National Association of Free Will Baptists - History

History

In 1702, English General Baptists who had settled in the Province of Carolina requested help from the General Baptists in England. Though they did not receive help, native Paul Palmer labored there about twenty-five years later, and founded the first "General" or "Free Will" Baptist church in Chowan County, North Carolina, in 1727. (Many General Baptists held to general atonement but "personal predestination" or eternal security.) Palmer organized at least three churches in North Carolina. From one church in 1727, they grew to over twenty churches by 1755. After 1755, the churches began to decrease and many churches and members became Particular Baptists. By 1770, only four churches and four ministers remained of the General Baptist persuasion. By the end of eighteenth century, these churches were being referred to as "Free Will Baptist." The churches in the "Palmer" line would again experience growth slowly in the nineteenth century. They organized various associations and conferences, and finally organized into the General Conference of Free Will Baptists in 1921. The problem with the history of Paul Palmer, however, stems from the fact that it is uncertain exactly what view of perseverance he held. In fact, some church historians think he was Calvinistic in his views. He had come from the Welsh Tract Church which was Calvinistic.

Another "Free Will" movement rose in the North through the work of Benjamin Randall (1749-1808). Randall united with the Regular Baptists in 1776, but broke with them in 1779 due to his more liberal views on predestination. In 1780, Randall formed a "Free" Baptist church in New Durham, New Hampshire. More churches were founded, and in 1792 a Yearly Meeting was organized. This northern line of Free Will Baptists expanded rapidly, but the majority of the churches merged with the Northern Baptist Convention in 1911. A remnant of the Randall churches organized in 1917 as the Cooperative General Association of Free Will Baptists.

Representatives of the "Palmer" (General Conference) and "Randall" (Cooperative General Association) groups of Free Will Baptists met at Cofer's Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1935 and organized the National Association of Free Will Baptists as a merger of the two groups. The new association adopted the Treatise on the Faith and Practice of the Free Will Baptists, which has been revised several times since then. As of August 2005, the Association claims to have over 2,400 churches in forty-two states and fourteen foreign countries. The Association is actively involved in missionary work in the United States and throughout the world. The Association operates a publishing house called Randall House. Two colleges, the Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore, Oklahoma, are affiliated with the Association.