Over 230 Years on Suanee Creek

Rocks has been here for a long time. Back in 1772, the stagecoach road passing by Suanee Creek was in existence and use. Folks were moving into this frontier area of Virginia, looking for new opportunities, opening new land, and building their lives without the interference of the Church of England. At the time, there was yet no such thing as freedom of religion in Virginia. That freedom would not come until 1786.

The closest thing to religious freedom was to live beyond the reach of religious legal code enforcement. In 1772, missions was not synonymous with being Baptist. Being Baptist was much more about a struggle against religious oppression. It was about standing for the indivudual's right and responsibility to stand before God without the intervention of any priest or other ecclesiastical authority. Baptists insisted on worshipping God according to conscience, not according to human authority structures. We insisted on freedom for ourselves, but also for those who disagreed with us.

It would not be until 1792 that William Carey would give rise to a missionary movement in England. There was no such thing as an Appomattox Baptist Association. That would become reality only later on in 1804. It would not be until 1812 that Adoniram Judson would become the first Baptist American missionary. This would give rise to the Triennial Convention's formation in 1814. Luther Rice preached in the Appomattox associational meeting in August of 1816, where an initial offering of $123.00 was taken for foreign missions support.

It was only in the 1830's that the Baptist General Association of Virginia would be formed. The Southern Baptist Convention and its Foreign Mission Board would not come into existence until breaking off from the Triennial Convention in 1845.

The face of Baptist presence has undergone a lot of change over these two hundred thirty-some years of witness from the banks of Suanee Creek. More changes are underfoot as relationships between Baptist bodies are stretched even as are relationships between individuals. Over the last two hundred years, we have been witnesses to and participants in the creation of the Appomattox Baptist Association, the Triennial Convention of Baptists, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Foreign Mission Board, the Home Mission Board, the Baptist World Alliance, and their related ministries. Two hundred years ago, we were not actively supporting any missionary enterprise beyond our local area. Today, we respond to needs in Southeast Asia, Brazil, the Caribbean, New England, Europe, Africa, and Australia. We feed the hungry with Virginia Hunters Who Care, send shoebox gifts around the world with Operation Christmas Child, and aid Gleaning for the World in sending American surplus overseas to alleviate physical needs in developing nations. We contribute mission funds to spread the Good News of the Gospel of God's grace through efforts of missions agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We walk alongside fellow Baptists around the world in support of the Baptist World Alliance, joining together to be and do more than we could accomplish by ourselves.

As we enter the next 230-some years of ministry and presence from the banks of the Suanee Creek, we will need to build upon the relationships we have developed with others. In this world of over 6 billion people, there are more opportunities than ever to touch people beyond our local area.

May our words and deeds from the banks of Suanee Creek expand ever outward, touching lives around us and making ripples throughout the world and into eternity.

—©Copyright 2005 Christopher B. Harbin