There were individual Baptists in Virginia prior to 1700, but little is known of them. The government of the colony was committed to a policy of universal conformity to the Church of England, the official church of Virginia. Colonists who voiced disagreement with the worship or teachings of that church were liable to banishment.
Dissenters kept quiet so their presence would be tolerated. Therefore there are few references in the literature of the 17th century to their activities in Virginia. However, an English Quaker who visited the colony in 1699 noted a January meeting in York County in the home of "a Preacher among the General Baptists." So there were Baptists, if not Baptist churches, before 1700.
After 1700, Baptist churches arose from three sources and in three areas of Virginia. They are designated as General, Regular, and Separate.
General Baptists came directly from England to southeastern Virginia. They were so named because they said that Christ's atoning death was general, or for all men. Regular Baptists developed among a Calvinistic group which came to northern Virginia from Maryland. Separate Baptists entered south-central Virginia from central North Carolina.
The English Toleration Act of 1689 was made a part of Virginia law in 1699. Emboldened by this knowledge, and by their increasing numbers, some Baptists of Prince George County began around 1712 to petition the General Baptist Assembly of England for a minister or ministers. In May, 1714, the Assembly chose Robert Norden and Thomas White to go to Virginia. White died during the voyage.
On June 14, 1715, the Court of Prince George County licensed Norden as "Annabaptist preacher," and the home of Matthew Marks as a public meeting house "for those persons called Annabaptists." The Baptists had no central meeting house, but quickly established licensed meetings in homes in Prince George, Isle of Wight, and Surry counties. By 1729, disease epidemics and economic problems caused many of the members to move into eastern North Carolina.
Formal church life declined among the remnants, but enough remained in Virginia to serve as the nucleus for a new beginning in the 1750's.
In 1770, Baptists began to seek relief from the House of Burgesses for restrictions imposed on them. However, the Burgesses continued to propose more restrictions. Baptists and Presbyterians began presenting petitions to the assembly stating that these measures were inconsistent with the laws of England. With the Revolution emerging, Baptists and others wanted much more than mere toleration.
In 1775, at a meeting of Baptists, it was resolved to circulate throughout the state petitions to the Virginia Convention "that the church establishment be abolished, religion left to stand upon its own merits and all religious societies protected in the peaceable enjoyment of their own religious principles and modes of worship."
In one petition alone, the Baptists collected the signatures of 10,000 dissenters, including Presbyterians and even Anglicans. In 1776, the legislature exempted dissenters from attending the Established Church, or paying taxes to support it, and decriminalized expression of opinion on religion.
Baptist protests in 1785 helped prevent enactment of a general assessment tax to be distributed among the various churches.
Very soon thereafter, Jefferson's Act for Establishing Religious Freedom was enacted with the support of the Baptist General Association. It provided freedom from compulsion to attend worship, freedom from penalty for religious opinions or belief, and freedom to profess one's opinions on religion without affecting one's civil capacities.
John Leland was born in Massachusetts and moved to Virginia in 1776, becoming a very popular minister. He was prominent in support of Jefferson's Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, which became law in Virginia in January, 1786. Virginia Baptists and others had noted that the proposed new federal constitution did not make sufficient provision for the secure enjoyment of religious liberty.
When James Madison ran as a candidate to the Virginia Convention to ratify the U. S. Constitution in 1788, he met with John Leland and promised to work for the desired amendment, among others. With the support of Leland and others, Madison was elected to the convention and later as a representative to the first Congress. There Madison introduced proposed amendments to the Constitution, which were later adopted as the Bill of Rights.
The Baptist principle of separation of church and state had become law.
This material was taken from "Meaningful Moments in Virginia Baptist Life 1715-1972" by John S. Moore and William L. Lumpkin, prepared for the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, in 1973.
After the War, Baptists merged but there was some reluctance to form a statewide body. In 1823, the Baptist General Association of Virginia was formed, and it has continued to the present.
Baptists in Richmond established what is now First Baptist Church in 1780. The modern missionary movement began in England in 1792, and spread to the U. S. Luther Rice led the founding of missionary societies in Virginia beginning in 1813. Some Baptists believed that God would save non-Christians without human help. These became known as "Primitive" or "Hardshell" Baptists.
An association called the Triennial Convention had been organized, including Baptists from many states. Because of disagreements over slavery and whether slave owners should serve as missionaries, the churches in the South withdrew in 1845 and established the Southern Baptist Convention.
Education was one of the earliest concerns of Virginia Baptists. Various schools were established, many of which continue to the present.
The state Baptist weekly publication, The Religious Herald began in 1828.
In 1872, the Foreign Mission Board challenged the women of Richmond to provide support for Edmonia Moon, a missionary in China. In 1872, the Woman's Missionary Society of Virginia was formed for that purpose. In 1874, Lottie Moon joined her sister, Edmonia, in the work. The Woman's Missionary Society became an auxiliary organization of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
The work of the Baptist General Association of Virginia has greatly expanded since its formation in 1823. In 1995, there were 44 district associations in Virginia and the Association has its headquarters and staff offices on Emerywood Parkway in Henrico County. The staff includes professional resource persons who assist churches and district associations in various aspects of ministry.
This material was taken from The History of Second Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia 1820-1995 by John S. Moore.