The General Association of General Baptists is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is affiliated with the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an American association of Evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, schools, churches, and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than ...

and the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

. The headquarters are located in

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County, Missouri, Butler County in southeastern Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 ...

, where they operate Stinson Press. A distinct belief is the general atonement (that

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

died for all persons).

History

Though theologically similar to the

General Baptist General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...

s in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and early America, this body of General Baptists arose in the Midwestern

in the 19th century through the work of Benoni Stinson (1798-1869), a United Baptist minister first in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and then in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Stinson was ordained in Kentucky in 1821, and evidently was already leaning toward or embracing

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

theology. Shortly after he moved to Indiana, in 1822 the Wabash District Association decided to divide into two bodies, for convenience sake. Stinson's church would be in the new body, and he labored to have a statement that "the preaching that Christ tasted death for every man shall be no bar to fellowship" would be included in the articles of faith. The next fall, in 1823, the Liberty Baptist Church of Howell, Indiana, was organized with 33 members, and Elder Stinson was called as pastor. Three other churches were soon organized, all in the

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, area. In October 1824, representatives from these four churches came together and organized the ''Liberty Association of General Baptists''. This appears to be the first time the name "General" was officially associated with this movement. A number of ''General Baptist'' local associations were organized from 1824 to 1870. During this period, some attempts were made by the Liberty Association to correspond with the northern Free Will Baptists, but this appears to have eventually proved unsatisfactory to both parties. In 1870, a convention was called to meet with Harmony Church,

Gallatin County, Illinois Gallatin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 4,946, making it the third-least populous county in Illinois. Its county ...

, with the idea of organizing a general association comprising all the annual General Baptist associations. Delegates from Liberty, Mt. Olivet and Ohio associations gathered and formed the ''General Association of General Baptists''. According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 47,193 members and 793 churches. Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023 The official denominational publication is ''The General Baptist Messenger''. The General Association oversees publication of Sunday School literature, a home mission board, a foreign mission board, and the

Oakland City University Oakland City University (OCU) is a private university affiliated with the General Baptist Church and located in Oakland City, Indiana. It is the only General Baptist Church-affiliated college or university in the United States. Founded in 1885, ...

in Oakland City, Indiana.

References

Sources

*''History of the General Baptists'', by Ollie Latch *''History of the General Baptists'', by T. A. Laslie *''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''Dictionary of Baptists in America'', Bill J. Leonard, editor

External links

* {{Baptist World Alliance Members Religious organizations established in 1870 Baptist denominations in the United States Arminian denominations Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Christian denominations founded in the United States