Expert: Bruce Gourley - 9/28/2007

Question
My church recently celebrated their 225 anniversary.  A friend in town, upon reviewing the200th Anniversary booklet on our history and heritage inquired of me as to what was the difference between the Arlington Baptist Society and the First Baptist Church of Arlington (founded in June, 1781?  I remember in the early 1950's the church voted to merge the Socity & the church as one entity.  Can you tell me what the difference was between the two groups?  Thank you

Answer
Dear Dorothy,

What state are you referring to? There are a number of Arlingtons (both towns and churches) throughout America. Whatever town you may be referring to, your best bet for finding details of a local church's history is to get in contact with one or more of the following:

* Check with the church itself to see if they have a library that contains historical information about the congregation

* If that does not work, call the nearest Baptist college or university and ask if they have any records of the church in question. The odds are that one of the Baptist colleges or universities in the state houses Baptist archives for the state. If the college or university you call does not have the information you need, ask the librarian which college maintains Baptist archives.

* If that does not work, contact the state Baptist association and ask if they have any records of the church question

One of the above should certainly be able to point you in the right direction.

Bruce Gourely
www.baptistlife.com
www.brucegourley.com