Georgia Baptist Convention

After Baptist Sermon several failed attempts at union early in the nineteenth century, in 1822 the largest group of Baptists formed a general body that gradually encompassed churches statewide. Today called the Georgia Baptist Convention, this body supports Brewton-Parker College, Shorter College, and Truett-McConnell College; provides scholarships to Baptist students at Mercer University; and supports the Christian Index (a periodical now published in Atlanta), as well as various state and national Baptist mission, educational, and publication projects. Georgia Baptists participated in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention, which was organized in Augusta in 1845. The Civil War (1861-65) and its aftermath severely curtailed all of the convention's efforts.

The J. H. DeVotie founding of the State Mission Board and the employment of a professional leader, J. H. DeVotie, in 1877 proved to be significant as a means of rejuvenating broader ministries. Except for the depression years of the 1930s, financial expansion was steady. Numerically the convention grew year by year, although in comparison with Georgia's population, it reached a peak in the 1950s. Since the early 1990s the convention has become increasingly conservative in its theological and social statements. Membership in 2005 included 90 district associations composed of churches in one or more counties; 3,615 churches, including about 481 African American and ethnic congregations; and 1,393,832 members. Most of these members cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention, the country's largest Protestant body.