This little vignette is about two men who were double Baptists.
On this day in 1828, a baby boy named Edward was born into the family of Pastor Edward Baptist. Edward Baptist Sr., was one of the leading pastors in Virginia at the turn of the nineteenth century. In addition to his own church, he was involved in the evangelism of the natives still in the state, and he took a keen interest in sending missionaries to the Indians who were being pushed to the south and west. He was also an educator concerned that many of his fellow Baptists were not being well-taught in the things of God.
When Edward Jr. was just eight years old, the Baptist family moved to Alabama. It was there, while still young, that young Edward was converted and was immersed in water by his father, becoming a Baptist in name and in reality – he was a Baptist by conviction. Later he was ordained to the ministry, and in 1856 Edward Baptist Jr. returned to Virginia, accepting a call to become the pastor of one of Christ’s congregations in Spotsylvania County. (That would have put him in the area during the Civil War battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.) For nearly forty years he served in that church while constantly expanding his ministry. By 1893, at the age of 65, he was pastoring four separate congregations with a total of nearly 500 members. He maintained a regular rotation of visiting and preaching in each church on succeeding Sundays. This he did for three years before he died in January 1896.
Edward Baptist was born on this day in 1828.