Notes

Outline

On The Wings Of Revival ATLANTIC BAPTIST HISTORY FROM 1760 TO 2000

Atlantic Canada

United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces The United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces consists of more than 66,000 baptized members working together through 546 local churches  in 21 associations across the Atlantic provinces. It is composed of those bodies which have  agreed to work together upon the basis of the historic Baptist position that the Bible is the all sufficient rule of faith and practice" (Constitution, Article I). Members of Canadian Baptist Ministries and part of BWA

Other Baptists in Atlantic Canada A number of Independent Baptist Churches influenced by the Fundamentalist-Dispensational divisions in the USA A dozen Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches with roots in the 1920s T.T. Shields split in Ontario and fundamentalist struggles in the West Several Southern Baptist Congregations Several Free Baptist Churches in the Allinite tradition Several congregations with links to Bob Jones University Several congregations associated with the Bible Baptists of the American Mid-west There are probably at least 100 such churches with a membership of 5 000 to 7 000 Most of these congregations have little to do with Convention Baptists

Baptist Beginnings in Atlantic Canada The English and French fought over the territory until the final English victory 1755 the Acadians were expelled leaving large tracts of developed land available for settlers 1760 – Governor Lawrence offered free land and religious liberty to any people who would come to Nova Scotia New England Colonists – Planters - came to the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore

Baptist Beginnings in Atlantic Canada 1763 - Ebenezer Moulton from Brimfield Mass. Organized a Baptist church at Horton NS (Wolfville). He soon returned to Mass. with his profits About the same time a congregation of 6 Principle Baptists came from Swansea, Mass. to the Sackville, NB area under Rev. Nathan Mason Most returned to Mass. by 1771 These churches lost visibility

1776-1784  Henry Alline Arrived at Falmouth, NS at age 12 with his family from Newport, RI Dramatic conversion, March, 1775 Revivalist “new light” congregational  preacher led revival at the tail end of the first great awakening Author, hymn-writer and charismatic preacher The Journal of Henry Alline was widely distributed after his death

Revival Under Henry Alline Reached most of the English speaking areas of the colony He traveled by foot, horseback, snow-shoes, and sailing vessel His preaching captured the heats of many of the colonists who because of the American Revolution were cut off from their roots In late 1783 traveled to New England and died of consumption in early 1784 at Northampton, NH

Henry Alline and Baptists Alline considered church membership and the ordinances to be mere incidentals compared to conversion Helped to reestablish the Wolfville Church  in 1778 When the church became “closed Communion” Alline could not receive communion Over 25 daughter churches came from this congregation

Henry Alline’s Legacy Most of his converts and the leaders of the revivals after him became Baptist 1798 - formed Baptist and Congregational Association 1800 - just Calvinist - Regular Baptist Used the Danbury association in New England as the model Atlantic Baptists were essentially an indigenous movement without missionaries from other areas but with American and British leaders coming later

Move to Structure by Regular Baptists Moved to structure and stressed Calvinism, the role of ordained clergy or elders and the rite of baptism. 1809 - closed communion           -stressed the autonomy of the local church 1821 - divided to become two associations New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Goat Island Baptist Church – 1820’s Oldest Original Baptist Church  By 1826 New Brunswick - 15 ministers, 28 churches,                  1,347 members Nova Scotia - 17 ministers, 29 churches,                  1,711 members Goat Island Church typical of buildings springing up in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

The church is open for seasonal services on  Roll Call Sunday, Anniversary Sunday, Christmas Eve and Summer Evenings Goat Island Baptist Church interior with candles, pulpit,  old stoves, and straight-backed seats

The Trappings of a Denomination The inheritors of Alline’s revivalism chose to move to structure partly because of the emotional and theological excesses that had emerged. Before 1827 they had uneducated leaders and were viewed as eccentric by the Anglican establishment. Bishop Inglis lamented “the rage for dipping”. Baptists between 1820 and 1850 founded a journal, established colleges, sent out Protestant Canada’s first foreign missionary, and formed a Convention.

Baptist Missionary Magazine -  1827 Founder - Elder Charles Tupper, father of one of the “Fathers of Confederation” (Canada – 1867) Most of material reprints of British and American journals with some addition of local material Wide readership in area Became the Christian Messenger and is the forerunner of The Atlantic Baptist which is the oldest religious journal in Canada

Horton Academy and Acadia College Nova Scotia Baptists formed an Educational Society in 1827 when their students could not attend the Anglican Kings College and the Presbyterian Pictou Academy was too far away Key event the movement of an Anglican congregation to the Baptist position (First Baptist Halifax is the congregation) Founded Horton Academy in 1828 Founded Acadia College in 1838

Fredericton Seminary New Brunswick Baptists founded the Fredericton Seminary in 1833 after the conversion of two Anglicans to the Baptist persuasion First institution in the British Empire to open as a with coeducational institution Closed by 1873 Opened again in St. John and then St. Martin’s as a joint project with the Free Christian Baptists but closed in 1895

Missions and Emerging Structure 1830’s and 40’s search for a missionary Enthusiasm from both NB and NS Associations Richard Burpe - to Burma in 1845 with his new wife Leilia (Johnstone) whose uncle was the Attorney General of the colony of Nova Scotia They worked among the Karees and then the Karens They returned by 1850 because of Richard’s ill health 1846 The Baptist Convention formed by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Baptists Missions (Home  and Foreign), Education, Minister’s Aid and Church-State Issues drew them together Missions was the final ingredient for the move to respectability and denominalization

Revivals Remained Crucial In spite of new structures, Revivals the key to Baptist growth through the 1880s 1855 a revival beginning in a prayer meeting at Acadia among the students set the model for ministry for many pastors J. Edwin Orr suggested that this may have been the beginning of the Prayer Meeting Revivals of the late 1850s Thereafter each group of students prayed for a revival before they left the campus and that continued in a 3-4 year cycle into the twentieth century Each pastor was still evaluated on his “ardour” or ability to inspire enthusiasm leading to revival When revival did not come they held prolonged meetings

Isaiah Wallace: Revival Preacher Revival – Isaiah Wallace on revival in Belldune in Northern NB in 1859 “Such a revival I had never before witnessed, nor have I ever seen anything like it since….  During the preaching, convicted ones would cry aloud for mercy and fall back in a state of physical prostration, and would thus remain for several hours.” A new Baptist Church was founded and Presbyterian Church grew by almost 200. Baptized over 3,000 during ministry

Regular Baptist Development Growth very dramatic 1870 - 303 churches with 27,981 members Ministers - 73 in NB; 86 in NS; And 9 in PEI By 1890 over 50% of growth through Sunday Schools Baptists were leaders in education, politics and business

Women and Mission 1818 first Female Mite Society Missionary Society had women members Some women preachers, particularly in times of revival enthusiasm Miss Minnie DeWolfe left for Burma in 1868 as the first unmarried woman missionary from Canada 1870 – when funds were to available to send Hannah Maria Norris she organized 33 Woman’s Missionary Societies which provided her funding Some of the earliest such groups in the world and the beginning of the UBWMU Convention

Foreign Missions 1875 - began work among the Telegu people of East India By 1900 - 7 mission stations; 8 churches; 415 members; 20 missionaries; And 95 native workers. Joint Work with Ontario and Quebec to found the Canadian Baptist Foreign Missionary Society

Free Will Baptists By 1795 a congregation in Barrington, NS Arminian in theology and open communion  Some input from Maine Free Will Baptists but roots in Allinite revivalism Several groups emerged that in 1834 form an association 1837 took in “Christians” under Elder Norton to form the Nova Scotia Free Christian Baptist Conference  In New Brunswick the Free Baptists joined with Christians to form Free Christian Baptists  More control from District Meetings where ordination and church placements were done Educated ministry slow to develop but missions important

Free Christian Baptists in New Brunswick 1882 Primitive Baptists left over the issue of paid pastors and increasing structure in services and organization 1888 Reformed Baptists pushed out They had been influenced by the Holiness Movement from the US. The Second Blessing was central and they wanted to share their experiences FCB Took initiative in union discussions

Union of Regular and Free Baptists Discussions began in the 1870s because the two groups moving closer together Temperance, missions, evangelism, education, duplication of ministries and increasing role of clergy were common concerns 1905/06 United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces formed Combined two theologies and was ambiguous on some issues Membership in 1910 - 64,865

African Baptist Association A number of people of African origin arrived in Nova Scotia in the 1770-1783 Some were from Jamaica “Maroons” and the largest number were Black Loyalists after the American Rebellion (1775-1783) David George well known leader former slave, Baptist preacher, friend of the Governor, church planter, first Baptist pastor in Africa (1792) Helped organize congregations

African Baptist Association 1 190 people went to Sierra Leone but majority remained Own congregation under John Burton who befriended Richard Preston who went to England for an education and returned to pastor the churches By 1852 own African Baptist Association Continues as an active agency in the communities and within the UBCAP for it provides leaders for Black Nova Scotians

After World War I 1914-1918 - World War I  decline in the church Baptists in favour of the war The veterans did not return to church Theological Liberalism began to be apparent at Acadia Social gospel - 1921 social action statement

1921 UBCMP PLATFORM 1. Every child has the right to be well born, well nourished, and well protected. 2. Every child has the right to play and be a child. 3. Every child is entitled to such an education as shall fit it for life and usefulness. 4. Every life is entitled to a sanitary home, pure air, and pure water. 5. Every life is entitled to such conditions as shall enable it to grow up tall and straight and pure. 6. Every life is entitled to a place in society, a good opportunity in life and a fair equity in the common heritage.

1921 UBCMP PLATFORM 7. The resources of the earth being the heritage of the people, should not be monopolized by the few to the disadvantage of the many. 8. The stewardship of property requires that all property held be supervised, moralized and spiritualized. 9. Work should be done under proper conditions with respect to hours, wages, health, management and morals. 10. Every worker should have one day's rest in seven and reasonable time for recreation and family life. 11. Women who toil should have equal pay with men for equal work. 12. Widowed mothers with dependent children should be relieved from the necessity of exhausting toil.

1921 UBCMP PLATFORM 13. Employers and employees are partners in industry and should be partners in the enterprise. 14. Suitable provision should be made for old age workers and for those incapacitated by injury and sickness. 15. Income received and benefits enjoyed should hold a direct relation to service rendered. 16. The State which punishes vice should remove the causes which make more vicious. 17. The bond of brotherhood is the final and fundamental fact and men are called to organize all life, ecclesiastical, civic, social, industrial, on the basis of brotherhood. 18. The help should be greatest where the need is most. 19. What the few now are, many may become.

Move toward Ecumenicity Maritime Religious Education Committee an illustration of ecumenical cooperation with Presbyterians and Methodists - youth camps, The Protestant Orphanage, Coverdale Home for Girls, Sunday School materials 1938 - joint hymnbook with the United Church of Canada

Liberalism – Fundamentalism Acadia was to the theogical left of McMaster in the period after WWI Shirley Jackson Case of Chicago a recent graduate J.J. Sidey of Kingston NS led fight for fundamentalism Some support from T.T. Shields Not much support in Maritimes New Brunswick Bible Institute founded and students went to  other bible schools in Ontario or the US

After World War II Veterans went back to church Youth for Christ had large rallies and weekly radio   broadcasts from the Moncton High School auditorium Fundamentalist or conservative evangelicals – John R. Rice, Hyman Appleman and others preached through the area Many NB ministry students went to Gordon College and Divinity School By 1960s more Maritimers studying for ministry at Gordon that at Acadia

National Bodies Develop 1944 - Baptist Federation of Canada          - Canadian Council of Churches  1940s-1950s - strong emphasis on Protestant League headed by T.T. Shields

United Baptist Bible Training School 1949 - United Baptist Bible Training School, Moncton, founded to keep young people within Convention circle Identity for conservatives Functioned as a Christian High School and Bible School Many graduates went to Gordon By 1960s a role change to post-high school  Junior College and Bible School 1970 - name change to Atlantic Baptist College

Atlantic Baptist University Early 70s reputation for student excellence high 1881 began degree program under New Brunswick charter 1982 first BA graduate 1995 the move to new facilities and a new name Christian College Consortium member University provided many lay and clergy leaders to Baptist work

Acadia Divinity College School of Theology had been training people since 1923 Before that time, after the first degree at Acadia students went to the US or Ontario for theological degrees 1965 - NS government took over Acadia 1968 - Acadia Divinity College founded and the denomination now controlled theological education

1960s Atlantic Baptists Plateau New Churches for New Communities led to the biggest spurt of church building in the 20th century 1950s and early 60s - suburban churches established  1964 - Newfoundland becomes part of United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces 1964 - high point 69,532 members in Convention churches Period of controversy liberal vs. conservative Concerned Pastors (Evangelicals) organized Moderate Evangelicals move into leadership

1970s The Decade of Compromise 1968-1972 - restructuring - More role for Associations Area Pastors (Regional Ministers) Denominational Council form of leadership  1971 - withdrawal from the Canadian Council of Churches - vote to limit delegates to baptized believers by immersion Foundation of Atlantic Baptist Fellowship  1972 - Wentworth Statement Moderate Evangelicals call for peace  1972 – the Convention refused to accept verbal plenary inspiration as a revision to the 1905\06 Statement of Union

1980-2000 1988 - Refusal to join Evangelical Fellowship of Canada meant the compromise of the 1960s still in effectstill in effect Continuing emphasis on both undergraduate and theological education Evangelism important – Alpha Program used by over 25% of churches Missions a priority although ways of doing mission changing Canadian Baptist Ministries integrating home and foreign mission Presently restructuring to be more responsive to change Present membership about 64 000 in 550 churches