The Original Free Will Baptist Convention is a

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

-based body of

Free Will Baptists Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal est ...

that split from the

National Association of Free Will Baptists The National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB) is a national body of Free Will Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, organized on November 5, 1935 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Association traces its history in the United States ...

in 1961. The ''Original Free Will Baptist State Convention'' was established in 1913. In 1935 the State Convention became a charter member of the National Association. The North Carolina convention had developed along lines with slightly different polity from the midwestern and northern Free Will Baptists. They held to a more connectional form of government, and believed the annual conference could settle disputes in and discipline a local church. This view, different educational philosophies, and the desire of the North Carolina convention to operate its own press and Sunday School publishing created tensions that ended in division. The majority of Free Will Baptist churches in North Carolina withdrew from the National Association, while a minority withdrew from the State Convention to maintain affiliation with the National Association. Headquarters of the State Convention are in

Mount Olive, North Carolina Mount Olive is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, Duplin and Wayne County, North Carolina, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 4,589 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is included in the Gold ...

. The Convention sponsors the ''Free Will Baptist Children's Home, Inc.'' in

Middlesex, North Carolina Middlesex is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Middlesex is about 25 miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina. The populati ...

(established 1920), the

University of Mount Olive The University of Mount Olive (UMO or Mount Olive) is a private university in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Chartered in 1951, the university is sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention and accredited by the Southern Association of Co ...

(chartered 1951), and operates the ''Free Will Baptist Press'' in Ayden. It supports foreign missionaries in

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Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and the

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. In 1991 they reported over 33,000 members in 236 churches that were organized into 7 conferences. Currently (2003) the Convention has grown to about 250 churches. Most of the churches are in eastern North Carolina.

Churches in OFWB Convention

External links

Free Will Baptist Children's Home, Inc.Free Will Baptist Press Foundation, Inc.University of Mount OliveOriginal Free Will Baptist ConventionOriginal Free Will Baptist International
Foreign Missions

Liberia Mission
Little Rock Original Free Will Baptist ChurchMicro Original Free Will Baptist ChurchThe Richard & Carolyn Hinnant Outreach Center - a ministry of Micro Original Free Will BaptistPleasant Grove Original Free Will Baptist Church-Pikeville

References

*''An Introduction to the Original Free Will Baptists'', by Floyd B. Cherry *''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''Encyclopedia of Religion in the South'', Samuel S. Hill, editor Free Will Baptists Christian organizations established in 1961 Baptist denominations in North America Baptist denominations established in the 20th century 1961 establishments in North Carolina {{Baptists-stub