History of the Baptist Church in Virginia
Virginia Baptists trace their historical roots to several groups of adult baptizers in early seventeenth-century England, some of whom had previously spent time in Holland. Three distinct types of Baptists initially planted the faith in the colony, at a multiplicity of points. The earliest congregations in Virginia were supported by missionaries from England known as the General Baptists. This branch of the faith was Arminian in orientation, believing that God issued a general offer of salvation to mankind. In their view individuals were invested with free will to accept or reject God’s gift of eternal life. There had been some …