Constitution of Great Valley Baptist Church

Description of the constitution of Great Valley Baptist Church

An account of the first beginning of that small congregation or church of Jesus Christ holding and owning believers’ baptism, laying on of hands, person election, of free grace and final perseverance in grace, residing in the Great Valley or Tredyffrin and places adjacent thereunto, in the county of Chester and province of Pennsylvania.

In the year 1701 and in the year 1702, Almighty God was pleased, in the wise course of his Providence, to bring some of us into these parts of the world from Great Britain; hold believing, and practicing and maintaining the above articles of faith, being members of the church of Christ of the same faith, in Great Britain, in South Wales, at Rhydinlim, under the ministry of John Jenkins (a).

Therefore we with others, being inhabitants of these parts of the parts of the country, were desirous that a meeting should be kept among us, but being destitute of a minister, we made our application unto the church of Christ at the Welsh Tract, in the county of Newcastle upon Delaware if the same faith with us; and at our application to them our request was granted by them in sending their ministers to preach the word of truth amongst us. The meetings were kept mostly at the house of Richard Miles of Radnor, and sometimes at the house of James David in the Great Valley or Tredyffrin. And God was pleased to bless the ministry of his word amongst us; in so much that many were persuaded to give obedience unto the truths and ordinances of the Gospel: so that our number increased by those that were baptized amongst us, with others that came amongst us, from other congregations, from Great Britain and elsewhere of ye same faith and Gospel order successively. Thus we continued having the word of God preached among us as a branch of the church aforesaid; or as being under the care of their ministers until the year one thousand seven hundred and eleven; and in the interim God was pleased, in the wise course of His Providence, to send a minister amongst us of the same faith and order in the Gospel, whose name was Hugh David, who came over from great Britain in the year 1710; also several other members with him: So as it was judged most meet and suitable by the church at the Welsh Tract aforesaid, and having suitable assistance from them (as their minister Elisha Thomas, James James, ruling elder, and Evan Edmund, deacon) we were constituted into a church order; first by giving ourselves up unto the Lord, and then to one another in His name and acceding to His word (1Cor. 8. 5.) and the above said Hugh David being transmitted by the said church at Welsh Tract, and at the time of our constitution being then there present; and by his and our own free and unanimous choice of him, by lifting up our hands, was placed a pastor

(a) The emigration from Wales of the beginning of the 18th century was by groups formed on the basis of family and ? relationship. The emigrants of the Welsh Tract, as we have seen, emigrated as an organized church. They were largely from the Rhydwilim church & its branches. So too the Rhydwilim influence was strong among the Welsh who organized the Great Valley Baptist church. Rev. Hugh Davis was ordained at Rhydwilim before he emigrated. James David (or Davis) the ? had been a member of Rhydwilim before he emigrated in 1701. Griffith Jones (or John), the first regular deacon was a deacon at Rhydwilim. The Rhydwilim church was organized July 12, 1668; on the succeeding day Wm Jones & Griffith Howell were chosen elders ? Morgan Rhydderch – whose great grandson (Rev. David Jones) was afterwards pastor of the Great Valley Bap. Church and Llewellyn John were chosen deacons. The Rhydwilim meeting-house in Carmarthen, about six miles from Narbeth.

References: The Great Valley Baptist Cemetery, TEQ 5-1 (1942), 5-2 (1942), 5-4 (1943), 6-2 (1945), 14-2 (April 1967), 14-3 (October 1967), The Baptist Church in the Great Valley by Robert Warner, TEQ 7-4 (February 1953); Historical Sketch of the Baptist Church at Great Valley by Willima M. Whitehead, TEQ 34-1 (January 1996); Baptist Church in the Great Valley, Historic Valley Forge Road Meeting House, Notes & Comments, TEQ 42-1 (Winter 2005)