In 1609, John Smyth formed the English Baptist Church and the American version arrived in Rhode Island in 1638. As it spread south through missionary societies, tension grew over slavery until the Southern Baptist Convention emerged in 1845. This First Baptist Church in Alabama, Montgomery, was formed in 1829. In 1861, its pastor spoke at Jefferson Davis’s inauguration as President of the Confederate States. This sanctuary was dedicated in 1923. Their community conducts international missions to Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Africa, Thailand and Central Asia.
