The
first Baptist congregation was founded in 1609.
Whereas other Christian churches allowed the baptism of infants, Baptists
believed that Baptism should be confined to adults after a personal
confession of faith.
During the Civil
War Baptists in England were often referred to as Anabaptists.
This group believed that all institutions were by their nature corrupt.
This they argued, gave them the moral right to disobey laws imposed
by governments. Anabaptist congregations separated themselves from
all forms of state control and avoided contact with society outside
their own communities.
The
growth of Methodism in the second-half
of the 18th century inspired Baptists such as Samuel
Deacon and Dan Taylor to become involved in the evangelical revival.
In June 1770 Dan Taylor formed a separate New Connection of General
Baptists which centred its work in emerging industrial communities.
In 1785 the Baptist minister, Andrew Fuller, published
his book The
Gospel Worthy of All Acception,
which emphasized the need for missionary work. Seven
years later, the Baptist
Missionary Society became the first of the foreign mission societies
to be established in Britain.
Between 1806 and 1810 Baptists Colleges were built in Horton, Abergavenny
and Stepney. To help communicate their ideas, in 1810 publication
began of the Baptist
Magazine.
Three years later Baptists established a General Union of Baptist
Ministers and Churches. As a result of these initiatives, the number
of Baptists in Britain grew from 37,000 in 1800 to 125,000 in 1837.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon and John
Clifford were the two most prominent Baptist preachers in the
19th century. In 1859 Spurgeon built the Metropolitan Tabernacle in
London which seated over 6,000 people. Clifford, the pastor of the
Baptist Church in Paddington, was an early supporter of the Fabian
Society and at the beginning of the 20th century led the campaign
against the 1902 Education Act.
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Last updated: 7th May, 2002
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