PRIMITIVE BAPTIST

member of any of the conservative, independent Baptist church congregations in the United States that oppose centralized administrative associations and organized mission societies. In the 1820s and '30s some Baptists began to protest the educational and mission societies that had been formed by some of the Baptist associations. They maintained that, since mission societies, Sunday schools, and central church organizations were not mentioned in the New Testament, there should never be any. Many churches withdrew from established Baptist associations and continued as independent congregations. The Primitive Baptists are strict Calvinists who believe that only those elected by God will be saved. They accept the verbal infallibility of the Bible and expect the Second Coming of Christ. Ministers require no special training, because Primitive Baptists believe that God can call anyone to be a minister. Missionaries are self-supporting. Because of their independence and lack of any central organizations, it is difficult to determine the number of Primitive Baptists.