In 1790, Prince Williams and his deacon Sharper Morris, who were run away slaves from South Carolina, was credited with establishing the Baptist faith in the Bahamas. They both started the Bethel Baptist Church on Meeting Street which is the oldest Baptist Church in the Bahamas.
Even though Prince Williams was credited with being the founder of the First Baptist Church, he was not allowed to be the pastor because he had a bad marriage. Pastor Scriven became the first pastor of Bethel Baptist Church. Prince Williams then established the St. John’s Native Baptist Church, originally called William’s chapel and Bethlehem Chapel.
Joseph Burton built Zion Chapel on August 25th 1835 to attract a white congregation. Zion grew, but not with whites. The Baptist is known for their splitting habits which are called MULTIPLICATON BY DIVISION. This meant that when conflict existed among the leadership of the church, they leave and formed their own church.
By 1869, there were three distinct groups of Baptists in the Bahamas, Bethel, St. John’s and Zion Baptist.
In an effort to unify (make as one) the Baptist family of all Islands of the Bahamas, The Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Education Convention was formed in 1935 with Reverend A. C. Symonette as President. The first annual session was held May 25, 1936 at St. John’s Baptist church.
There are presently eight Baptist associations under the Bahamas National Baptist Missionary and Education Convention. They are as follows:
Bahamas Baptist Association
Bahamas Baptist Union
Bethel Baptist Association
Morning Star Baptist Association
New Way Progressive Baptist Association
St. John’s Native Baptist Society
Zion United Baptist Convention