Organization of Baptist Churches in Mississippi

Organization of Baptist Churches in Mississippi. . , Messengers from 5 Baptist churches met at the Salem Church in September 1806, to organize the Mississippi Baptist Association. The Union and Pearl River Association were organized in 1820., The first Mississippi Baptist Convention was organized tentatively in 1822. Delegates from the three District Associations---Mississippi, Pearl River and Union---met in the Meeting House of Bogue Chitto Church, Pike County, and adopted a Constitution, which was completed in 1824. The convention dissolved in 1829., At the Clear Creek Baptist Church, Washington, MS. in December 1836, the present Mississippi Baptist Convention was organized. It was comprised of 122 churches with 4,287 members, The intentions of the Convention were to promote missions and religious education. The Constitution declared that every local Baptist Church is sovereign and independent. The Convention had no authority over the local church. The Mississippi Baptist Convention predated the 1845 organization of the Southern Baptist Convention by nine years. Mississippi Baptists had leadership roles in that organization.