William Bullein Johnson

William Bullein Johnson
Born	(1782-06-13)13 June 1782 John's Island, South Carolina, USA
Died	2 October 1862(1862-10-02) (aged 80)
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Brown University
Occupation	Baptist pastor
Known for	First president of the Southern Baptist Convention

Part of a series on the
History of the United States
Timeline
Prehistory Pre-Colonial Colonial period 1776–1789 1789–1849 1849–1865 1865–1918 1918–1945 1945–1964 1964–1980 1980–1991 1991–present
By ethnicity Asian American Chinese American Filipino American Japanese American Mexican American
By topic Civil Rights (1896–1954 1955–1968) Civil War Culture Demographics Diplomacy Economics Historiography Medicine Military Southern Frontier (Old West) Technology and industry Territory Women
United States portal

Part of a series on
Baptists
Background Christianity Protestantism Puritanism Anabaptism
Doctrine Priesthood of all believers Individual soul liberty Separation of church and state Sola scriptura Congregationalism Ordinances Offices Confessions
Key figures John Smyth Thomas Helwys Roger Williams John Clarke John Bunyan Shubal Stearns Andrew Fuller Charles Spurgeon D. N. Jackson James Robinson Graves William Bullein Johnson William Carey Luther Rice Martin Luther King, Jr. Billy Graham
Organizations Baptist denominations Baptist colleges and universities
Baptist portal

William Bullein Johnson (13 June 1782 - 2 October 1862) was one of the founders of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821, and later was the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1845 to 1851.

Early years

Johnson was born on 13 June 1782 on John's Island, South Carolina, near Charleston and was educated at home in Georgetown, South Carolina by his mother and by private tutors. His mother was of the Particular Baptist faith, believing that only some would be saved. As a child he met President George Washington and Dr. Richard Furman, pastor of the First Baptist Church Charleston, who made a great impression on him. He attended Brown University, receiving a degree in 1804. He had intended to become a lawyer, but was converted during a Baptist revival in 1804, and devoted the rest of his life to Christian service. He married Henrietta Hornby in 1803. One of their eight children who reached maturity, Francis C. Johnson, became a Southern Baptist missionary to China in 1846.

Baptist leader

After preaching in several churches from 1804 to 1806, Johnson was appointed pastor of the Baptist church at Euhaw near Beaufort, South Carolina. In October 1809 he baptized five new converts in the Congaree River in Columbia, SC. Later that day he organized First Baptist Church Columbia with these 5 new converts and 7 other local Baptists, under the leadership of Jonathan Maxcy, first president of the University of South Carolina and ordained Baptist preacher. In 1810 he was invited to become chaplain of South Carolina College, Columbia. In 1811 he accepted an offer to become pastor of the Baptist church in Savannah, Georgia. It was here that Johnson met Luther Rice, who interested him in foreign missions, and whom he helped arrange the General Baptist Missionary Convention, or Triennial Convention, in 1814. He was one of the framers of the constitution of this convention.

Returning to South Carolina, after serving again as pastor of the Columbia church Johnson moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he was principal of Greenville Female Academy, and founded a Baptist church in the town. Johnson was one of nine men who formed the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821. He succeeded Richard Furman as president of the convention and served from 1825 to 1852. In 1830 he moved to Edgefield to become principal of Edgefield Female Academy and pastor of Edgefield Baptist Church.

Johnson became the last southern president of the General Baptist Missionary Convention between 1841 and 1844. As tensions grew between the northern and southern Baptists over the issue of slavery, he attempted to avoid a split but in 1845 was asked become first president of the breakaway Southern Baptists Convention, serving until 1851. In this role he helped found the Furman University, which became Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1859, based in Greenville, South Carolina. Towards the end of his life he was chancellor of Johnson Female University, Anderson, South Carolina (1853–58).

Bibliography

• William Bullein Johnson (1846). The gospel developed through the government and order of the churches of Jesus Christ. H.K. Ellyson. 

See also

• Southern Baptist Convention Presidents