The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-05-11
WILL MEET SOON
Southern Baptist Convention 10 Rold An
nual Session in F.w Gays.
NUMBER SIX MILLION


Larger Than Congress or the Brit
ish Parliament, but Is Advisory
Only in Character, and Is Different
From Most Such Bodies.
Greater number than the the Bri-
tish parliament or the congress OF
the United States, the Southern Bap-
tist convention will meet in Jack
sonville, Fla, on Wednesday, May
II, with delegates present from
every Southern State.
The convention is made up OF
delegates from churches, assOc!a-
tions, State conventions, missionary
societies and Sunday schools. All
Baptist churches are independent.
Therefore the Convention has nc
authority to bind the churches in
it's territory. Its action is advisory
not compulsory. Ministers and lay
men are admited into the conven-
ton on the same basis without any
Official distinction between the clergy
and laymen.
The convention has three boards:
The foreign mission board with head,
quarters ct Richmond, the home mis-.
sion board, with headquarters at At.
lanta, and the Sunday school board
with headquarters at Nashville. The
work of the foreign board is tc
preach the gospel in foreign lands
The home mission board looks after
missionary work in the home field
which includes the Southern States
Cuba and the Panama section.
The Sunday school board is the
head of the Sunday school work
and publishes Sunday school helps
periodicals and books for use in the
Sunday schools and Young Peoples
societies. The Southern Baptist The
oligical seminary, the School OF the
Prophets, located at Louisville, Ky.
Is also under the control of the
Southern Baptist convention.
According to the best available fig
ures, there are about 6,2S0,649 Bap.
lists. Of this number 4,110,S73 are
in the South, 221S-911 of the Sou.
thern Baptists are white, 1,S91,962
colored. In the Northern States
there are 1,19O,.93 Baptists. There
are 22,43S churches connected with
the Southern Baptist convention.
They make up the largest religi-
Gus denomination in the South. The
I3aptists are said to have 39.5 pei
cent Of the church membership OF
the South, the iIethodists 26.3 pei
cent, Catholics 1879 per cent, Dis
ciples 80 per cent, Presbyterians
40 per cent. Episcopalians II and
all others SO per cent.
The churches connected with this
convention raised last year for carry
ing on their work s9,474,777. OF
this sum s1,336.519 was given fo1
missions. The church property OF
the Southern Baptist convention is
valued a. s37,2S3.522.
Roger Williams was not the first
Baptist as some enormously suppose
The history of the church runs back
for hundreds of years before his day.
John Runkun, who lived nearly an
hundred years before Williams was
born, was a Baptist. Williams was,
however, the first to become a Bap-
tist on American soil, and he organ
lied the first American Baptist
church in Providence, r. !.
The first Baptist church in the
South was constituted In South Caro-
lima in 1882. The first established
in North Carolina was in 1863. in
Virginia 1714, in Tennessee 1910,
in Georgia 1771, in Mississippi 1850,
in Kentucky 1871, in Alabama 1903,
in Florida 1898.
In 1852, when the great Baptist
persecution began In Virginia, there
were only 5000 Raptists in the whole
country. In "a years they had in
creased to $4,000. In 1890 there
we're $4,000, in 1912, 175, 1000: IN
1925, 23S.OO0: in 1910. $4,000,
and in 1853. 1.25s.7G5. Today
there are in the South alone 4,i10,-
S13.
In 1914 the Raptists Of the United
States gave for missions Sl"4, II
and had only Ga missionaries enl-
ployed. Last year they gave $S6a.'
5S5 for missions, and there were SOC
missionaries on the foreign field. III
1853 Southern Baplists raised S2l,'
| 600 for foreign missions.
There were two foreign mission
stations-one in Africa, and one in
/ China. In these two fields 10 mis-
sionaries were at work. The home
missions board reported - mission
aries at work, and Gl2 hapt!sms r
the same period. Last year $780,
i7S7 was raised for foreign missions
in the territory Of the Southern
! Baptist convention and there were
"31 missionaries on the foreign Held
! The home board reported last y"a'
soS3.43G with LOGS missionaries a
work and 1SS.000 baptisms.
Means Cheuper Clothes.