29th Annual Student Research Conference
The Judson Conversion: Changing the Tide of Baptist Missions in the mid 1800s
Thomas J. Phinney
Dr. David Robinson and Dr. Mark Hanley, Faculty Mentors
Adoniram Judson and Luther Rice played a crucial role in expanding early Baptist involvement in global missions. Their efforts would eventually create what we know as the "International Mission Board"--one of the world's most influential mission agencies. Fundamental to their influence, however, was breaking off ties with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to create the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS). As they originally helped form the ABCFM, leaving the Congregationalists to become Baptists was no small matter. This paper will focus on Judson's and Rice's dissension from the ABCFM; the early establishment of the ABFMS; and the key differences between the Congregationalist and Baptist approaches to global evangelism. Understanding the background and context of the ABFMS' formation allows religious historians to better grasp the denominational avenues to missions during this time.
Keywords: Church History, Missionaries, American Baptist Foreign Mission Society
Topic(s):History Senior Seminar
History
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -3
Location: MG 2090
Time: 1:30