Who are the Separate Baptists?

The Separate Baptists are a revivalist movement that began in the early to mid-1700s. The movement took place within the thirteen colonies that later became the United States. During the First Great Awakening, Baptist groups, including the Separate Baptists, started new churches. Influenced by the teachings of Jonathan Edwards, they called for churches to separate from New England governments.

Most Separate Baptist churches in New England later united with older Baptist congregations. Meanwhile, other leaders of the movement began to minister in the southern United States. A desire to separate from the Church of England primarily drove these Separate Baptist churches. The movement lasted until the late 1700s, after the American Revolution. The name “Separate Baptist,” as used to describe churches, mostly disappeared after the 1700s. Yet the movement’s ideas influenced later Baptist churches. Today, a small group of churches, mostly in Kentucky, uses the name “Separate Baptists in Christ.”

The First Great Awakening was a spiritual revival that took place from about 1735 to 1743 in the thirteen colonies. Before then, New England was largely dominated by Congregational churches connected to the Puritan civil governments. Two of the leading figures in the revival were George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. Both emphasized salvation by God's grace through faith in Christ. Edwards stressed the need for genuine conversion, teaching that God transforms the human heart. He also argued that church membership is for those who have made a credible profession of faith in Christ.

As the revival spread, many churches divided into two groups. The "Old Lights" opposed much of the revivalist preaching promoted by leaders such as Edwards. The "New Lights," by contrast, supported it. Although Edwards did not encourage separating from the established churches, many revivalists formed independent congregations. The Separate Baptists identified with the New Light movement. Over time, most Separate Baptist churches in New England united with more established Baptist churches.

The Separate Baptists became influential in the southern colonies. One of the most important developments was the ministry of Shubael Stearns, a Separate Baptist preacher from New England. In 1755, he moved to Sandy Creek, North Carolina. The churches associated with his ministry became known as the Sandy Creek Association. This network played a major role in spreading Separate Baptist churches throughout the South.

The Separate Baptist churches in the South grew distinctly from the “Regular Baptist” churches. Regular Baptists followed the Philadelphia Confession of Faith. Their movement centered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but was found in multiple colonies. In contrast, Separate Baptist churches in the South grew from a desire to be free from the Church of England. They did not follow a specific confession of faith. Separate Baptists practiced nine ordinances. The Regular Baptists practiced only two—baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Beginning in 1787, after the American Revolution, Separate and Regular Baptists in Virginia united under the Philadelphia Confession. Similar unions later took place in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Not all Separate Baptist churches joined these agreements. In Kentucky, the more Calvinistic congregations united with the Regular Baptists. Arminian congregations remained separate because they opposed adopting a formal confession of faith.

Today, the Separate Baptists in Christ preserve the name and many of the original Separate Baptists' beliefs in Kentucky. The denomination continues to hold to Arminian theology. It observes five church ordinances rather than the nine. Most of its churches are located in Kentucky. Although the Separate Baptist movement is small today, its emphasis on revival and evangelism had a lasting influence on many Baptist churches. Many of these trace part of their heritage to the Separate Baptists of the eighteenth century.