Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Birthplace of the Texas Baptist Convention


Some of the biggest Baptist churches on earth are in Texas cities such as Dallas and Houston, but the first organizational meeting of Texas Baptists was held in this church in the tiny town of Anderson, 81 miles northeast of Houston. On May 8, 1848. Seventy-eight messengers representing twenty-three churches gathered at the Antioch Baptist Church (now the Anderson Baptist Church) to form the first statewide Baptist body, the Baptist State Convention of Texas.

The constitution of the new Convention stated that "the objects of the Convention shall be missions and education, the promotion of harmony of feeling and consent of actions in our denomination and the organization and system of operative measures to promote the interest generally of the Redeemer's Kingdom within the state."

During the 37 years of its existence, the Baptist State Convention assisted numerous missionaries around Texas in establishing churches, gave financial support to Baylor University, and supported foreign missions through contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention. In 1885, the Convention voted to merge with other Baptist organizations in the state and form the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The first meeting of the new General Convention was held June 29, 1886.

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