wallace was born in Hopewell, New Brunswick on January 17, 1797. The Lord saved his soul at an early age and after his baptism he began to publically...

March 22

John Gill was born at Kettering, Northamptonshire, England on November 23, 1697. His father, Edward, was a Baptist, but at the time was a member of a union church composed of Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists. This proved to be an untenable situation, and...

March 15

Samuel Heaton was born into a Presbyterian home in Wrentham, Connecticut in 1711. When they became of age, he and three of his brothers moved to Morris County, New Jersey, where they began an ironworks business. Samuel married a good Baptist woman named Abby. When...

March 8

Joseph Islands was born a Creek Indian in the Colony of Georgia. He grew up wild and sinful. But when a friend of his died during one of their drunken revelries, Joseph was heart-broken. The next day when his friend was to be buried, “Old Billy,” a local...

February 22

Today’s little vignette reminds us that not all of God’s servants are as notable and memorable as others. And yet the Lord knows those who are His, and He has a ministry for everyone who is willing to serve Him. On this day in 1817, in Nelson County, Virginia, Thomas...

February 15

The first record in the books of the First Baptist Church of Boston reads: “The 28th of the third month, 1665, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the Church of Christ, commonly, though falsely, called Anabaptists, were gathered together, and entered into fellowship...

February 8

  It was on this day in 1801 that George Boardman was born. The place was Livermore, Maine and his father was the Baptist pastor in that community. George was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1825 and later that year, along with his wife, Sarah, he set sail for the...

February 1

Ulrich Zwingli was a Protestant reformer living in Switzerland. In 1523 he publically stated that it was better to baptize children when they became old enough to understand what they were doing, because, as he said, there was no clear utterance in the New Testament...

January 25

Hans Hut was a sixteenth-century Anabaptist who was martyred for his faith. He had been led to Christ through the ministry of Hans Denck, and the change in his life was immediate and obvious, touching the lives of many others. He was immersed on May 26, 1526, and soon...