Unto These Hills

 The Chattahoochee United Baptist Association was founded in 1835 as a United Baptist Association, from churches whose heritage was Separate Baptist. They were not Calvinists at all. Their articles of faith definitely sound Calvinist to today's ear, but we shall see the proof in the same set of minutes, that their articles of faith are taken from. In the minutes of 1848 their articles of faith appear as follows:  (A.):_ADSTRACT OF PRINCIPLES. · I. We believe in one only true and living God, the' Creator and Prcserver of all things, and only Law-Giver, and that there are three persons in the God Head, The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and thtese three are one. 2. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, and only rule of faith. and practice . . 3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin. 4. We believe in man's inability to recover himself from the fallen state which he is in by nature, by his own strength. ' 5.. We believe in a Covenant...

 The Tennessee River Baptist Association was founded in 1830. Although much information about its churches is included in The History of the Tennessee River Baptist Association by J.S. Smiley, 1893, no comments are made about its theology except for their articles of faith which are as follows:  1. "We believe in one only living and true God, and that there are three persons in the Godhead : the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that these three are one. 2. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the word of God and the only true rule of word and practice. 3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin.  4. We believe in man's incompetency to recover himself from the fallen state he is in by nature, and that justification in the sight of God is only obtained by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. -  5. We believe in the doctrine of election through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 6. We believe that saints shall persever...

 The Tuckaseige Baptist Association in North Carolina was founded in 1829. They record the history of Baptists in their first set of minutes, including the Particular and General Baptists of England, to the founding of the Philadelphia Association (Regular Baptists) and The Sandy Creek Association (Separate Baptists). They include the formation of the United Baptists. They however never adopted the title "United Baptist" so far as I can tell. They may have refused to participate in the union, or agreed with it, but just never took the name.   The Tuckaseige Baptist Association in my estimation, is found to be Non Calvinist. Their articles of faith are as follows: 1. We believe in one only living and true God; and that there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and, that these three are one. 2. We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, are the word of God, and the only rule of Faith and Practice. 3.  We believe...

    Euhaw Baptist Church in South Carolina is the oldest baptist church in the state and in the South, founded 1686, and was founded as a general atonement church. It was important in the founding of the Southern Baptist Convention. It also ordained the SBC's first president. Was he a Calvinist? We shall see. Anyone who has studied Baptist history will pause and say "The Charleston Baptist Church was the first in the South! However is that so? What are the facts? The "Baptist Church at Charles Towne" was founded in 1682. By all accounts, it was not founded upon Calvinist principles either. It was founded with a mixture of Calvinist and Arminian members. This was confirmed to me by the current pastor, Dr. Marshall Blalock, in a phone interview I had with him in 2025. He grew up in the church. They did not adopt a Calvinist confession until the year 1700. ( The First Baptist Church Charleston, SC , chap 1, By Rev. Basil Manly) However the Baptist Church of Charles Town...

 The Galloway Primitive Baptist Association was formed in 1842. It formed as a result of individual members leaving churches in the Edgefield Association over the mission/antimission  controversy of the 1830's and 1840's. I can find no entire churches that left the Edgefield Association, but I presume there were enough individual members who were against the "new innovations" that some individual members left and formed new churches and a new association. The geographical area covered by the Galloway PB Association was identical to the Edgefield. Many churches in the Edgefield Association were founded by Elder Daniel Marshall, who has been proven to be a Non Calvinist. (See Memoirs of Elder Jesse Mercer, C.D. Mallory, 1832 pp 201-202) This is another instance of a Primitive Baptist association that was not Calvinist, as I have shown in other articles here  and here . The articles of faith of the Galloway PB Association are clear. They are as follows.   1st. We believ...

 The Spring River Baptist Association was formed in 1829 in Arkansas. It's first churches had belonged to the Bethel United Baptist Association in Missouri, a proven Non Calvinist association. The Bethel Association had grown very large, and it was agreed that the churches that lay over the Arkansas border would form a separate association. Bethel's information can be read here .  I have not been able to find why the Spring River did not adopt the "United Baptist" label. It seems they had a strong Separate Baptist sentiments, as they refused to adopt the ordinary practice of having artciles of faith. Instead they made a clearly Separate Baptist statement which said the following:    “We agree to adopt the New Testament for our Articles of Faith, the rule of our practice and our hope of eternal life, the rule by which to try all members, to try all causes between brother and brother, to preach and hold as the eternal, substantial and unchangeable rules to govern i...

 The Sabine Baptist Association in Louisiana, formed in 1847. It is the oldest association west of the Red River. All of the churches forming this association were constituted well before the formation of the association. For 15 to 20 years the churches were just scattered individual congregations, founded by various Baptist preachers from various association in Louisiana and Alabama, waiting on Texas to open up to Baptists and American settlers.   It is generally not within the scope of my research to document associations who changed their theology or 'evolved" from being strictly Calvinist to Non Calvinist/Provisionist. This is because my research does not show any 'evolution" occurring, but there are instances of immediate change. I am writing about this association because the change in doctrine was immediate, and did not evolve over time. This is interesting, first because the change happened very quickly, in the span of a specific year, and second, because of ...

  The following information comes from  "Baptist Memorial and Monthly Record ", December 1846, pp. 366-369 by Elder John M. Peck and "Illinois Baptists--A History"   1930 pp. 54-57 by Edward P. Brand.   The Illinois United Baptist Association was probably formed in 1807.  That is the earliest record found of it, though some of its churches were founded before that time.  This association was anti mission, along with many other general atonement associations. These associations would be in harmony with today's Independent Baptists. The general atonement Baptists that were "anti mission" were not "anti missionary" or against evangelism as many of the Calvinistic Baptists were. They simply believed there should be no one sent out to preach unless it be from a local church, not a "society" or board. The articles of faith are as follows;   1st. There is one only true God; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 2d. We believe that the Old and N...

 The Florida Baptist Association was formed in 1843 by ten churches who seceded from the Ocklockonnee Baptist Association in Georgia. The Ocklockonnee Association passed resolutions against mission societies, seminaries, bible or tract societies, Sunday Schools etc, and demanded at all its churches cease any support of those things. Ten churches "seceded" and formed the Florida Association. There is no information that I have found on the doctrines of the Ocklockonnee Association. However the churches that left it to form the Florida Association had all the hallmarks of Non Calvinist doctrine. They were founded on "liberty of conscience" and compared themselves to the American Revolution, so there is a hint that maybe they differed from their mother association, who they called "dictatorial". The first act of the Florida Association was to establish correspondence with the Bethel Association in Georgia, which no doubt, was a Non Calvinist association. You ...

 The Alachua Baptist Association was the fourth association in Florida and was formed in 1847.  I won't be concentrating too much on Florida, because it was very late in having many Baptists, Methodists or Presbyterians, since it was controlled by Spain until 1819. Being anything other than Roman Catholic was against the law. So I will only report on the first four associations which were Suwannee, Florida, West Florida and Alachua. I will have articles on all but Suwannee, as no records still exist that I know of. There original Articles of Faith of the Alachua Association are as follows;    CONSTITUTION AND DECORUM OF THE ALACHUA ASSOCIATION, FLA. 1847 1. We believe in one only true and living God, and that there is a trinity of persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. 2.We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only rule of faith and pra...