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67-555: Established under co-pastors James McDonald and Ryan Frier, in 1838, Bethel Baptist is the oldest Baptist congregation in Jacksonville . At its inception it had only six charter members, four whites and two blacks, the latter of whom were held as slaves by white members. The first meetings were held at "Mother Sam's", a local plantation. Membership quickly grew, with most early congregants being enslaved African Americans who received day passes from their masters to attend services. In 1840

134-683: A Holiness Pentecostal denomination, affirms the ordinances of baptism , the Lord's Supper , and the washing of the Saint's feet . Certain Pentecostal denominations, such as the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church and the Christian Congregation , among others, observe the ordinance of women's headcovering in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:4–13 . This Christianity -related article is

201-558: A congregationalist polity . This cooperative relationship allows the development of common organizations, for mission and societal purposes, such as humanitarian aid , schools, theological institutes and hospitals. The majority of Baptist churches are part of national denominations (or 'associations' or 'cooperative groups'), as well as the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), formed in 1905 by 24 Baptist denominations from various countries. The BWA's goals include caring for

268-633: A Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island , and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island . According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking." The First Great Awakening energized

335-546: A Baptist-type church. In 2020, according to the researcher Sébastien Fath of the CNRS , the Baptist movement has around 170 million believers in the world. According to a census released in 2024, the BWA includes 266 participating fellowships in 134 countries, with 178,000 churches and 51 million baptized members. These statistics may not be fully representative, however, since some churches in

402-569: A dedicated meeting house was erected at Duval and Newnan streets. The first church building in Jacksonville was sold to Presbyterians in 1844. In 1861 the congregation built a permanent church structure in the west LaVilla neighborhood at Church and Julia streets. Bethel Baptist was interracial until after the American Civil War and emancipation. Whites decided to segregate the congregation by race. At this time members were already facing

469-461: A denomination of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism ) and doing so by complete immersion . Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency (the responsibility and accountability of every person before God ), sola fide (salvation by faith alone), sola scriptura (the Bible is the sole infallible authority, as

536-560: A few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders , as well as the Episcopal Baptists who have an Episcopal system . Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism , both dispensational and historic premillennialism , with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support. Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists: Since there

603-585: A gathered, disciplined congregation of believers baptized by immersion as constituting the New Testament church gave expression to and built on insights that had emerged within separatism, advanced in the life of John Smyth and the suffering congregation of Thomas Helwys, and matured in Particular Baptists ." A minority view is that early 17th century Baptists were influenced by (but not directly connected to) continental Anabaptists. According to this view,

670-573: A key role in encouraging religious freedom and the doctrine of separation of church and state. Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth of Jesus ; miracles; substitutionary atonement for sins through the death , burial , and bodily resurrection of Jesus ; the Trinity ; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God , his death and resurrection); grace;

737-608: A more biblical "truth" had been discovered. During the Reformation, the Church of England ( Anglicans ) separated from the Roman Catholic Church . There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of

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804-538: A national organization. As a result, the whites formed Tabernacle Baptist Church, which they eventually renamed as First Baptist Church , which used to be one of the largest Baptist churches in the United States, but has drastically declined in attendance over the last decade. Tabernacle Baptist purchased the Church Street property from Bethel Baptist Church, as was required by the court. Cataline Simmons served as

871-419: A new larger church complex in 1988, next to the 1904 church. The three-story addition serves as an educational and administrative building. In 2000, the campus was further expanded with a $ 7.5 million building that contains a new sanctuary , conference center, space for youth and other support groups, and bookstore. In 2023, the church's average attendance was 14,000 people. Baptist Baptists are

938-432: A sacrament is seen as a means of grace from God, an ordinance is a practice that rather demonstrates the participants' faith. Roman Catholics , Eastern Orthodox , and many historic Protestant traditions ( Lutherans , Anglicans , Methodists , Moravians , Continental Reformed , Presbyterians and Congregationalists ) prefer the use of the term "sacrament". For Anabaptists, "ordinances brought one into conformity with

1005-639: A split over which pastor to follow, and white congregants tried to force the blacks, now freedmen , out of the church. They took their case to court, but the court ruled in favor of the freedmen , who were the majority of the congregation, and ruled that they were the rightful owners of the Bethel Baptist name and property. In this period across the South, many black Baptists were withdrawing from white-dominated churches to set up their own outside white control. They soon also established regional association and eventually

1072-776: A statement of their faith and beliefs. Baptist theology shares many doctrines with evangelical theology . It is based on believers' Church doctrine. Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by school of thought—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups, and a portion of it distinctive to Baptists. Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be creeds —to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists. Baptist denominations are traditionally seen as belonging to two parties, General Baptists who uphold Arminian theology, and Particular Baptists who uphold Reformed theology (Calvinism). During

1139-470: A tract titled "The Character of the Beast," or "The False Constitution of the Church." In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized ; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism." Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith. He rejected

1206-534: Is an outgrowth of Smyth's movement. Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. McBeth writes that as late as the 18th century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though falsely —called Anabaptists." Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611, and he published the first Baptist confession of faith "A Declaration of Faith of English People" in 1611. He founded

1273-457: Is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs. These differences exist among associations and even among churches within the associations. Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are: Excommunication may be used as a last resort by some denominations and churches for members who do not want to repent of beliefs or behavior at odds with

1340-567: Is sacramental. [1] [2] Rituals such as baptism, confirmation, initiatory (Chrismation) [see: washing and anointing] , ordination, endowment (formal vows and reception of sacred vestments) [3] and marriage are referred to as "saving ordinances" [4] , as they are considered transformative and necessary for salvation and exaltation. Similar to Catholic sacraments, Mormon ordinances are only considered valid if performed by ordained clergy with apostolic succession reaching back to Jesus through Peter. [5] [6] [7] [8] The Calvary Holiness Association ,

1407-530: Is the Baptist World Alliance , and there are many different groupings of Baptist churches and Baptist congregations. Historians trace the earliest Baptist church to 1609 in Amsterdam , with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor. In accordance with his reading of the New Testament , he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where

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1474-763: The Baptist Union of Great Britain . Some Baptist associations support same-sex marriage. This is the case of the Alliance of Baptists (USA), the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms, the Aliança de Batistas do Brasil, the Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba, and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (international). Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of

1541-632: The General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people , while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect . Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have freedom of religion . Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious conflict with English Dissenters under James I . Baptist historian Bruce Gourley outlines four main views of Baptist origins: Modern Baptist churches trace their history to

1608-484: The International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities was founded in the United States. In 2023, it had 42 member universities. Many churches promote virginity pledges to young Baptist Christians, who are invited to engage in a public ceremony of sexual abstinence until Christian marriage. This pact is often symbolized by a purity ring . Programs like True Love Waits , founded in 1993 by

1675-658: The Kingdom of God ; last things ( eschatology ) (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to Earth; the dead will be raised ; and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions . Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control. Exceptions to this local form of local governance include

1742-853: The Lord's Supper , both of which are practiced in denominations including the Anabaptist , Baptist , Churches of Christ , and Pentecostal denominations. Some churches, including those of the Anabaptists, include headcovering and footwashing as ordinances. The number of ordinances depends on the Christian denomination, with Mennonite Anabaptists counting seven ordinances, while some Baptists may name two or three. Christian traditions, including Anabaptists (such as Mennonites and Schwarzenau Brethren ), Baptists , Churches of Christ , Christian Churches/Churches of Christ , Disciples of Christ , refer to "ordinances", rather than " sacraments ". While

1809-606: The Southern Baptist Convention have been developed to support the commitments. Most Baptist associations around the world believe only in marriage between a man and a woman. Some Baptist associations do not have official beliefs about marriage in a confession of faith and invoke congregationalism to leave the choice to each church to decide. This is the case of American Baptist Churches USA , Progressive National Baptist Convention (USA), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (USA), National Baptist Convention, USA and

1876-583: The abolitionism of the Triennial Convention (now American Baptist Churches USA) left to form the Southern Baptist Convention. They believed that the Bible sanctions slavery and that it was acceptable for Christians to own slaves. They believed slavery was a human institution which Baptist teaching could make less harsh. By this time many planters were part of Baptist congregations, and some of

1943-682: The holiness movement , some General Baptists accepted the teaching of a second work of grace and formed denominations that emphasized this belief, such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and the Holiness Baptist Association . Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but their beliefs may vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played

2010-510: The 19th century, the rise of the modern missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists. During this era, the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary. A substantial secession of Baptists went into the movement led by Alexander Campbell to return to a more fundamental church. Leading up to the American Civil War , Baptists became embroiled in

2077-642: The Baptist congregations in the United States split over slavery and missions. The Home Mission Society prevented slaveholders from being appointed as missionaries. The split created the Southern Baptist Convention , while the northern congregations formed their own umbrella organization now called the American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA). In 2015, Baptists in the U.S. number 50 million people and constitute roughly one-third of American Protestants . The Baptist churches in Ukraine were preceded by

Bethel Church (Jacksonville, Florida) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-633: The Baptist movement spread across the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in Kyiv in 1907, and in 1908 the First All- Russian Convention of Baptists was held there, as Ukraine was still controlled by the Russian Empire. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro ) in southern Ukraine. At

2211-650: The Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the enslaved Black population. Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colony of Nova Scotia (present day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ) in the 1760s. The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville) in Wolfville , Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The church

2278-514: The Baptist successionist or perpetuity view consider the Baptist movement to have existed independently from Roman Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation. The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood , a booklet of five lectures by James Milton Carroll published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocate the successionist theory of Baptist origins are John T. Christian and Thomas Crosby . This view

2345-612: The English General Baptists. Representatives of this theory include A.C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gourley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback. This view was also taught by the Reformed historian Philip Schaff . However, the relations between Baptists and Anabaptists were early strained. In 1624,

2412-696: The English Separatist movement in the 17th century, over a century after the foundation of the Church of England during the Protestant Reformation . This view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal. It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that

2479-481: The General Baptists shared similarities with Dutch Waterlander Mennonites (one of many Anabaptist groups) including believer's baptism only, religious liberty , separation of church and state , and Arminian views of salvation, predestination and original sin. It is certain that the early Baptist church led by Smyth had contacts with the Anabaptists; however it is debated if these influences found their way into

2546-549: The General Baptists. The Particular Baptists were established when a group of Calvinist Separatists adopted believers' Baptism. The Particular Baptists consisted of seven churches by 1644 and had created a confession of faith called the First London Confession of Faith. Both Roger Williams and John Clarke are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America. In 1639 Williams established

2613-550: The German Anabaptist and Mennonite communities, who had been living in southern Ukraine since the 16th century, and who practiced adult believer's baptism. The first Baptist baptism (adult baptism by full immersion) in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river Inhul in the Yelizavetgrad region (now Kropyvnytskyi region), in a German settlement . In 1867, the first Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there,

2680-569: The Lord's Supper, as established explicitly by Jesus Christ, while other sacraments include additional ordinances instituted by the Church Fathers in the New Testament, such as " the laying on of hands " or anointing of the sick , as expressed in the Standard Confession (1660). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) uses the term "ordinance", however the underlying belief

2747-470: The Puritans and Congregationalists , they went into exile in 1607 with other believers who held the same biblical positions. They believe that the Bible is to be the only guide and that the believer's baptism is what the scriptures require. In 1609, the year considered to be the foundation of the movement, they baptized believers and founded the first Baptist church. In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote

Bethel Church (Jacksonville, Florida) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-701: The Separatist movement's doctrine of infant baptism. Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group. Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy. Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Helwys and others kept their baptism and their Baptist commitments. The modern Baptist denomination

2881-580: The Southeast. In 2007, the Pew Research Center 's Religious Landscape Survey found that 45% of all African Americans identify with Baptist denominations, with the vast majority of those being within the historically Black tradition. Ordinance (Christianity) An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe. Examples of ordinances include baptism and

2948-460: The United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, causing a church and its members to be counted possibly by more than one Baptist association, if these associations are members of the BWA. Among the censuses carried out by individual Baptist associations in 2023, those which claimed the most members on each continent were: Since the early days of the Baptist movement, various associations have adopted common confessions of faith as

3015-648: The autonomy of churches, but generally an individual becomes a member of a church through believer's baptism (which is a public profession of faith in Jesus, followed by immersion baptism). Most Baptists do not believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation but rather a public expression of inner repentance and faith. In general, Baptist churches do not have a stated age restriction on membership, but believer's baptism requires that an individual be able to freely and earnestly profess their faith. In 2010, an estimated 100 million Christians identified as Baptist or belonging to

3082-463: The basis for cooperative work among churches. Each church has a particular confession of faith and a common confession of faith if it is a member of an association of churches. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith , 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith , and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as

3149-558: The black church's first pastor. In 1868 Bethel Baptist relocated to a large new building on Union and Pine streets. In 1895 they replaced this structure with a large brick building. This burned in the Great Fire of 1901 , which destroyed much of downtown Jacksonville. In 1904 the current edifice was built by architect M. H. Hubbard from Utica, New York . The 1904 building combined elements of Greek Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture . This building, located at 1058 North Hogan Street,

3216-726: The church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as " Puritans " and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists. In 1579, Faustus Socinus founded the Unitarian Polish Brethren in Poland-Lithuania , which

3283-599: The confession of faith of the community. When an entire congregation is excluded, it is often called disfellowship. In Baptist churches, worship service is part of the life of the church and includes praise , worship , of prayers to God , a sermon based on the Bible , offering , and periodically the Lord's Supper. Some churches have services with traditional Christian music , others with contemporary Christian music , and some offer both in separate services. In many churches, there are services adapted for children, even teenagers. Prayer meetings are also held during

3350-591: The controversy over slavery in the United States . Whereas in the First Great Awakening , Methodist and Baptist preachers had opposed slavery and urged manumission , over the decades they made more of an accommodation with the institution. They worked with slaveholders in the South to urge a paternalistic institution. Both denominations made direct appeals to slaves and free Blacks for conversion. The Baptists particularly allowed them active roles in congregations. By

3417-538: The denomination's prominent preachers, such as Basil Manly Sr. , president of the University of Alabama , were also planters who owned slaves. As early as the late 18th century, Black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies. Blacks set up some independent Baptist congregations in the South before the Civil War. White Baptist associations maintained some oversight of these churches. In

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3484-755: The end of the 19th century, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine. An independent All-Ukrainian Baptist Union of Ukraine was established during the brief period of Ukraine's independence in early 20th-century and once again after the fall of the Soviet Union, the largest of which is currently known as the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine . Some Baptist church congregations choose to be independent of larger church organizations ( Independent Baptist ). Other Baptist churches choose to be part of an international or national Baptist Christian denomination or association while still adhering to

3551-511: The first General Baptist Church in Spitalfields , east London, in 1612. Another milestone in the early development of Baptist doctrine was in 1638 with John Spilsbury , a Calvinist minister who helped to promote the strict practice of believer's baptism by immersion (as opposed to affusion or aspersion ). According to Tom Nettles, professor of historical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , "Spilsbury's cogent arguments for

3618-550: The five existing Baptist churches of London issued a condemnation of the Anabaptists. Furthermore, the original group associated with Smyth (popularly believed to be the first Baptists) broke with the Waterlander Mennonite Anabaptists after a brief period of association in the Netherlands. Traditional Baptist historians write from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the time of Christ. Proponents of

3685-490: The holy kiss, and the prayer covering." The Dunkard Brethren Church , a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, includes baptism , feetwashing , communion , the holy kiss , headcovering , and anointing of the sick among the ordinances of the Church. Feetwashing, communion and the holy kiss occur during the lovefeast . Some Baptists teach two ordinances , baptism and

3752-485: The level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word crisis comes from the Greek word meaning 'to decide.' Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even schism , though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion, crises among Baptists each have become decision moments that shaped their future. Early in

3819-409: The mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions increased, in 1844 the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary who had been proposed by Georgia. It noted that missionaries could not take servants with them, and also that the board did not want to appear to condone slavery. In 1845 a group of churches in favor of slavery and in disagreement with

3886-427: The national Foreign Mission Convention to support Black Baptist missionary work. Two other national Black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united as the National Baptist Convention . This organization later went through its own changes, spinning off other conventions. It is the largest Black religious organization and the second-largest Baptist organization in the world. Baptists are numerically most dominant in

3953-406: The needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom. Missionary organizations favored the development of the movement on all continents. The BMS World Mission was founded in 1792 at Kettering , England. In United States, International Ministries was founded in 1814, and the International Mission Board was founded in 1845. Membership policies vary due to

4020-412: The postwar years, freedmen quickly left the white congregations and associations, setting up their own churches. In 1866, the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, formed from Black Baptists of the South and West, helped southern associations set up Black state conventions, which they did in Alabama , Arkansas , Virginia , North Carolina , and Kentucky . In 1880, Black state conventions united in

4087-517: The rule of faith and practice) and congregationalist church government . Baptists recognize only two ordinances : baptism and communion . Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today may differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Baptist missionaries have spread various Baptist churches to every continent. The largest group of Baptist churches

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4154-433: The truth of Jesus Christ, whose life , crucifixion , death, and resurrection had so fundamentally altered all of humanity and creation that human beings were now capable of works of loving obedience that revealed the indwelling presence of God in Christ in all people." Seven ordinances have been taught in many Conservative Mennonite churches, which include "baptism, communion, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil,

4221-412: The week. The architecture is generally sober, and the Latin cross is one of the only spiritual symbols that can usually be seen on the building of a Baptist church and that identifies the place where it belongs. Baptist churches established elementary and secondary schools, Bible colleges , colleges and universities as early as the 1680s in England, before continuing in various countries. In 2006,

4288-401: Was a tolerant country. The Unitarians taught baptism by immersion . After their expulsion from the Commonwealth in 1658, many of them fled to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the Unitarians introduced immersion baptism to the Dutch Mennonites . Baptist churches have their origins in a movement started by John Smyth and Thomas Helwys in Amsterdam . Because they shared beliefs with

4355-508: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Through this time Bethel Baptist continued to grow considerably, but political infighting led to parts of the congregation splintering off and founding new churches. By 1890 there were 1,200 members and the church received more than $ 3,000 in pledges every year. In 1894 it was recognized as an Institutional Church by the state of Florida, authorizing it to undertake social and educational work. The late 20th century congregation opened

4422-427: Was established with the assistance of the New Light evangelist Henry Alline . Many of Alline's followers, after his death, converted and strengthened the Baptist presence in the Atlantic region. Two major groups of Baptists formed the basis of the churches in the Maritimes . These were referred to as Regular Baptist (Calvinistic in their doctrine) and Free Will Baptists (Arminian in their doctrine). In May 1845,

4489-447: Was held by English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon as well as Jesse Mercer , the namesake of Mercer University . In 1898 William Whitsitt was pressured to resign his presidency of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for denying Baptist successionism. In 1612 Helwys established a Baptist congregation in London, consisting of congregants from Smyth's church. A number of other Baptist churches sprang up, and they became known as

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