Foreign Mission J ournal
E'llbliNlloil Itlontlll}’ by III» Vorclg'll iiaiNNloll it
О
ill'll of tile .Soilllicrn ItllptlHt Convention.
"ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN IIEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE , AND TEACH ALL NATIONS."
Vol. 12. — New Series.
RICHMOND, YA., JULY, 1880.
No. 4.— Whole No. 124.
[Kn ten'll lit tho l’osl-Ofllro lit Rlclinioutl, Va., us second-
clues mutter. J
FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL
RATES PER ANNUM:
One copy . . . M cts.
Four copies unit over, to one tnlilress, eucll .
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cU*.
4й'1'1епне
remit by Draft, l’ostul Oriler, or In Reftluteied
I, utter, amt notify ns imiomi'H.y of any elm nee in mWreas.
Address, FOREIGN .MISSION JOURNAL,
Richmond, Va.
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
OK THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION,
I.ooatkI) at RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.
PiiKsinnsT— J. L. M. OUKltY.
VtoK-I’nitsiDicNTU.— lllram Woods, Mil., J. A. liackett,
t.u„ W. 11. Kirk, V".,
И.
II. McOallitm, Fla.. T. If. Pritch¬
ard, N. (J., .1. I.. Harrows, Ky„ ,S. Header-on, Alubnma,
W. l’o|«iYeamiiii,Mo„ .1. II, I .ink, Texas,
V/.
1.. Kilpatrick,
П»,
J. O. Funnun, S. O.. .Matt, llillsmaa,
Тепа.,
T. I*.
Espy, Ark,, M. P. Howry, Miss.
CoiuncsrosniNit SuciiKTAiiY—
И.
A. T UPPER.
Та к
as
и
a Kit — .1 , O. WILLIAMS.
Rkoohiiino SKCKKTAitr— ' W. II. G WATIIMEY.
Лиштоа—
JOSEPH F. COTTRELL.
Полнпог
Manaokh.s.— J. R. Hawlliorac, .1.
П.
Watkins, II.
K. Ellyson, W. K. Hatcher. K. Wortham, Henry McDonald,
W. Goddln, H. H, Harris, .1. Pollard, Jr., J. W. Jones,
Л.
II.
Olnrke. ,f. II. Winston, T. J. Evans, O. II. Winston, S. O.
Olopton, _
237‘A 11 communications in reference to the business
of this Hoard should be addressed to II. A. Tumiit,
Onrcsjiundiny Secretary, Richmond, Va.
CENTENNIAL PAPER.
A few words of apology may bo needed for so
inticli of our space being taken up with (be follow¬
ing paper. On the 8th and Otb of dune last, the
First baptist church of Richmond, Virginia, cele¬
brated It3 One Hundredth Anniversary. A num¬
ber of papers were read on various departments of
the history of the church. In tho course of the
celebration it became apparent that the lime
allowed for the exercises was hardly sulllclcnt. As
several gentlemen from distant States, who hnd
been invited by the church to make addresses, were
to speak on the second and last day, the author of
the paper on the missions of the church, being a
member of that church, declined to rend his paper,
to nllow these gentlemen to have ample time, and
promised to the church and congregation, that It
would he published In the Journal. It is hoped
that the. paper will he not uninteresting and un¬
profitable to our readers outside of Virginia :
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF RICHMOND, VA.
IN ITS RELATION TO MISSIONS.
Tho missionary history of this church divides
itself Into three periods of some thirty-three years,
Jlrst, from Its organization in 1780 to 1818, when
the “Foreign -Missionary Society of Virginia”
was formed In this church ; second, from
1813 to 18-10, when tho Southern Baptist Con¬
vention held its first anniversary In this house;
third, from 1810 to 1S80, when this centennial of
the church — missionary in all Its career — is cele¬
brated.
FIRST PERIOD : FROM 1780 TO 1S18.
That was missionary discipline when those four¬
teen mombors of tho Boar Swamp Church went
forth, la 1780, and constituted this church in
Franklin’s house, on Union
П111
; and further mis¬
sionary experience when they set out again and
erected their humble house of worship on Cary
street; and still missionary progress was It when
they established themselves In the brick edillce, on
the corner of Broad and College streets; but the
most missionary feature of these movements was
the removal of Joshua Morris from Boar Swamp
to Richmond, to labor for the Infant church, ac¬
cording to the historian Rencdict, “at his own
costs.” And how Gotl blessed this missionary
zeal is Indicated In the fact that in 1808 tho church
had grown from fourteen souls to five hundred
and sixty, with several licensed preachers.
This church was a prominent member of the
Dover Association, constituted lit 17S3, which, like
other Baptist Associations, was only a missionary
body. Semple, In his “History of Virginia Bap¬
tists,” published in 1810, says: “The chief busi¬
ness of these associations was to receive petitions
and appoint preachers to travel Into new places
where the gospel was likely to fiourish.” The
formation itself of such associations was an evi¬
dence of decided missionary spirit, inasmuch ns it
was done in spite of Baptist jenlousy of church-
Independence ; which Jealousy was intensified by
hatred to the hlcruchal domination which had
just been overthrown. The blessedness of the
gospel sent to the destitute is described in an early
circtdar letter of tho Dover Association, in the
language of Solomon : “As cold water to a thirsty
soul, so is good nows from a far country.” Afar
country was Georgia, where our missionaries went
— us far then as Asia is now. The biographer of
one of these Evangelists speaks of his longing to
preach the gospel in that “distant land,” as lie
calls the South ; anti of his preaching hi “ various
benighted regions,” and how tills missionary spirit
was still honored of the Lord appears in the state¬
ment of G. B. Taylor, that in 1773 there were
3,000 Baptists in Virginia; and of Benedict, that
in 1812 there were 35,000. This Is the more re¬
markable as the first period of our church’s his¬
tory started and ended in wnrs with Great Brit¬
tain. Immediately after the “ Old Revolution ”
the churches were in a sluggish spiritual state;
but missionaries were active, and tho churches
stirred themselves, and God poured out copious
blessings from the mountains to tho seaboard— re¬
minding the aged people, doubtless, of tho tidal
waves of salvation that rolled over the land under
the preaching of that foreign missionary, George.
Wiiltoflold, and of the home missionaries, Stearns
and Mm-slmll and Harris, and others. Nor was
the missionary intelligence and sympathy of our
fathers less broad and deep than ours. Robert B.
Semple, who was President of tho Baptist Con¬
vention of Virginia, organized in tills church, and
men of ills stamp, were warm and able advocates
of foreign missions. Abraham Marshall, in his
sketch of ills father, Daniel Marshall, published in
1802, refers thus to the evangelization of the hea¬
then : “Tho Scriptures have been translated into
several barbarous languages. Missionaries have
gone out literally into all tho world-, and sinners
of nU descriptions have fallen by thousands
beneath tho sword of the Spirit, which Is the
Word of God.”
The interest that John Courtney, the second pas¬
tor of the church, experienced in this subject may
he inferred from tho tribute voted to him in tills
church by tho Baptist Convention of Virginia, or¬
ganized with special reference to foreign missions :
“ Resolved unanimously, That tills Convention
cherish tin atlectloimtc remembrance of their lately
deceased brother, Elder John Courtney, whoso
praise, ns a laborer In tho work of the Lord, Is in
all the churches. He lias come, to Ills grave as a
shock of corn fully ripe.”
The church was ready for tho visit of the re¬
turned missionary, Luther Rice, and the “Foreign
Missionary Society of Virginia” was organized
here in 1S13— the year before the organization of
the Triennial Convention. Tho testimony is indu¬
bitable that tliis society was organized In 1S13.
At the Semi-Centennial “Jubilee ” of the Ameri¬
can Baptist Missionary Union, hold in Philadelphia
in 18-10, Deacon William Crane, who was a mem¬
ber of tliis church from 1812 to 1821, said that lie
assisted to organize tliis society “ in November,
1813.” He was one of its original managers. .T.
H. Taylor, In Ws Virginia Baptist Ministers, stntes
that Samuel L. Straulian was sent by tliis society
as their missionary to Maryland in 1814. But the
point Is put beyond nil question :
The Fortietli Annual Report of the Society,
made in 1853, opens with these words : “Forty
years have passed,” that is from 1S13, “since this
society came Into existence. It was founded,,
shortly after the return from India of our
teemed brother Rice, and was among the first i
those organizations which were represented in the
Triennial Convention.” Tims had tliis church the
honor of tho organization, under its auspices, of
the first missionary society of the South. William
i Crane said, “perhaps south of Philadelphia.”
(Might lie not have said perhaps south of Massa¬
chusetts?
The only remark I make on tliis first period of
the church's missionary history Is that, being thus
early called of God to tho work of missions, the
church should manifest its appreciation of die
honor, and its realization of its responsibility, liy
its perseverance and progress to the ciul. “The
path of the just is as the shining light that
shincth more and more unto the perfect day.”
SECOND PERIOD : FROM 1813 TO 1810.
Luther Rice.
It would ho strange If the enthusiasm on For¬
eign missions, which was kindled by the return to
tills country of Luther Rice, and which swept like
a sea of fire from Maine to Georgia, had not in-
fiansed the First Baptist Church of Richmond.
.Tills place Mr. Rice called one of his three “homes;”
and a home indeed did he find here under tho
hospitable roof of Archibald Thomas, and in tlic
heart ol the whole church, whose funds were some¬
times represented in the General Convention by
tliis most eloquent advocate for the world’s evan¬
gelization that America lias ever produced.
The Female Missionary Society.
On the last Sunday In March, 1817, Luther Rice
preached the anniversary sermon of this Society.
It must have existed at least a year before. Tho.
probabilities of its formation not long subsequent
to Mr. Rice's first visit to Richmond, in 1313, is
