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'Baptist' was never a unique 'church;' it never existed as a single, specific denomination. Rather, the name 'Baptist' refers to any church or denomination that advocates that the rite of baptism is only for professing believers. They do not believe in infant baptism. When an individual undergoes a religious experience in which he/she truly comes to the realization that Jesus, the Christ is his/her Saviour, then he/she should be baptized. Baptists and Baptist Churches believe that the only true form of baptism is total immersion, as opposed to sprinkling or any other form. Baptists generally believe that it is by faith in, and acceptance of Jesus, the Christ as your personal Saviour, alone that guarantees salvation.
Many churches which identity with Baptist principles, regardless of whether they attach the name to their own denomination, trace their origins back to the English Separatists. When the Church of England (Anglican) separated from the Roman Catholic Church, some newly declared 'Protestants' felt that the Church of England had not corrected certain errors and abuses that it claimed it would. The Puritans felt that they could achieve some mid-point between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, but others were too dissatisfied and separated entirely from the Anglicans: the Separatists. In 1609, the English Separatist, John Smyth declared that his interpretation of the New Testament stated that infants should not be baptized because they possessed no understanding of the act. The teachings of Smyth traveled to England, where adherents became known as General Baptists. Then, in 1638, Roger Williams brought the Baptist beliefs to the British Colonies in the New World.
Two 'Great Awakenings,' evangelical revivals, swept through Europe and the British Colonies in North America. The First Great Awakening occurred in the 1730s and 40s. The Second Great Awakening took place in the early 1800s. The two revivals resulted in, variously, the reshaping and/or the strengthening of many denominations, including that of Presbyterian, Congregational, Dutch Reformed, German Reformed, Methodist and Baptist. The Anglican, Lutheran and Quaker denominations were not swayed by the revivals. One major result of the Great Awakenings was the conversion to the Protestant form of Christianity of many people, especially people of African origin.
Two forms of Baptist traditions developed through the late 1700s: Regular Baptists and Free Will Baptists. Regular Baptists maintained Calvinist teachings as their doctrine. The Free Will Baptists believe in 'free' grace, salvation and will. The Free Will Baptists fall under the Arminian form of belief and feel that it is possible to willfully reject one's faith.
Major denominations which practice 'Baptist' forms of doctrine and worship include present-day Calvinism, Lutheranism, Methodism and Pentecostalism. Minor denominations that fall under the general category of Baptist included those of Seventh Day Baptists or Adventists, the Free-Will Baptists and the Church of God, all of which have seen congregations in Bedford County throughout its history.
The Seventh Day Baptists observe the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the Sabbath. They descend from the English Separatist movement of the 1600s and mark the first actual Seventh Day Baptist meeting to one held in 1651 at the Mill Yard Church in London. In America, the denomination first took hold in Rhode Island in 1665, moving southward and into Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. The German population at Ephrata embraced the teachings and took the name of Seventh-day Sabbatarianism. They were variously called Sabbatarian Baptists. In the 1840s, another group emerged, called the Seventh Day Adventists who joined with the Seventh Day Baptists in promoting the concept of Sabbatarianism. [See Seventh Day Adventists]
The Church of God was the name given to a number of Christian denominational entities which weren't necessarily related to one another. Most of the denominations that embraced this name were from the Seventh Day Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal and Holiness traditions. The Church of God began on 19 August 1886 in a millhouse along Barney Creek on the North Carolina and Tennessee border. The church grew out of the preaching of the Baptist preacher Richard Green Spurling. On that day in August 1886, the Church of God was started by eight persons who formed a Christian Union devoted to following the teachings of the New Testament. The group formally took the name of Church of God in 1907.
A Church of God congregation is located at the Borough of Manns Choice. Another is located in the Borough of Everett. Church of God congregations are also located in South Woodbury and Woodbury Townships.
