Original Free Will Baptist Convention
Encyclopedia
The Original Free Will Baptist Convention is a North Carolina
based body of Free Will Baptists
that split from the National Association of Free Will Baptists
in 1961.
The Original Free Will Baptist State Convention was established in 1913. In 1935 the State Convention became a charter member of the National Association. The North Carolina convention had developed along lines with slightly different polity from the midwestern and northern Free Will Baptists. They held to a more connectional form of government, and believed the annual conference could settle disputes in and discipline a local church. This view, different educational philosophies, and the desire of the North Carolina convention to operate its own press and Sunday School publishing created tensions that ended in division. The majority of Free Will Baptist churches in North Carolina withdrew from the National Association, while a minority withdrew from the State Convention to maintain affiliation with the National Association.
Headquarters of the State Convention are in Ayden, North Carolina
. The Convention sponsors the Free Will Baptist Children's Home, Inc. in Middlesex, North Carolina
(established 1920), the Mount Olive College
in Mount Olive, North Carolina (chartered 1951), and operates the Free Will Baptist Press in Ayden. It supports foreign missionaries in Bulgaria
, India
, Mexico
, Nepal
, Liberia
, and the Philippines
.
In 1991 they reported over 33,000 members in 236 churches that were organized into 7 conferences. Currently (2003) the Convention has grown to about 250 churches. Most of the churches are in eastern North Carolina.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
based body of Free Will Baptists
Free Will Baptist Church
Free Will Baptist is a denomination of churches that share a common history, name, and an acceptance of the Arminian theology of free grace, free salvation, and free will. Free Will Baptists share similar soteriological views with General Baptists, Separate Baptists and some United Baptists...
that split from the National Association of Free Will Baptists
National Association of Free Will Baptists
The National Association of Free Will Baptists is a national body of Free Will Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, organized on November 5, 1935 in Nashville, Tennessee...
in 1961.
The Original Free Will Baptist State Convention was established in 1913. In 1935 the State Convention became a charter member of the National Association. The North Carolina convention had developed along lines with slightly different polity from the midwestern and northern Free Will Baptists. They held to a more connectional form of government, and believed the annual conference could settle disputes in and discipline a local church. This view, different educational philosophies, and the desire of the North Carolina convention to operate its own press and Sunday School publishing created tensions that ended in division. The majority of Free Will Baptist churches in North Carolina withdrew from the National Association, while a minority withdrew from the State Convention to maintain affiliation with the National Association.
Headquarters of the State Convention are in Ayden, North Carolina
Ayden, North Carolina
Ayden is a town in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,622 at the 2000 census and the 2007 estimated population was 5,005...
. The Convention sponsors the Free Will Baptist Children's Home, Inc. in Middlesex, North Carolina
Middlesex, North Carolina
Middlesex is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Middlesex is about 25 miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina...
(established 1920), the Mount Olive College
Mount Olive College
Mount Olive College is a private liberal arts college located in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Founded in 1951, the college is supported by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention of North Carolina...
in Mount Olive, North Carolina (chartered 1951), and operates the Free Will Baptist Press in Ayden. It supports foreign missionaries in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
In 1991 they reported over 33,000 members in 236 churches that were organized into 7 conferences. Currently (2003) the Convention has grown to about 250 churches. Most of the churches are in eastern North Carolina.
Churches in OFWB Convention
Main article: List of churchs in the Original Free Will Baptist ConventionExternal links
- Free Will Baptist Children's Home, Inc.
- Free Will Baptist Press Foundation, Inc.
- Mount Olive College
- Original Free Will Baptist Convention
- Original Free Will Baptist International Foreign Missions
- http://www.ofwbliberia.zoomshare.com Liberia Mission
- Little Rock Original Free Will Baptist Church
- Micro Original Free Will Baptist Church
- The Richard & Carolyn Hinnant Outreach Center - a ministry of Micro Original Free Will Baptist