The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-12-21
DAWSON CHURCH
WAS REPRESENTED
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT
THE BAPTISTS IN GEORGIA.
REMARKABLE GROWTH.

The recent annual state convention
| of Georgia Baptists in Atlanta was
one of the most interesting and sue
cessful from every standpoint ever
held by that body, according to Rev.
IS. F. Lowe and Mr.. S. D. Hatcher,
who represented the Dawson Baptist
church.
1t has been 90 years since the first
convention of the Baptists of Georgia
was held at Powellton in 1922 Since
then it has met in all sections of the
state, mostly in the smaller towns and
cities. 1t was entertained by Dawson
in 1893, and DR.. ]. H. Fitzpatrick was
moderator.
Wonderful changes have taken place
in the men and the business or the
body since it was organized, and if
Jesse Mercer, the first president, could
be given seat in one of the present
day meetings he could not be made
to believe that he was in the same
body as that over which he presided
nearly century ago.
The meeting which was held in
Griffin in 1900 was attended by 800
messengers and it was regarded as
high water meeting from the point of
attendance At that time there were
1885 Baptist churches in the state
affiliating with the convention. The
total membership of these churches
was l64, 784, and they were rejoicing
over the fact that 1913 baptisms had
been reported by the church for the
preceding year. The total contributions
reported amounted to $200,054, and the
church property in the state was val
ued at $1,770,367. At that time the
work of the Sunday schools was rath
er weak, as only 682 were reported
from all of the state and they had
5000 pupils.
The work of the B. Y. P. U. had
been started only little while and
one of the questions of importance
was how to get the pastors to support
this work and not to antagonize it.
DR.. R. ]. Willingham was the sec
rotary of the foreign mission board,
located at Richmond, and he was pres
ent at the meeting. In one OF his i'm
passioned speeches he declared that
he expected to live to see the day
when southern Baptists were giving a
million dollars for foreign missions.
The brethren smiled at his words as
the utterances of an optimist who was
looking through rose-tinted glasses.
Mr.. Willingham did not live to see
that day, but only a few years after
his death it came, and now Georgia
herself is doing about that much Tor
foreign missions.
Today there are in Georgia 2,563
Baptist churches with a membership
of 332,7o4 and reports from the sum-
mer baptizings have not yet been
tabulated. These churches have 2,l44
Sunday schools in which there are
100000 pupils enrolled.
One of the biggest things today
among the Baptist churches OF Geor-
gia is the B. Y. P u. work. There are
In Georgia 1850 unions, more than
twice as many as are reported by any
other state except Texas, which has
2,100 i,
The churches last year contributed
for home purposes the sum OF ISIS
800, and for missions and benevolences
the sum of $7O7,750. The Baptist
church property in the state is valued
at $1,770,387.
During the past year the women
gave one-third of the amount needed
in the state. During this time 467 new
unions in the churches were asked to
raise $422, 419, but they really raised
S4588l8.