NORTH CAROLINA BAPTIST MISSIONARY WORKER
PUBLISHED BY THE
BOARD OF MISSIONS
OF THE
BAI»XISX STATE COS»VEI«JTIOJ.
JOHN £. RAY. Cor. Sec'y.
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
It is really astonishing to think hr.w wonderfully
God has blessed the efforts of his people in spread
ing the glad news of salvation among the people
of our beloved State. Nor can we appreciate the
condition of affairs, until we know something of
the destitution which prevailed, only a few years
ago.
The labors of the missionaries of our State
Board have extended into every county in North
Carolina: and those communities in the State
■which are most highly favored with gospel privi
leges were once the scenes of the sacrifices and
successes of our State missionaries as they went
forth with “weeping, bearing precious seed.”
Fifty years ago there was not a Baptist church
at either of the following county towns: Halifax,
Wilkesboro, Statesville, Roxboro, , Louisburg,
Greensboro, Hillsboro, Wadesboro, Salisbury,
Mocksville, Washington, Wentworth, Lincolnton,
Newton, Dallas, Charlotte, Goldsboro, Hender
son, Monroe, Winston, Pittsboro, Smithville, Ply
mouth, Snow Hill, Williamston, Jacksonville,
Morganton, Graham, Statesville,. Rockingham,
Lexington, Marion, Nashville, Lenoir, Burgaw,
Bayboro, and several others, at which churches
have been organized without the aid of the Board.
There are a good many of the counties in the State
which have been formed within these fifty years.
And a large m.ijority of the towns named above
were without Baptist churches even less than thirty
years ago.
Fifty years ago, our dear old college. Wake
-Forest, was in its infancy, and the Biblical Re
corder had been on its round of blessings only a
few months. What wonders hath God wrought
among us during this half centuryl The hundreds
of men who have come out from Wake Forest,
with the multitude of faithful laborers who had
not the privileges and advantages of college train
ing, together with the adopted sons from other
States, have gone out into the highways and
hedges, climbing rough mountains, plodding
through valley, penetrating lonely gorges and
trudging along in the .sand hills, carrying the
bread of life to the hungry souls who were crying
for it.
And the last promise of the blessed Saviour—
“and lo, I am with you alway”—has been ful
filled in them. Never have richer tokens of his
favor been vouchsafed to any people.
Fifty-six years ago, we were a feeble, insignifi
cant folk, with fifteen thousand three hundred and
sixty souls in all our churches, white and colored.
Four years later, we numbered thirty thousand,
and God gave us 4,278 additions in one year! The
ne:;t year he gave us Jive thousand morel And
the good work has gone on, increasing as it has
gone and gaining strength with every year’s
growth, until the Lord has made of us a great
people. Oh, the rich blessings of our God upon
the labors of his unworthy servants! If our efforts
had been in proportion to his favors, the whole
State might have been brought to the feet of Jesus
long ago.
A CHAIY OF INTERESTING LINKS.
When the Baptist State Convention was organ
ized, fifty-six years ago, there were only fourteen
Associations, two hundred and seventy-two
churches, and fifteen thousand, three hundred and
sixty members in our churches in the State. Now
we have eighty-four Associations, two thousand,
two hundred and twenty-two churches, and two
hundred and twenty-five thousand, three hundred
and twenty-two members.
The first four missionaries sent out by our State
Board of Missions were J. L. Warren, into Ons
low and New Hanover counties : William Dowd,
into Stokes, (a part of which is now I'orsyth) :
Eli Phillips into Randolph, and James Dennis
into Wake, Johnston, Sapipsoii and Duplin. At
this time there was not a Baptist church in New
Hanover nor Johnston county.
In 1832 Jacob C. Grigg was sent by our State
Board as a missionary to the city of Wilmington,
and the church at Smithfield was organized by
James Dennis, with forty or fifty members.
The same year Eli Phillips and Noah Richard
son occupied a field extending through Wilkes,
Rowan, Surry, (a part of which is now Yadkin)
Iredell, Richmond, Robeson, Bladen and Colum
bus counties. A pretty extensive field that. And
yet Thomas D. Armstrong had a still more exten
sive one to cultivate alone, viz ; Halifax, (in which
there was no Baptist church at that time) Nash,
Edgecombe, Wake, Chatham, Orange, Randolph,
Moore, Montgomery and Anson.
In 1834 there were nineteen Missionary Bap
tist Associations and eight Anti-Missionary in N.
C. The Antr-Mlssionaries baptized one hundred
and eighty souls, and the Missionaries baptized
four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight!
Humphrey Posey was the first missionary sent
out by our State Board west of the Blue Ridge,
and his field of labor extended from the French
Broad river to the Tennessee line. Some of the
counties west of the Ridge were without any
churches. Now there are nearly twenty thousand
Baptists in this territory.
Wake and Wilkes counties were -missionary
ground fifty years ago. Now there are fifty-six Bap
tist churches in Wilkes and forly-two in Wake.
William Richards, who did such a wonderful
work for the Baptists in Iredell, Surry, Wilkes
and Ashe counties fifty odd yeais ago, is still
alive, I am informed.
I ive thousand souls were added to our Baptist
churches in 1835.
The missionaries of our State Board have la
bored in the territory occupied by every county in
North Carolina, and many of us are their spirit
ual children. Is there not, then, a two-fold duty
upon us to help in the State mission work?
The first Baptist church was organized in North
Carolina at Old Shiloh, Camden county, in 1727
one hundred and fifty-nine years ago. What a
wonderful work God has wrought through and
for us since that time !
In 1844 the sessions of the Baptist State Con
vention, which met in Raleigh, were held in the
Presbyterian session room. Lewis Du Pree was
then the missionary of the State Board to what
is now the First Baptist Church of Raleigh. To
day there are three white and three or four col
ored Baptist churches in Raleigh, with over two
thousand members. God be praised for His
mercy and grace.
Some forty years ago Robert McNabb. a mis
sionary of our Board, was refused the use of Mt.
Zion (Anti-.Missionarj) church, in the edge of
Granville county, nor was he permitted to u.se the
benches in the grove. He invited the people
down to the load, where they spread down their
riding-shirts, dusters and shawls, anjl sat upon
the ground, listening to one of the most powerful
sermons they ever heaul. Mt. Zion church has
long since gone down, and Amis Chapel, one of
the churches of the Flat River Association, occu-
pies a place close by.
Many years ago, when Samuel Wait, the Cor
responding Secretary of the Baptist State Con
vention, was pa.ssing through a part of the Ca
tawba valley, the peoph; refused to receive him
into their homes, and be was compelled to spend
the night out under tlie trees. The .South Fork
Association now occupies that territory, and there
are hundreds of Baptists there.
In 1S46 John Robertson, missionary of the
State Board, went out into Guilford, Stokes and
Surry counties, organized three churches and bap
tized sixty souls. The next year he organized
four churches and Baptized a hundred souls.
In 1848 Elias Dodson, missionary of our Board,
held protracted meetings with the churches at
Kay Fork, Friendship, Little Yadkin, Leaksville,
a point near Wentworth, and at Hogan’s Creek,
now Reidsville. The same year Greensboro
Church was organized as a branch of Madison.
In 1859 it was regularly organized into an inde
pendent church.
Thirty-one years ago we had no church in Char
lotte, Goldsboro, Henderson, Franklinton, Win
ston, Thomasville and Reidsville.
Twelve years ago we had no church in Little
ton, Hickory, .Morganton, Graham, Statesville
Salisbury, Gastonia, Rockingham, Laurinburg
Waughtown, Lexington, Enfield aud Matthews.
Six years ago we had no organization at Moores-
ville, Toisnot, Alma, Pantego, Middleburg, Old '
Fort, Morehead City, Lewisville and Concord.
Three years ago we l.ad no active Baptist min
ister nor Baptist church in Pamlico, Hyde nor
Dare county. Now there are two interests in
Dare, two or three in Pamlico, but still tione in
Hyde I Nor is there a Baptist minister located
in either of these three counties, even now.
There is but one Baptist minister located in
each of the following counties ; Alleghany, Wil
son, Edgecombe, Marlin, Pitt, Washington, Tyr
rell, Beaufort, Craven, Onslow, Lenoir and
Greene. These counties, with one exception, lie
in a group with the three named above, in which
l'hexe\s no minister of our faith. In other words,
thirteen ministers to cultivate sixteen as good
counties as there are in the State ! Is not this
field enough for our State Board to operate in for
years to come ?
In 1863 such a huge ilebt had accumulated that
the State Board entirety suspended operations
Will the brethren allow debt at the next meeting
of the Convention to cripple our efforts for years
to come ?
The first regular Baptist preaching was begun
in Concord only two months ago. Soon a church
will be organized, with fifteen or eighteen mem
bers.
The work was begun in Lexington about five
years ago, with monthly pre,aching. Now we
have as good, active membership as is generally
found, and about the best meeting-house in the
place. .
The first efforts were put forth at Kernersville
only two years ago. They have nearly finished a
nous6 which is An ornsment to the town And a
credit to our denominati.in.
•H.