The Alabama Baptist Convention (ABC or ABSC) is an autonomous association of
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
churches in the state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
formed in 1823. It is one of the
state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions promotes evangelism and discipleship in Alabama, develops church leadership, assists in the foundation of new churches and funds state-level, national and global missions including a newspaper, Christian schools, children's aid programs, retirement centers and so on.
The ABSC is supported by the Cooperative Program, where affiliated Baptist churches in Alabama donate a part of their revenues to the ABSC.
It was one of the original nine state conventions to send delegates to the first
Southern Baptist Convention, organized in 1845.
History
Early years
The Alabama State Convention was formed in 1823 at the Salem Church just outside
Greensboro, Alabama
Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 2,497, down from 2,731 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hale County, Alabama, which was not organized until 1867. It is part o ...
,
primarily through the instigation of
James A. Ranaldson, a Baptist from Louisiana. For the first few years, its members were primarily delegations from Baptist
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
societies, reflecting the
frontier nature of the Alabama territory at the time. Later the delegates came from individual Baptist churches and regional associations as well. Prominent members of the convention in the early years included
Hosea Holcombe,
Alexander Travis,
James McLemore,
Dempsey Winborne,
Sion Blythe,
Charles Crow,
A. G. McCrow, and
Joseph Ryan.
![Samford University Beeson Divinity School](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Samford_University_Beeson_Divinity_School.JPG)
The Convention made financial contributions to the
Baptist General Convention of the United States, as well as providing financial support for
Adoniram Judson's translation of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
into
Burmese, to support the Baptist
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
in Burma. At the ABSC's tenth annual session, in 1833, which was held at Grant's Creek Church in
Tuscaloosa County
Tuscaloosa County is a county in the northwest-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama and is the center of commerce, education, industry, health care, and entertainment for the region.
The county's population was 227,036 as of the 2020 ...
, the convention resolved to found an educational institution, to be called the Manual Labor Seminary. But, this project foundered after five years.
In Alabama, local Baptists founded
Judson College for women in 1838; and
Howard College
Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa.
History
Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...
for men in 1841. Wealthy members donated funds to create a statewide newspaper, the ''Alabama Baptist'', in 1843. The Board of Domestic Missions (later called the Home Mission Board) was established in 1845; all were signs of the denomination's growth and maturing in the state.
Slavery issue
In the years of increasing sectional tensions about the Baptist Church's position on
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and
abolition prior to the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, some Northern members opposed the appointment as missionaries of Southern Baptists who were slaveholders. Objecting to this infringement on their culture, in 1844, the ABSC passed the "Alabama Resolutions". Included was the following:
2. Resolved, That our duty at this crisis requires us to demand from the proper authorities in all those bodies to whose funds we have contributed, or with whom we have in any way been connected, the distinct, explicit, avowal that slaveholders are eligible, and entitled, equally with non-slaveholders, to all the privileges and immunities of their several unions; and especially to receive any agency, mission, or other appointment, which may run within the scope of their operation or duties.
Rev.
Basil Manly, Sr., then president of the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
(1838–1855), drafted the resolutions. A strong supporter of the institution of slavery, Manly owned a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
and 40 slaves. He argued for the humanity of slaves, but thought the institution was part of the proper scheme of man's social structures, and that the Baptist religion could help support proper treatment of slaves.
In 1844 the ABSC sent its resolutions to the Board of the
Triennial Convention
The Triennial Convention (so-called because it met every three years) was the first national Baptist denomination in the United States. Officially named the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America ...
.
Following the
Home Mission Society's rejection of
James E. Reeve for appointment as a missionary because he was a slaveholder, Alabama and other southern state Baptist conventions withdrew their funding from the national convention and formed the
Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. It was another sign of the severe sectional tensions that developed in the nation before the outbreak of war.
Post Civil War
In 1871, the ABSC established a Sabbath-school Board. In 1875 this became the State Mission Board, originally located in
Talladega. In 1880, it relocated to
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
in 1880.
In the postwar years, women became increasingly active, in 1879 creating the women's central missions' committee, the predecessor of the
Women's Missionary Union (WMU).
In 1886,
E. B. Teague introduced a resolution at the state convention to move Howard College to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. In 1887, the Convention relocated Howard College from
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
to Birmingham,
which was industrializing and growing rapidly.
While historically women constituted the majority of members of the Baptist Church and played many active roles in providing charity and supporting education, they were not ordained as ministers or allowed to hold offices in the church, associations and conventions. Gradually they took on more formal leadership roles. The ASBC did admit women delegates in 1913, years before they received the right to vote through the national amendment to the constitution.
In 1972 the convention elected its first woman vice-president,
Miriam Jackson, then dean of women at
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...
and recording secretary for the Alabama Baptist Executive Board.
The church accepted and supported separate churches for African Americans. The St. Louis Street Missionary Baptist Church in Mobile was established in 1853, and the first three pastors were white, but in 1865 the title was transferred to the first African-American pastor, Rev. Charles Leavens. In 1874, the ABC passed a resolution at this church to establish an educational institute for blacks called
Selma University.
Effect of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s forced changes in the position of the organization on segregation. In 1956 the Christian Life Commission of the ABC described the first black student of the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
as a "seeming tool of the
NAACP" and said it could not view the policy of forced integration as "the will of God for our state in 1956". The ABC commission called for "more independent" black ministers to help defuse racial tensions, but had difficulty finding ministers who were not associated with the NAACP, at least in sympathy.
In 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to adopt a resolution renouncing its
racist roots and apologizing for its past defense of slavery. ABC churches and denominational leadership were supportive of this apology.
In 1999 Dr. Thomas E. Corts, president of
Samford University said "The Alabama Baptist Convention ... are on record as saying that we need to grant opportunities to all races, and we don't want to compromise that opportunity. We're all God's children."
Today
The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions promotes evangelism and discipleship in Alabama, develops church leadership, assists in the foundation of new churches and funds state-level, national and global missions including a newspaper, Christian schools, children's aid programs, retirement centers and so on.
The ABSC is supported by the Cooperative Program, where affiliated Baptist churches in Alabama donate a part of their revenues to the ABSC.
The ABSC partners with the
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and provides funding and other forms of support to the SBC. There have been questions about the relationship.
In summer of 2007 Russ Bush, academic dean of the
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in ...
in
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Wake Forest is a town in Franklin, Granville and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601. That ...
proposed that churches should write separate checks to the ABC and the SBC rather than have the ABC decide how funds were to be allocated.
As of 2000 there were 3,148 congregations in Alabama associated with the SBC, with 1,380,121 adherents.
ABSC President
Jimmy Jackson was a candidate to become President of the SBC in June 2010.
If elected, he would have been the second Alabama Baptist pastor to serve as SBC president.
Jonathan Haralson was the first to fill that role, serving as SBC President from 1889 to 1898.
In the event,
Bryant Wright
Bryant Wright is a Baptist pastor and author. He served as senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia from its founding in 1981 until 2019. He also served as elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from ...
of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...
was elected.
Related organizations
The Alabama Baptist newspaper
''
The Alabama Baptist'' is a weekly newspaper that was first published on 4 February 1843, initially an independent newspaper but supported by Baptist leaders in the state. It was purchased by the Alabama Baptist State Convention in 1919, and now has a circulation of 100,000. The newspaper is based in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
Education
![Samford University2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Samford_University2.jpg)
The Judson Female Institute was established by members of Siloam Baptist Church of
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
, opening on 7 January 1839.
It was renamed
Judson College in 1903.
The purpose was and is to provide a Christian education to female students. Judson College is affiliated with the ABC.
Samford University was founded by the Alabama Baptist State Convention in 1841 as Howard College in Marion and moved to Birmingham in 1887. The college gained university status in 1965. It is now Alabama's largest private university with an endowment of more than $220 million and an enrollment of 4,658 students as of Fall 2009.
The Alabama Baptist State Convention agreed in 1959 to build and operate a college in Mobile if the community provided sufficient funds, which was achieved. Mobile College was chartered in 1961 and became the
University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a private, Baptist university in Mobile, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention).
History
The university was founded in 1961 by the Alabama Baptist State under t ...
in 1993.
The University remains affiliated with the ABC.
Baptist Foundation of Alabama
Formed in 1940 as the ABC's trust agency, today the Baptist Foundation of Alabama manages over $230 million in assets for individuals, churches, and Baptist entities.
Other ministries
Shocco Springs is a Christian Conference Center that hosts meetings and retreats in Talladega, Alabama.
The Alabama Woman's Missionary Union based in Prattville encourages missional living, empowering Alabama Baptists to fulfill the "
Great Commission
In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain ...
".
The Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries based in Birmingham, Alabama is a child and family service agency, a non-profit organization that provides counseling for families and provides care for children in foster homes, group homes and emergency shelters.
Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers based in Prattville, established in 1975, runs four retirement centers in
Dothan Dothan is a place-name from the Hebrew Bible, identified with Tel Dothan. It may refer to:
* Dothan, Alabama, a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties in the U.S. state of Alabama
* Dani Dothan, lyricist and vocalist for the Israeli rock and ne ...
, Montgomery and
Roanoke.
The Alabama Baptist Historical Commission based in Birmingham, provides historical resources and supports research into Alabama Baptist history.
See also
*
History of Baptists in Alabama
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Baptist Christianity in Alabama
Conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention
Religious organizations established in 1823
Baptist denominations established in the 19th century
1823 establishments in Alabama