This Day in Baptist History
August 12 The Magistrate, the Parson, and the Baptist Preachers Scripture: Acts 9:1-19 The following letter was written from Urbanna Prison, Middlesex County, Virginia, August 12, 1771, at the height of the persecution of Baptists in America. From this epistle we find that in two counties there were twelve Baptists in prison at one time, and it also gives us insight into the treatment they received as well as the success of their ministries while incarcerated. Dear Brother in the Lord: At a meeting which was held at Brother McCain’s, in...
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August 6 A Pioneer Church for a Pioneer People Scripture: Isaiah 8 On the third Sunday in August in 1945, I arose before daylight from my bunk at the Quantico Marine Corps Base and began a hitchhiking journey over the verdant hills of the Piedmont and across the Blue Ridge and Massanutten Mountains to the quaint village of New Market, Virginia, where the Ketocton Association of Regular Baptists was convened in its 179th anniversary session. The association was meeting with the historic Smith’s Creek Church, which was constituted August...
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August 4 I Am the Son of Charles Clay and Fear No Man Scripture: II Samuel 23 Elder Eleazer Clay was one of those unusual men prepared for hard times. He was born a rugged Virginian August 4, 1744, and when just a boy of fourteen, he enlisted in the army of King George II and fought in the French and Indian War. In the providence of God, he moved to Chesterfield County, Virginia, and married Miss Jane Apperson. It was here that he came under considerable conviction of sin as a result of the preaching of William Webber, Joseph Anthony, and...
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August 3 Another Baptist Preacher Who Gave His Life Scripture: Mark 6:17-29 Baptist preachers were “marked” men in England when George Fownes became the pastor of the Baptist church in Broadmead, Bristol, in 1679. Thomas Ewins, a former pastor at Broadmead, had died as the result of his imprisonments while pastoring there (cf. April 26). Thomas Hardcastle, the next pastor, served from 1671 to 1678, and he was “imprisoned oft” and wrote blessed epistles to the saints from his Bristol cell to encourage and edify them. George Fownes...
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July 28 The Prison Couldn’t Stop Their Witness Scripture: Luke 21:12-13 We have previously considered the power of the state church in Norway and the antecedents of the Baptists in that country (July 1). Many soldiers had embraced Baptist principles, and on July 28, 1743, when ordered by their colonel to participate in a church parade, the soldiers refused. They assembled in front of the church, but the believers refused to enter and were arrested, and in January of 1744 they were brought before a court-martial. The verdict was given...
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