Overview
The Primitive or Old School Baptists are a small but
zealous group of Christians who desire to honor God for his sovereignty in
sending Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. We also desire to honor
God by keeping the simplicity of congregational worship instituted by
Jesus Christ and the apostles.
If you attend a Primitive Baptist Church you will find the members there
to be warm and friendly and their love for one another to be evident.
You will hear them refer to each other as Brother or Sister followed by
their given name. We do so because of the closeness we feel to one
another as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
If you happen to come on a day when lunch is being served, please stay and enjoy a meal with us we
always bring more than enough.
From Webster's Dictionary
prim·i·tive
Etymology: Middle English primitif, from Latin primitivus first formed,
from primitiae first fruits, from primus first
1 a : not derived :
ORIGINAL, PRIMARY
2 a : of or relating to the earliest age or period : <the primitive
church>
bap·tist
1 : one that baptizes
2 capitalized : a member or adherent of an evangelical denomination
marked by congregational polity and baptism by immersion of believers
only
History
Primitive means 'original' and in doctrine and practice, the
Primitive Baptists are identical to the original English and Welsh
Baptists who immigrated to colonial America. More importantly, the
Primitive Baptists are identical to the primitive or first century
church in doctrine and practice.
Primitive Baptists are united by a strong desire to adhere to "Thus
saith the Lord", refusing man made additions and auxiliaries to the
church, we maintain a simple form of worship and rejoice in the truth of
God's sovereignty in saving lost sinners.
The name 'Primitive' was adopted after a disagreement arose in the
1820's and 1830's over the use of Missionary Societies, Sunday Schools
and Theological Seminaries, which were first introduced to the United
States about 1800. Up till that time, all the Baptist churches (with the
exception of a few general atonement Baptist churches) were identical in
faith and practice.
Eventually, certain churches began to resist the introduction of the
Missionary Societies, Sunday Schools and Theological Seminaries on the
grounds that they were unscriptural innovations and there was no
Biblical authority to authorize their use. (See
The Kehukee Declaration
and The Black Rock Address) They believed that God,
through the Holy Spirit, directs his ministers where to evangelize not a
missionary board. They believed that it is the responsibility of parents
to instruct their children in the Christian faith, not others. They
believed that the scriptural pattern was for young ministers to
apprentice or train under elder ministers, not in a seminary. These
Baptists were of the Old School in faith and practice and became known
as the Primitive Baptists. The churches which adopted the use of
Missionary Societies, Sunday Schools and Theological Seminaries were of
the New School and became known as Missionary Baptists. The largest
denomination of Missionary Baptists today is the Southern Baptist
Convention.
Originally, most of the New School churches were sound on the doctrine
of God's Sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. However, practice
affects doctrine and vice versa and they soon lost that important truth
and became Arminian (belief in the General Atonement). The Primitive
Baptists understood this as a vindication against the New School
practices and regard Arminianism as an even worse departure from the
truth than the Missionary Societies, Sunday Schools and Theological
Seminaries they originally stood against.
Primitive Baptists believe there are true believers in the other
Christian denominations, however, it is our firm conviction that those
believers who are seeking the truth, should return to the place where
the truth never ceased to be taught, the Primitive Baptists.
Elder James Taylor |
