Except for the depression years of the 1930s, financial expansion was steady. DeVotie, in 1877 proved to be significant as a means of rejuvenating broader ministries. The founding of the State Mission Board and the employment of a professional leader, J. The Civil War (1861-65) and its aftermath severely curtailed all of the convention’s efforts. Georgia Baptists participated in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention, which was organized in Augusta in 1845. Today called the Georgia Baptist Convention, this body supports Brewton-Parker College, Shorter University, and Truett-McConnell College provides scholarships to Baptist students at Mercer University and supports the Christian Index (a periodical now published in Atlanta), as well as various state and national Baptist mission, educational, and publication projects. Major Baptist Bodies in Georgia Georgia Baptist ConventionĪfter several failed attempts at union early in the nineteenth century, in 1822 the largest group of Baptists formed a general body that gradually encompassed churches statewide. Thereafter other churches and associations were constituted as the population spread throughout the state. In 1772 the first continuing Baptist church, Kiokee, was founded near Appling twelve years later the first Baptist association in the state, the Georgia Association, appeared with a membership of five churches in two counties. The first Baptist church, Tuckaseeking Seventh-Day (in Effingham County), existed from 1759 to about 1763.

Tiny Baptist centers were formed in the Savannah and Augusta areas. In 1733 one or two Baptists arrived in Savannah with James Oglethorpe, and others soon followed. The best estimate as of 2005 is that there are approximately 8,190 Baptist churches and missions with more than 2,100,000 members. Because membership figures change constantly, and there is some overlap between Baptist groups, the exact number of Baptists in Georgia is unknown. Nevertheless, diversity has also marked Baptist denominational life in Georgia. From its beginnings in the seventeenth century, the Baptist denomination has emphasized certain key tenets, including the leadership of God as revealed through Jesus Christ, the authority of the Bible over ecclesiastical tradition, believer’s baptism, individual responsibility toward God, the congregational church, local church autonomy that encourages cooperation between congregations, the separation of church and state, and religious liberty.

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