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John Gano (1727-1804) was the first full-time pastor of First Baptist in the City of New York (est. 1762). During the War of Independence, Gano served as chaplain to George Washington. In 1891, during the ministry of I.M. Haldeman (1845-1933), the church erected its present building at 265 West 79th Street at Broadway. (See Chapter 16). copyrighted and used by permission Read more...
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Hopewell Baptist Church is on West Broad Street. One of its most notable pastors was Oliver Hart (1723-95). Gravestones in the church cemetery include those of Isaac Eaton and John Hart, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hart was not a member here, but he donated the land on which the building stands. Revolutionary War veterans lie buried here. The Read more...
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Hopewell Academy (est. 1756), a Latin grammar school, founded by Isaac Eaton, pastor at Hopewell Baptist, was the earliest Baptist academy in America. The building is now a private home, but a historical plaque stands near the street. The academy’s alumni included James Manning, founder of Brown University. Other alumni included the “Baptist Whitefield,” Hezekiah Smith, who was a classmate with Read more...
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Watch Dr. David Saxon retell the story of Obadiah Holmes on Our Christian Heritage on VCY.tv Obadiah Holmes was born in England and came to Massachusetts Bay. After adopting credobaptism (baptism by belief) as opposed to the Puritan pedobaptism (infants), he was evicted from Rehoboth, MA and joined John Clarke at his Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island. On Sunday, Read more...
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In 1801, the Church of the Pilgrimage broke off from the First Parish Church in Plymouth in the Unitarian Controversy. The Congregationalists formed this church, which later became part of the United Church of Christ. On the front of the church is this plaque: This tablet is inscribed in grateful memory of the Pilgrims and of their successors who Read more...
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John Myles organized the earliest Baptist church in Wales, in 1651. During Oliver Cromwell’s rule, Myles’s church occupied the thirteenth-century Church of St. Illtyd, located on a small country lane, at Ilston, near the west end of the Swansea airfield. at the Restoration of the British monarchy, in 1660, officials of Charles II ousted John Myles and his congregation from St. Read more...
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Visit historic Gainsborough Old Hall (Lincolnshire), where John Smyth held his Separatist meetings. From here, in early 1608, Smyth and most of his congregation escaped to Holland. Rich in Separatist history, the Gainsborough Old Hall is well worth a two-hour visit. It has a Gift Shop and Tea Shop. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England Read more...
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See the only remaining section of Scrooby Manor House where postmaster William Brewster lived, and where the Separatists organized their church in 1606. This is the church that the future Baptist, Thomas Helwys, sacrificially asssisted in their escape to Holland. In 1620, many of these Pilgrims would come to the New World on the Mayflower ship. copyrighted and used by permission from David Read more...
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Visit St. Wilfred’s Church (Anglican) from which the Pilgrims separated. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Photo By Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9295968 Read more...
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At Doddridge Street (NN1 2RN) is Castle Hill United Reformed Church, once known as Castle Hill Church, where the independent Congregationalist, Phillip Doddridge (1702-51), served as pastor. While Doddridge’s compromising endorsements led many young men toward erroneous doctrines, his songs, such as “O Happy Day,” and his classic book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745), are still in use. Read more...
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John Collett Ryland Sr. (1723-92) and John Ryland Jr. served the pastorate of Northampton’s College Lane Baptist Church (built in 1697). The church became College Street Baptist Church, in 1863, when the congregation erected a new building on the same site. The church would later close, but, on College Street, one can admire this magnificent building’s classical facade of Corinthian pillars. Read more...
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COLUMBIA FALLS – Even against a backdrop of scenery that draws millions of visitors from around the world, God’s Ten Commandments Park is hard to miss. “I tell people when they drive through the Ten Commandments Park they see the glory of God, and when they go into Glacier Park they see the majesty of God and his creation,” founder Read more...
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On October 5, 1783, William Carey walked five miles from Piddington to Northampton, for John Ryland Jr. (1753-1825) to immerse him in the River Nene at 6:00 AM. he was baptized on the spot where the modern railway station is now located. The construction of the station necessitated the rerouting of the River Nene. Carey’s baptism took place where the Read more...
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In 1789, William Carey and his family moved into a cottage across the street from Leicester’s Harvey Lane Baptist Church, which he shepherded to the time of their departure to India in 1793. The Harvey Lane building no longer exists. When Harvey Lane Baptist outgrew its building, in 1845, the congregation moved to Belvoir Street and changed its name to Read more...
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The Baptist church at Thrapston, Northamptonshire, was once shepherded by Reynold Hogg (1752-1843), one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society (1792). With the construction of the present building, in 1787, a small, Congregationalist-Separtist group opened its doors for worship. In 1790, Reynold Hogg became their preacher. In 1797, they organized into a Baptist church and ordained Hogg as Read more...
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From 1782 to the end of his life, Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) served the pastorate of the Baptist Church in Kettering. By 1786, the congregation was compelled to enlarge their chapel. With increasing growth, by 1804-5, they enlarged it again – this time to seat nine hundred persons. They replaced that building with the present Lombardian style edifice, during 1860-61, when Read more...
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As faithful members of Andrew Fuller’s church, Beeby and Martha Wallis used their home as an inn for traveling evangelists. Many still call it the “Gospel Inn.” Situated on Lower Street, in the heart of Kettering town center, the historic Wallis House is now the “Carey Mission House,” the featured attraction of “Martha Wallis Court,” a residential facility of the Read more...
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In 1787, William Carey received ordination into his first pastorate, the Moulton Baptist congregation, later named Carey Baptist Church. At Carey’s ordination, John Ryland Jr. asked the questions, John Sutcliff preached the charge, from 2 Timothy 4:5, and Andrew Fuller preached a challenge to the members. The congregation was soon compelled to reconstruct and enlarge their small brick building to thirty feet Read more...
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Sutcliff’s neighbors in Olney included the local minister of the Church of England, John Newton (1725-1807), author of “Amazing Grace.” Hymn writer and poet, William Cowper (1731-1800), was a member of Newton’s parish, and, at the time of Sutcliff’s arrival, Newton and Cowper were composing their popular “Olney Hymns.” Visit John Newton’s church and tombstone, and the Cowper and Newton Museum and Gardens. Read more...
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In 1775, John Sutcliff (1752-1814) commenced his pastorate at Olney Baptist Church, which continues to the present day. In 1785, young William Carey placed himself under the tutelage of Sutcliff and under the watch-care of the Olney church where he held membership. After Carey preached his first sermon to the Olney congregation, the unanimous conclusion was that the young man needed Read more...