October 2, 2026
Editor’s note: This is one of a series of articles commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention, which will hold an annual meeting Nov. 13-15 at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta. Congregations can register for the annual meeting here.
For two hundred years the Georgia Baptist Convention has been gathering to debate, deliberate, celebrate, commemorate, vote, fellowship, and worship. To collectively give approval to the ongoing, cooperative work of Georgia Baptists to reach Georgia and the world for Christ. Some more memorable than the others and one in 1837 possibly the most memorable of them all.
Since the first meeting, in the small but bustling village of Powelton in 1822 to today, many changes have taken place that have impacted the annual meetings. The Convention did not meet in May of 1865 when the state was under Union occupation following the Civil War. It met twice in 1901 when the decision was made to move the annual meeting from spring (May) to fall (November). The location was changed at the last minute to a larger venue in 1918 due to influenza gripping the county at the end of World War I and the need for more lodging.
The locations were centralized to avoid coastal locations (blackouts) and conserve travel during World War II. The Convention was abbreviated in 2020 because of COVID 19. The 175th Anniversary meeting in 1997 was interrupted by a bomb threat. Upon exiting the building, some stood in the parking lot in tears lamenting the divisiveness that had created such a moment . . . but the meeting continued, business was conducted, delayed but not unabated.
The early conventions had a smaller number of total messengers, because it was limited to between five and eight from each affiliated Association or Missionary Society. Churches did not have individual representation until the 1870s. Overall attendance was often much larger, sometimes numbering into the thousands, because Camp Meetings were held in conjunction with the Conventions. The early Conventions were held over a weekend, with no official business taking place on Sunday other than preaching.
Singing was acapella and preaching was expected to be extemporaneous and full-bodied! Preaching assignments for the meetings were not made until after the Convention had been called to order. Sermons were normally an hour in length and a preacher was not considered “long-winded” until he had gone over two hours. In the 1840s complaints began to circulate that some preachers seemed to be “reading sermons” (using notes).
Early transportation was by foot, wagon, stagecoach, or horseback. Housing en route was made by stopping in the later portion of the day at houses and asking if they would put them up for the night. If one on foot was fortunate, someone in a wagon or carriage might offer them a ride. In the 1850s as railroads were expanding across the state, they began offering half-price fares. Messengers paid the fare to the convention, showed GBC credentials at the station on the return, and received free passage home.
Hosting a convention was a community event especially before changes were made following the 1918 pandemic. The host church, working with an “arrangements committee,” scheduled housing and organized meals. Messengers contacted the arrangements committee to reserve accommodations. They were assigned lodging in local homes with breakfast provided by the host each morning. As the conventions grew larger, Methodist, Presbyterians and others opened their doors to the hungry hoard of Baptists descending upon their community. For lunch and dinner, large tables were spread on the grounds and food was provided by local churches and associations.
By the time the Convention met in Commerce in 1915 the local arrangement committee had developed hosting into an art form. Messengers arrived on the Northeast Georgia Railroad and were met at the station by a car that sped them to their host home for supper. They were then taken to the Convention meeting at the host Church. Ground transportation and meals were provided for the remainder of the stay. It was an impressive, well-organized, and efficient operation.
Following the 1918 pandemic, the convention decided that messengers in the future would be responsible for their own meals and lodging. This meant the location must be large enough to have adequate hotel accommodations. One tradition which continues from those early days is a resolution passed by the Convention expressing appreciation for the local host community/church/association. Before 1919 it had a more significant meaning!!!
Through the years the conventions have encountered many highs and lows. Arguably the very existence of the Convention was in doubt until 1833 with anti-missionary forces pushing against it. Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction all put their peculiar strains on the efforts to promote missions and education. The struggles of the Conservative Resurgence which resulted in the 1997 bomb threat was another difficult season in the life of the Convention. The 1929 meeting, a few weeks after the Wall Street Crash, was a season of fear and uncertainty, as Arch Cree, the executive director since 1915, resigned under doctors’ orders.
On the other hand, there have been moments of exuberant celebration. In 1833, “The Year the Stars Fell,” the Convention celebrated a new school (Mercer), new support (new missionary associations joined) and a new voice (The Christian Index was purchased and moved to Georgia). In 1943, the Convention celebrated the elimination of debts dating back to WWI. In 1972, the 150th Anniversary of the Convention was celebrated during the highest year of recorded baptisms in Georgia Baptist history.
Yet the most memorable may have been the 1837 Convention held at the Vann’s Creek Baptist Church in Elberton, Georgia. It was described in The Christian Index as “a Convention we should never forget.” Yet sadly it would be forgotten.
Following years of bitter conflict with anti-missionary (Primitive) Baptists, including the divisions of families, churches and associations, a formal division was made between the factions in 1836. It would seem there would not be much to celebrate after the struggle and division. But, if weary missionary Baptists affiliated with the Convention wondered if the struggle had been worth it, God provided an answer.
The answer was a young man named Edward Able Stevens, from Sunbury, Georgia. He had recently completed his education in Massachusetts. At age 22, he returned to Georgia seeking Baptists' support to go to Burma to serve as a missionary with Adoniram Judson. Judson would become Stevens’ neighbor, mentor, and friend. For months Stevens had traveled the state speaking in churches and associational meetings sharing his need . . . and Georgia Baptists responded!
At his home church’s request, Stevens was ordained on the Sunday set aside for worship during the 1837 Convention. The ordination sermon was preached by Jesse Mercer who had helped fund his education. Other leading Georgia Baptists took part. It was said there were few dry eyes by the end of the service and the clerk summarized the memorable day with the statement, “and a general good feeling prevailed.”
Who knows what the bicentennial meeting in Augusta may bring? God might show up in an unexpected way. Just as Georgia Baptists in 1837 had reason to be weary, today there is a decline in baptisms, giving, and a larger society that is increasingly polarized and characterized by incivility.
It was during a weary season in 1837 that God reminded Georgia Baptists that the struggle for missions and the drive to support them was worth the effort. God showed up and reminded Georgia Baptists that working together and encouraging one another to support missions is what we are about . . . and may it be once again, “and a general good feeling prevailed.”
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Charles Jones is a Southern Baptist historian, retired pastor, and newspaper columnist.
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