A Band of Sisters: The Early Years of the Cumberland District Ladies Aid Society
The Women Nationally Active for Christ serves as the national organization for women’s ministry among Free Will Baptists. The organization was formed in 1935 in conjunction with the founding of the National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB). The diligent work of many women from states like North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas culminated in the formation of this organization. But no group had a larger influence than the women...
“The Teaching of the Creatures”: An Early English Free Will Baptist Appeal for a “Serious” and Thoughtful Christian Worldview
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (NASB) In 1651, sixty-one men, representing thirty General-Free Will Baptist congregations in England, gathered together to commit to paper a formal statement of their beliefs and practices. Appropriately named The...
Preserving Free Will Baptist History
The Historical Commission of the National Association of Free Will Baptists is charged with preserving and promoting the denomination’s history. The Free Will Baptist Historical Collection housed at Welch College fulfills a key aspect of this duty by housing the many records Robert E. Picirilli has spent decades collecting, organizing, and preserving. For the past three years, I have served as his assistant. The Collection contains a...
Thomas Helwys and Sola Scriptura
The foundational theme of the Reformers’ work was sola scriptura, Scripture alone. Each Reformer exhibited a strong commitment to look to the Scriptures for the truth about all of life. They rightly believed that the Roman Catholic Church’s problems stemmed from its departure from the Word of God as its rule in faith and practice. However, every Reformer struggled between their commitment to sola scriptura and their cultural context....
The Real Force in Education
In 1942, Free Will Baptists founded Welch College to provide a Christian response to secular education. During the previous century, many Christian institutions attempted to retain their Christian identity by requiring chapel attendance or enforcing strict moral regulations on campus while simultaneously rejecting orthodox Christianity in the classroom. Unsurprisingly, almost every major “Christian” institution in America abandoned...
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