Triennial Convention - Timeline Event
Founder
Luther Rice
Time Period
05-18-1814
Description
The Triennial Convention was the first formal Baptist missions organization in America. Baptist preacher and former missionary Luther Rice founded the Convention to encourage voluntary contributions from individual members for the support of domestic and foreign missionaries like former co-workers Adoniram and Ann Judson. The Convention grew rapidly, claiming more than 2,500 affiliated churches and 158,000 members by 1816. By the 1830s, the Convention had morphed into a full-blown denomination, albeit one that valued congregational autonomy.
Not all Baptists, however, supported the Convention. These "anti-mission" Baptists, including Alexander Campbell and John Leland, believed that the Convention was a human fabrication that threatened congregational autonomy. They accused the Convention of engaging in coercive fundraising and encouraging the rise of a professional clergy. Instead, they sought a return to a primitive, unadorned Christianity, which led to the founding of various Primitive Baptist associations and, under Campbell, the beginning of the Restorationist movement.
Not all Baptists, however, supported the Convention. These "anti-mission" Baptists, including Alexander Campbell and John Leland, believed that the Convention was a human fabrication that threatened congregational autonomy. They accused the Convention of engaging in coercive fundraising and encouraging the rise of a professional clergy. Instead, they sought a return to a primitive, unadorned Christianity, which led to the founding of various Primitive Baptist associations and, under Campbell, the beginning of the Restorationist movement.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Baptist Family: Other ARDA LinksBaptist Family: Religious Family Tree
Timeline Entries for the same religious group: Restoration Movement
Restoration Movement: Other ARDA Links
Restoration Movement: Religious Family Tree
Biographies
Campbell, AlexanderJudson, Adoniram
Leland, John
Movements
Missionary MovementThe Second Great Awakening
Related Dictionary Terms
ChristianityPhotographs
Luther Rice silhouette- English Wikipedia
Courtesy, Virginia Baptist Historical Society
Adoniram Judson portrait- Internet Archive- from The Earnest Man by H. C. Conant
Proceedings of the Baptist Convention for Missionary Purposes, title page- Internet Archive
Baptist mission house in India- Internet Archive- from The Life of William Carey, D. D. by George Smith
Book/Journal Source(s)
Williams, Michael and Walter Shurden, 2011. Turning Points in Baptist History: A Festschrift in Honor of Harry Leon McBeth Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. (Notes: See chapter 12, "Baptist 'Anti' Movements and the Turn toward Progressivism: 1820/1832/1845." ).Web Page Contributor
Paul MatzkoAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in History
