1832

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828, and he remained as pastor at the end of the year.

This year Jesse Mercer wrote in his memoirs:


"It seems to be taken for granted that all those venerable fathers, who founded the Baptist Denomination in this state [Georgia], were as stern calvinistic preachers as are the opposers of the new plans. But this is altogether a mistake. Abraham Marshall [Son of Daniel] was never considered a predestinarian preacher. Some of them were so--seemed to be set for the defense of the gospel. Of these, Silas Mercer and Jeptha Vining were the chief.  To use his own figure; he used to say, 'he was short legged  and could not wade in such deep water.'  He, with several others, was considered sound in the faith, though low Calvinists. Peter Smith and some others were thought rather Arminian; some quite so.

But no division was thought of till Jeremiah Walker adopted and preached openly the doctrine of final apostasy.  Then a division ensued; but soon after the death of Mr. W., the breach was healed.  And here it may not be amiss to add, that the Baptists in the upper parts of South Carolina, in those days, comprehended mostly, it is believed, in the Bethel Association, were general provisionists. I think most of their ministers preached what is now called General Atonement.  But this was never thought of as a bar to correspondence, or even Christian communion." (Memoirs of Elder Jesse Mercer, C.D. Mallary, 1832, pp.201-2, quoted in A History of the Kiokee Baptist Church in Georgia, James Donovan Mosteller, MA., B.D., Th.D., First Printing, 1952, p.37, emphasis mine).

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at County Line Baptist Church in Wilkes County on October 12-15 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 6, gained by letter: 4, lost  by dismissal: 9, lost by exclusion: 0 , lost by death: 2, and total remaining: 49.