Baptist Beginnings: A Visit to New England

Would you like to touch the earliest roots of Baptists in America? Would you like to see the site of the first Baptist church in America or the original site of what came to be the first Baptist church in the South? Would you like to see the place where the international missions movement in America began or the home of America’s first Baptist home missionary?

Would you like to see firsthand what Baptists are doing to reclaim the place of their birth in America, the New England area? Would you like to learn about today’s missions efforts from those leading the work in the New England states and pray with them for special needs?

Would you like to walk the Freedom Trail in Boston and see the famous Old North Church, Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution? Would you like to visit nearby Concord and Lexington where the “shot heard round the world” was fired?

Would you like to witness the glory of New England’s breathtaking fall colors, its famous natural beauty and walk through the area’s quaint villages? Would you like to get a taste of today’s New England culture as well as the area’s famous seafood?

Would you like to be a part of Impact Northeast, the missions partnership between Alabama, the Baptists of six other southern states and the northeast portion of our nation?

You can do all this and more as part of The Alabama Baptist-sponsored pilgrimage called “Baptist Beginnings: A Visit to New England.” The six-day pilgrimage is planned for Sept. 28–Oct. 4.  The experience is open to readers and friends of the state Baptist paper.

As an Alabama Baptist Impact Northeast project, participants will meet with state leaders for overviews of work in New England. We will get an “up close and personal” look at missions work from the directors of missions in New Hampshire, Vermont, R.I. and Massachusetts. Each will join us as the group visits in the respective areas.

Baptist history will come alive at First Baptist Church of Providence, R.I., the first Baptist church in America. In Kittery, Maine, we will be near the original site of the first Baptist church in the South. Because of religious persecution, members of that church moved en masse to Charleston, S.C., where they became the first organized Baptist church in the South. The date was 1696.

Sunday morning we will worship in Southern Baptists’ first constituted church in New England. In 1960, it was founded as Screvens Memorial Baptist Church, named for the first pastor of the Kittery congregation. Today it is known as Sea Coast Community Church.

The Luther Rice home is another important stop in Baptist history. Rice was appointed along with the Judsons as missionaries to Burma by Congregationalists. Bible study during the trip to their assignment convinced them of the Baptist position of believer’s baptism. The Judsons stayed as the first Baptist missionaries from America. Rice returned home to tell their story and to raise money for their support.

For decades Rice traveled far and wide promoting missions, both at home and abroad. It was his efforts that led to the first national meeting of Baptists in America, the Triennial Convention in 1817.

Baptist missions, Baptist history, national sites — all in the brilliant colors of a New England fall. This is a wonderful opportunity for personal enrichment as a Baptist through education and participation. You will also have a personally enjoyable time.

The Alabama Baptist is working closely with the Baptist Convention of New England to make this effort as helpful as possible.

This pilgrimage to New England is just one more way The Alabama Baptist “provides information, inspiration, interpretation and involvement” to “encourage and equip Baptists.”

If you would like more information about this visit to New England, write or call The Alabama Baptist. The address is 3310 Independence Drive, Homewood, AL 35209. The telephone number is 1-800-803-5201. E-mail inquiries may be addressed to tmaddox@thealabamabaptist.org.

We hope to see you on this unusual opportunity to participate in Alabama Baptists’ missions partnership called Impact Northeast.