Free Will Baptists can be traced to from General Baptist who settled in the American colonies in the late seventeenth century. The first Baptists, who originated with the ministry of Thomas Helwys near London in 1611, were General Baptists.(Riggs) That is, they believed that the atonement of Jesus Christ was "general" (for all) rather than "particular" (only for the elect). Thus, they were Arminian in doctrine.(Treatise FWB)
The first Baptist Church on English soil, founded in 1612, was a General Baptist church, and our denominational roots are deeply intertwined with theirs. General Baptists were part of a larger group of believers who suffered persecution at the hands of the Church of England. Many of these believers fled to Holland, Amsterdam, and eventually to America, via the Mayflower.
In 1620, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and founded a new colony. Whether any “freewill” Baptists were on the Mayflower is unknown. We do know, however, that the first Baptist church in America, founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1638 was a General Baptist church.
One of these English General Baptists who settled in the American colonies was Benjamin Laker, who arrived in colonial Carolina as early as 1685. Laker had been associated with the illustrious General Baptist theologian and writer, Thomas Grantham, and had signed the 1663 edition of the General Baptists' Standard Confession of Faith.(Pelt) The earliest Free Will Baptists in America arose from English General Baptists in Carolina who were dubbed "Freewillers" by their enemies and later assumed the name.
Two distinct branches of Free Will Baptists developed in America. The first and earliest was the Palmer movement in North Carolina, from which the vast majority of modern-day Free Will Baptists have their origin. The later movement was the Randall movement, which arose in the late eighteenth century in New Hampshire. These two groups developed independently of each other.
Paul Palmer founded the first known Free Will Baptist Church in America in Chowan County, North Carolina, in 1727. Palmer’s group can be traced directly to English General Baptists through his wife Johanna and her father, Benjamin Laker. Palmer had previously ministered in New Jersey and Maryland, having been baptized in a congregation which moved from Wales to a tract on the Delaware River in northern Pennsylvania.
The first Baptist Church on English soil, founded in 1612, was a General Baptist church, and our denominational roots are deeply intertwined with theirs. General Baptists were part of a larger group of believers who suffered persecution at the hands of the Church of England. Many of these believers fled to Holland, Amsterdam, and eventually to America, via the Mayflower.
In 1620, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and founded a new colony. Whether any “freewill” Baptists were on the Mayflower is unknown. We do know, however, that the first Baptist church in America, founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1638 was a General Baptist church.
One of these English General Baptists who settled in the American colonies was Benjamin Laker, who arrived in colonial Carolina as early as 1685. Laker had been associated with the illustrious General Baptist theologian and writer, Thomas Grantham, and had signed the 1663 edition of the General Baptists' Standard Confession of Faith.(Pelt) The earliest Free Will Baptists in America arose from English General Baptists in Carolina who were dubbed "Freewillers" by their enemies and later assumed the name.
Two distinct branches of Free Will Baptists developed in America. The first and earliest was the Palmer movement in North Carolina, from which the vast majority of modern-day Free Will Baptists have their origin. The later movement was the Randall movement, which arose in the late eighteenth century in New Hampshire. These two groups developed independently of each other.
Paul Palmer founded the first known Free Will Baptist Church in America in Chowan County, North Carolina, in 1727. Palmer’s group can be traced directly to English General Baptists through his wife Johanna and her father, Benjamin Laker. Palmer had previously ministered in New Jersey and Maryland, having been baptized in a congregation which moved from Wales to a tract on the Delaware River in northern Pennsylvania.
