Old Baptist Missionary Spirit

It is a false charge of the Hardshells for them to affirm that the Old Baptist church has not always been a missionary body.  When they made objection to the missionary operations of the Baptists, in the 1830s in America, they argued that such missionary zeal and operations were a new thing among the Baptists.  However, this is a false claim.  Men like R.B.C. Howell and J.M. Peck stood up to oppose the "anti-mission" Hardshells and showed that the Baptists have always been supporters of missions and church sponsored evangelism. 

In a book called "CONFESSIONS OF FAITH AND OTHER PUBLIC DOCUMENTS," By Edward Bean Underhill, we read of the early Particular Baptists of England praying for greater missionary work.  See

http://www.landmarkbaptist.org/documents/Confessions_of_Faith_and_Other_Public_Documents.pdf

Those Old Baptists wrote:

"And in as much as our Saviour Christ hath given this as one sign, not long preceding his next coming, saying, This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come; their hope therefore is, that in these latter days, at least for a time, God will, by the hands of such civil powers as shall favour the saints, open a door: of greater liberty to the saints, for the spreading of the gospel in the nations of the world, than usually hath been enjoyed in times past; and do verily believe that that measure of liberty this way, which hath of late years been allowed the people of God, hath contributed not a little (God being pleased therewith) towards those marvellous and unwonted successes, which have been given to those who have been instruments to procure the same."

(pg. 232, "THE HUMBLE REPRESENTATION AND VINDICATION Of many of the Messengers, Elders, and Brethren, belonging to severall of the BAPTIZED CHURCHES IN THIS NATION, of and concerning their Opinions and Resolutions touching the CIVIL GOVERNMENT of these Nations, and of their Deportment under the same," LONDON, 1654)

Signed by some of the messengers and elders of the baptized churches, present at this meeting in London, for themselves and in the behalf of the respective congregations to which they belong.

ELDERS

John Griffith,
Thomas Perrot,
Will. Allen,
Tho. Lamb,
George Haman,
John Parsons,
Edm. Blundel,
John Templeman,
Thu. Astey,
Stephen Dagnall,
Rob. Thomson Reeve.