The original Free Will Baptist Treatise is nearly two centuries old. The document was published as a result of measures taken by the sixth General Conference (Randall movement) in October 1832. The first edition of this concise statement of Free Will Baptist doctrine was published two years later in 1834.
A seven-man committee appointed to compile the work submitted a general outline to the conference in October 1833. After revision it was examined by the conference and referred for “verbal improvement without change of sentiment” to the publishing committee.
The Randall movement merged with Northern Baptists in 1910. In 1916, the Cooperative General Association of Free Will Baptists organized in the Midwest from remnant churches and associations who refused union with the merged group. In 1921, the General Conference of Free Will Baptists located primarily in the southeastern United States was organized by churches that originated from the Palmer movement of the South.
In Nashville, Tennessee, representatives of those two groups met and organized the National Association of Free Will Baptists on November 5, 1935, at Cofer’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. A committee was elected to formulate a treatise out of the various disciplines and former treatises used in Free Will Baptist churches. The committee was composed of the following: J. C. Griffin, Winford Davis, E. B. Joyner, J. S. Frederick, E. E. Morris, W. B. Davenport, Millard Vanhoose, C. B. Thompson, Ralph Staten, M. L. Morse and Hubert Post.
Though revised on several occasions, the Treatise continues to serve as a guide for the denomination’s doctrinal positions. Download the current Treatise.
About the Writer: For many years, David Joslin (now deceased) served as chairman of the Free Will Baptist Historical Commission.
