SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

[s. 714] : The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in the city of August a, Georgia, in May, 1845. It originated in a withdrawal of the Southern churches from union and cooperation with “the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States,” popularly known as the Triennial Convention. (See article on American Baptist Mi ionary Union.) The constitution of this convention, as well as the history of its proceedings from the beginning, conferred on all the members in good standing of the Baptist denomination, whether at the North or the South, eligibility to all appointments emanating from the convention of the Board. Unmistakable indications, however, led the Alabama Baptist State Convention in 1844 to adopt a preamble and resolutions which were submitted to the Board of Foreign Mi ions of the Triennial Convention, to which a frank and explicit answer was returned, that “if any one having slaves should offer himself as a mi ionary, and insist on retaining them as his property, we could not appoint him. One thing is certain, we can never be a party to any arrangement that would imply approbation of slavery.” When this reply was made known, the Board of the Virginia Foreign Mi ionary Society addre ed a circular to the Baptist churches of Virginia, suggesting that a convention be held at August a, Georgia, for conference as to the best means of promoting the Foreign Mi ion cause, and other interests of the Baptist denomination in the South. Both at the North and the South a separation seemed inevitable. At the North it was desired by many, regretted by a few, and expected by all. Before the proposed convention in August a could meet, the Home Mi ion Society at its meeting in Providence, in April, had virtually declared for a separation, and recommended that as the existing Society was planted in the North, and had there its Executive Board and charter, which it seemed desirable to preserve, it be retained by the Northern churches, and those 697 sympathizing with them as to the appointment of slave-holders. At the call of the Board of Managers of the Virginia Foreign Mi ion Society, there a embled in August a, May 8, 1845, 310 delegates from the States of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia. Owing to the short notice of the meeting, other The States were represented only by letter. committee appointed for the purpose presented a resolution, “That for peace and harmony, and in order to accomplish the greatest amount of good, and for the maintenance of those Scriptural principles on which the General Mi ionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination of the Untied States was formed, it is proper that this convention at once proceed to organize a society Then folfor the propagation of the Gospel.” lowed the adoption of a constitution which was that of the original union; that in connection with which, throughout his mi ionary life, Adoniram Judson lived, under which Ann Judson and Boardman died. We recede from it no single step. We use the very terms, and we uphold the true spirit and great object of the late General Convention.” Thus the Southern Baptist Convention claims to be the real and proper succe or and continuator of that body which “at a special meeting, held in New York, November 19, 1845, was ‘di olved,’ and the American Baptist Mi ionary Union, with an entirely new constitution and a”different basis of membership, was organized “precisely in its stead.” A Board of Foreign Mi ions was appointed, to be located in Richmond, Virginia, and one for Domestic Mi ions, to be located in Marion, Alabama. In 1882 the location of this Board was changed to Atlanta, Georgia, and its name was changed to the Home Mi ion Board. It has had a career of great usefulne . A Sundav-school Board was organized in 1891, with the Rev. J. M. Frost, D.D., as corresponding secretary. The work of this Board, or publishing house, located steadily grown. at Nashville, Tenn., has Thus the Southern Baptist Convention has gathered around itself the enthusiastic support of the Baptist churches of the South; and the wisdom of its formation is evidenced by the fact that while Southern Baptists contributed to the Triennial Convention in 31 years, from 18141845, $212,000, during the 34 years, from 18451879 (covering the period of the war), their contributions for Foreign Mi ions alone were S939,From 1880 to 1890 the contributions were 377. $812,662, and from 1890 to and including a part of 1903, contributions to the Foreign Mi ion Board were $1,778,583; for the single year 1902-3, $218,752.62, or more than the contributions of the entire Southern States to the “Triennial Convention” prior to its di olution. Development of Work: Immediately after the organization of ^he Board they were instructed to correspond with the Bost,->n Board with regard to mutual claims; and were authorized to make any equitable and prudent arrangement with that Board, to take a portion of its mi ions under the patronage of the Convention. At the suggestion of the Boston Board, through Dr. Francis Way land, it was agreed that “the property and liabilities of the General Convention should remain with that body,” and that “the mi ion- Sontli American Southern Uaptist have the choice of the a ociations with which they would be connected.” Under this arrangement Rev. J. L. Shuck, the first American Baptist mi ionary to China, and Rev. I. J. Roberts, who had followed Mr. Shuck in 1836, gave in their adherence to the Southern Convention. Rev. S. C. Clopton and Rev. George Pearcy were commi ioned to join them, and the mi ions of the new Board were fairly inaugurated. Coincident with the establishment of the China mi ion, it was determined to commence work on the coast of Africa, where mi ions of the Northern Board were already in operation, and in 1847 stations were formed in Liberia and in Sierra Leone, and in 1850 in Central Africa. As early as 1850 the attention of the Board was directed to South America as an important field, but it was not until 1860 that the opportunity was afforded for carrying out the plans of the Board. The Rev. T. j. Bowen, who had been obliged to leave Africa on account of ill-health, volunteered for the South American field; he was gladly sent, and a station was founded at Rio de Janeiro, from which point the work has rapidly spread. In 1859 the needs of Japan attracted the attention of the Board, and in 1S60 four mi ionaries, two ministers and their wives, were sent. All were lost at sea before reaching their field of The enterprise, tho deferred, was never labor. abandoned. In 1889 four mi ionaries were sent aries should who founded the present mi ion. The duty of Baptists to send the pure Gospel into the Catholic countries of Europe was felt out, by the Board from the very beginning, and France was chosen as a field for mi ionary labor; but the occupation of Rome by Victor Emmanuel in 1870 opened Italy to mi ionary work, and drew attention thither, and in 1871 Rome became a center of operations, which have spread throughout the peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, and a portion of Austria. In 1903 the Board began a new mi ion in Buenos Aires, Argentine RepubUo, sending thither several mi ionaries. Statement of the Mi ions. China: The work of the Southern Convention in China is carried on under three mi ions, South China, with Canton as a center, but extending to the interior; Central China, with Shanghai as a center, and the Shantung province. In 1846 the work was begun in Canton by the Rev. George Pearcy and Rev. Samuel Clopton. The work has progre ed since that time with little or no interruption, and Canton has been the largest center of the work in China. The Mi ion now includes 13 churches and 46 stations, in which labor 20 foreign mi ionaries and 50 native helpers; the church membership is 2,464. Shanghai was chosen as a station at the same time as Canton, being situated in a central posiIt is a city of great import i on on the coast. tance for mi ionary operations, since the Chinese come here from all parts of the empire, the number of transient inhabitants being estimated During the Tai-ping rebellion at above 100,000. in 1854 the mi ion property was destroyed, but on the seizure of the city by the Imperialists, full restitution was made, and the work renewed. The Tai-ping movement was strictly religious and iconoclastic in its origin, and proved in the end a benefit to the mi ion, for it roused the moral sense of the people and offered a blow at Sontliern na]>tist Staoli, MattlieTV the great curse, idolatry, and the preaching of the mi ionaries was decidedly more effective after than before the insurrection. The Shanghai, or Central China, mi ion has now 6 churches, 6 outstations, 21 mi ionaries, 8 native helpers, and 204 members. The mi ion in Shantung, a northern province of China, was begun in 1860, immediately on the conclusion of the treat)’ of Tien-tsin, the stations chosen being Tung-cho and Chi-fu. Some opposition was experienced at first from the gentry of Tung-cho, but the common people showed At the outset the Shantung great interest. reports and statistics were included in those of the Shanghai mi. ion, altho the fields were 500 miles apart; but in 1866 Tung-cho was set off as an independent mi ion, and has continued to be There are now in the North China so regarded. Mi ion, Shantung, 22 stations, 22 foreign mi ionaries, 10 churches, and 733 church members. Africa: One of the first fields chosen by the Southern Convention was Africa. In 1846 work was begun by Rev. John Day in Liberia, where the Northern Board had already established a mi ion, but in 1856 they withdrew, and the Southern Board alone carried on the work of Baptists in the Dark Continent. The field was found to be one of great promise, and in 1850 the work was extended by the formation of a mi ion in the Yoruba country, and in 1855 a station was opened in Sierra Leone in connection with the For four years, from 1860 to Liberian mi ion. 1864, war raged among the native tribes of Central Africa, and the mi ionaries of the Yoruba country were driven to the coast, and the mi ion had to be suspended. Soon after this, the money pre ures and panics attendant upon the Civil War at home rendered it nece ary to withdraw support from the African mi ion for a time, and from 1866 to 1874 the worlv was carried on by the mi ionaries without aid from the Board. In 1875, the native war being terminated and the Yoruba country again opened to mi ionary operations, and the finances of the Board by this time permitting, laborers were sent to occupy that field. The Liberian mi ion was closed and Lagos chosen as a center from which work could be extended to Central Africa. The report of the Board for 1902 gives the following statistics: 6 stations, Lagos, Abeokuta, Ogbomosho, Shaki, Oyo, and Salate, with a number of outstations, 10 foreign mi ionaries, 21 native a istants, 389 pupils in schools, and 544 church members. South America: The mi ion in South America was begun in 1860 at Rio de Janeiro by the Rev. T. J. ]3owen and his wife. The health of the former, which had caused his transfer from Central Africa, compelled him to again give up his work, and with his return the mi ion in South America was suspended. For twelve years nothing was done, at the end of which time, at the urgent request of a church of settlers in Brazil from the Southern United States, the Board again renewed its operations. has The Board many stations in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, on the coast, in the southeast; Pernambuco, on the coast, in the northeast; Bahia, midway between Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco; Maoeio, south of Pernambuco; the city of Juiz de Fora in the mining district of Minas Geraes, in the southeastern part of the country; Para, near the mouth of the Amazon, and Manaos, more than a you sand miles interior. There are 698 21 foreign mi ionaries at work, 18 native preachers, 16 native a istants, 48 churches, and 75 stations; church membership over 3,000. As previously stated, the Board has begun very recently operations in the Argentine Republic. At the time of this writing (January, 1904) four mi ionaries have been appointed, but only one has reached his field of labor. Indications point to a prosperous mi ion. Italy: In 1850 the Board began deliberations with regard to work in the Catholic countries of Europe, but no mi ion was begun until 1870, when Rev. Wm. N. Cote, M.D., who was secretary of the of France, was appointed mi ionary of the Southern Convention. On the opening of Italy for evangelistic work, by the victory of Victor Emmanuel, operations were immediately begun in that city, and from there have spread throughout Italy. There are now 25 churches and 37 stations of the Southern Convention on the peninsula, including Rome, Milan, Venice, Modena, Carpi, Bari, Naples, and, besides others, as Cagliari and Iglesias on the i-sland of Sardinia; and a station in Trieste, Austria, and Cannes, France, operated in connection with the Italian Mi ion. There are 4 foreign mi ionaries, 27 native workers, and a YMCA — total membership of 661. Mexico: The mi ions of the Southern Baptist Convention in Mexico are divided into two groups. North Mexico and South Mexico. North Mexico takes in the cities of Saltillo, Torreon, Durango, and Chihuahua, besides outstations, and the South Mexican Mi ion includes the cities of Guadalajara, Morelia, Toluca, and Leon, besides outstations. There are in all Mexico 17 mi ionaries, 12 ordained and 7 unordained native helpers, 43 churches, with 1,251 members, 32 stations, 13 houses of worship, 18 schools, including both Sunday schools and day schools, with 628 pupils. A number of the Mexican churches are self-supporting in whole or in part. Japan: In 1860 the Board appointed three mi ionaries to Japan; two of them were prevented by the outbreak of the war from going out. The third, J. Q. A. Rohrer, with his wife, set sail from New York on August 3, 1860, in a ve el which was never heard of afterward, and the mi ion to Japan was then abandoned until November, 1889, when two mi ionaries and their wives were sent out. There are now 12 mi ionaries doing succe ful work. Their fields of labor are confined for the most part to the island of Kiushiu, but include such cities as Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kokura, Kumamoto, and Kagos him a. The work of the Foreign Mi ion Board has steadily advanced, through all the years since its birth in 1845, and that, too, in spite of the desolations of the Civil War in this country and the disheartening years that followed. During more than fifty years, J. B. Taylor, D.D., and H. A. Tupper, D.D., were the able secretaries. In all the great countries where its mi ionaries are laboring the work is going forward with quickening pace, and in the homeland the spirit and liberality of Southern Baptists give evidence of a day of even greater things. SOUTH SYLHET. See Sylhet. 716