This organization was founded under the leadership of Revs. John Wolfe and G. S. Latimer (of Kansas and Nebraska) and Rev. T. C. Ferguson (of Missouri). These men had been part of the Northern General Conference but chose not to take part in the merger of that body with the Northern Baptists in 1910-11. Being left without a broad denominational organization, they determined to begin a new one that would preserve the Free Will Baptist heritage. In the fall of 1915, Wolfe and Latimer visited the Missouri State Association and recommended the new organization. The recommendation was received warmly. At the Philadelphia FWB Church near Pattonsburg, Missouri, then, December 27-31, 1916, the new Cooperative General Association of Free Will Baptists was organized. Delegates from Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas, and North Carolina participated. An ambitious program was adopted, including plans to found a college and publish a paper. The organization was structured to meet regularly every three years, with provision for adjourned sessions in between when needed—a provision that was used at least almost every year. Membership soon grew: associations from Oklahoma, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky were added the next year, and from Illinois, Michigan, and Tennessee in 1918. Indeed, … Continue reading Cooperative General Association Minutes