GBC since 1822
Introduction
Baptist work and witness in Georgia had been in existence since the earliest colonial days. As Baptists entered the province in and after 1733, they were of two varieties, Particular or Regular and Separate. The former (of "the Charleston tradition") were Calvinists of a somewhat more formal, less revivalistic attitude than that later displayed by the Separates. Edmund Botsford was the first notable leader of this group in the area. The Separate Baptists (of "the Sandy Creek tradition") were mildly Calvinistic in theology, insistent upon the Bible alone as the basis of their beliefs, wary of signing any formal confession of faith, and given on occasion to highly emotional services. They often criticized the Particular Baptists for being too lax in accepting new members and were usually more zealous and noisy.

Daniel Marshall was the first notable leader of this group in the area. When he and Botsford became fast friends, the two groups moved closer together and formed the seedbed out of which the Georgia Baptist Convention came. A series of meetings called the Powelton Conferences occupied the interests of Georgia Baptists just after the turn of the nineteenth century. At these meetings (1801, 1802, and 1803), sentiment jelled in favor of continuing organized work by Baptists in Georgia. While associations had already been formed, there had been no clear-cut concept of a cooperative ministry either among Baptists or with other denominations. Out of the Powelton Conferences there emerged a pattern of incipient denominationalism which led to the formation of the convention in 1822. A crucial figure who visited Georgia on numerous occasions was Luther Rice, in many ways the father of missions among Baptists in America.
The Antebellum Years of the Convention
The General Baptist Association of the State of Georgia was organized June 29, 1822, at Powelton Baptist Church in Hancock County. The name was changed in 1827 to The Baptist Convention for the State of Georgia and in 1919 to The Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia, but the body is most often called the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC).

Earliest activities included the support of the Triennial Convention for missions, of other national Baptist missions, Bible, and publication societies, and of Columbian College in the nation's capital. Within the state, the convention initiated and financially undergirded Mercer University, appointed missionaries within the bounds of Georgia, supported the publication of The Christian Index, and favored Monroe Female (later Tift) College at Forsyth and other schools of less duration. Beyond question the most significant figure in this period was Jesse Mercer. Georgia Baptists were heavily involved in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) at Augusta in 1845.

The GBC was comprised of 1,132 churches with 69,869 members in 1850 and 1,422 churches with 95,727 members ten years later. Mission gifts of about $10,000 were reported for 1850 and double that amount in 1860.
The Civil War and Its Immediate Aftermath
The Civil War devastated Georgia Baptist life. Churches were closed, financial resources dried up, and mission work except to the soldiers disappeared. The plight of orphan children during and following the war led to interest in what is now termed benevolent ministries. Gradually religious interest and monetary resources strengthened. A movement in Baptist life toward a modified form of centralization was in the air. However, convention records in 1870 indicate that only about 37,500 Baptists were affiliated with the body.
The Convention and Its Mission Board, 1877-1919
At the annual meeting of the GBC in 1877 the Board of Missions was established in Atlanta, was instructed to "take charge of missionary and Sunday School work in Georgia," and was authorized "to employ missionary and Sunday School workers, raise funds and expend them, using such agent or agents as they may deem necessary." James Harvey DeVotie was employed as the first mission secretary. These actions proved to be a watershed in the history of GBC life, for they provided a channel through which many Baptists in the state could regroup and expand their ministries following the baleful effects of the war. In addition to state missions and Sunday schools, encouragement and support were offered to several schools, chief of which were Shorter College, Norman College, and Brewton-Parker Junior College.

During this period Georgia Baptist programs multiplied. Following the establishment of many local and associational unions, the Baptist Woman's Missionary Union of Georgia was founded in 1884. The Georgia Baptist Orphans Home (now Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries, Inc.) was formed in 1888 and adopted by the convention in 1899. The Baptist Young People's Union of Georgia was started in 1895. The Georgia Baptist Hospital (now Georgia Baptist Health Care Systems, Inc.) dates from 1901 and was purchased by the convention in 1913. The diploma school of nursing admitted its first students in 1902. Following DeVotie, others served as mission secretary or executive secretary-treasurer: John G. Gibson (1891-1900), Samuel Young Jameson (1900-1906), Joseph J. Bennett (1906-1914), and Archibald Cunningham Cree (1915-1930).

In 1880 the convention claimed 1,066 churches with 84,196 members and missions gifts of $15,607. The 1915 statistical record shows 2,426 churches with 293,244 members and missions gifts of $211,622. Gratifying expansion was evident.
The Convention During and Between the Great Wars
In 1919, the Southern Baptist Convention initiated the Seventy-Five Million Campaign for the increased support of Baptist ministries around the world. Initial optimism was soon destroyed as the generous pledges, on the basis of which plans had unwisely been made, failed to be paid. Crushing debt was the consequence. Cotton prices went down. In the 1930s the entire nation suffered a grave depression. Georgia Baptists felt the need to retrench. The impact of the Cooperative Program, begun in 1925, was not felt in full force until the mid-forties.

Within these demoralizing conditions, A. C. Cree continued as executive secretary-treasurer until 1930, and was followed by James W. Merritt, the great lay leader, from 1930 to 1954. Both vigorously pursued programs of debt repayment. The convention's executive committee was enlarged and strengthened in 1919 (and again in 1948). The convention purchased The Christian Index in 1920. A book of charters and constitutions was issued in 1921 (revised in 1966). The Department of Student Work was established in 1925, the Department of Evangelism in 1936, and the Baptist Foundation in 1941. Office space for the convention's administrative staff was rented until 1943, when the property at Peachtree and Baker streets, Atlanta, was purchased and occupied. Since 1947 the Woman's Missionary Union has maintained Camp Pinnacle, near Clayton.

From 1920 to 1945, GBC churches remained at a plateau of about 2,500. Membership steadily climbed from 330,307 in 1920 to 581,599 in 1945. Missions gifts fluctuated wildly as might be expected from $1,774,400 (1920), to $392,112 (1935), to $2,265,245 (1945).
The Convention, 1946-1980
Despite its widespread destructiveness, the Second World War introduced financial prosperity to the South and the rest of the nation. Georgia Baptist work expanded markedly. Leadership in the position of executive secretary-treasurer or executive director-treasurer was furnished by James W. Merritt and Searcy S. Garrison (1955-1980). Various departments were organized during this period: Brotherhood (1946), Music (1950), and Special Missions (1979); and one school was opened, Truett-McConnell Junior College (1947). The Committee on Baptist History (now the Georgia Baptist Historical Commission) was established in 1948, and a renewed emphasis on the Baptist Depository at the Main Library, Mercer University, was initiated in 1965.

Beginning in 1955 the convention has engaged in Capital Improvements and Endowment Programs, which on a matching basis have provided needed funds for agencies, institutions, and causes. Baptist Village was founded in 1955, and other retirement facilities have been added as part of Georgia Baptist Homes, Inc. The following year a program of work with National Baptists was begun. In 1957 an office of promotion and public relations was created, leading to a full-time public relations secretary eleven years later. The program of area mission work was approved in 1957. Numerous student center buildings have been constructed, assemblies at Toccoa and Norman Park have been acquired and placed into operation, and the Baptist Center on Flowers Road constructed. Built at a contract cost of about $5.6 million, the 200,000-square-foot structure is located on 25 acres of land. In 1973 the mission program of the convention was reorganized on the basis of the division system, thereby creating four divisions: Evangelism and Missions, Church Services and Materials (now Church Growth), Education, and Administrative. A chaplaincy ministry was implemented; a massive study of Christian education was completed (BEST); and a promotional program, known as the Denominational Emphasis Program, was launched. From 1977 to 1990 Georgia maintained a sister-state relationship with New York, producing many instances of missionary interaction between the two states.

From 1950 to 1980, GBC churches grew from 2,614 to 2,972, and peaked at 3,015 in 1967. Membership advanced steadily from 675,305 to 1,124,280. Reflecting financial prosperity and inflation, missions gifts expanded from $2,803,566 to $32,125,478 during this period.
The Convention, 1981-Present
Two men have been executive director-treasurer of the executive committee in recent years: James N. Griffith (1981-1993) and J. Robert White (1993-present). In 1981, the Program of Language Missions was upgraded to departmental status with the rapid growth and involvement in this special ministry of the state missions program. The debt on the Baptist Center was paid off in 1983. In 1984, the new Searcy S. Garrison Auditorium at Georgia Baptist Assembly, Toccoa, was completed. Built with existing funds and completed debt-free, the new structure replaces the old auditorium and seats about 1,100 persons. Six years later a hotel was completed at Toccoa, containing one hundred bedrooms and eleven conference rooms. The assembly can now accommodate up to 1,000 people. In 1985, the Program of Christian Ministries was upgraded to departmental status as Georgia Baptists sought to meet ever-increasing demands of church and community missions needs. A new Royal Ambassador Camp, Camp Kaleo, was constructed near Forsyth and opened its doors in 1987 to young men and boys for missions education and training. The following year Georgia Baptists provided a new building for the first Southern Baptist alcohol-drug rehabilitation center for men. The Penfield Christian Home dormitory in Greene County houses twenty-five clients for an eight-week program. Both Camp Kaleo and the Penfield Christian Home were constructed primarily by volunteer labor, a growing stewardship ministry of Baptist Men in Georgia. In March 1989, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing replaced the former diploma school of nursing and admitted its first students on an accredited baccalaureate degree. Partnerships were established for varying periods of time with Liberia, Panama, Connecticut, and Germany.

At the conclusion of the Griffith administration, a retrospective appraisal of his thirteen years in office revealed that the GBC had become the top percentage contributor to the SBC's Cooperative Program, that the state missions offering had more than tripled in its amount, that the state mission program had correspondingly expanded, and that significant advances in church planting and language missions had been accomplished. From 1981 to 1992, GBC churches grew from 2,977 to 3,282. Membership increased unsteadily from 1,135,497 to 1,256,562. Missions gifts expanded from $32,018,572 to $66,969,215, and peaked in 1991 at $67,076,170.

Since 1993 J. Robert White has directed Georgia Baptist state programs and ministries. Two long-time Georgia Baptist leaders have recently been honored. The original hotel at the Georgia Baptist Assembly was named for Bernard King, while Camp Kaleo's property was enlarged and the new activities building named for R. Eugene Dailey. The Christian Index experienced editorial changes as Jack Harwell was followed briefly by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., and in 1993 by William T. Neal III. In 1994, the GBC in session at Macon passed a historic resolution on race relations which urged that we "seek reconciliation between black and white Americans by seeking forgiveness for the sins of our heritage, and ourselves . . . ." Mission partnerships have been initiated with Alaska and the Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association In 1994, the convention included 3,314 churches with 1,271,868 members. Missions gifts reached an all-time annual high of $69,062,806.
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