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Baptist History, Heritage & Distinctives – Kiokee Baptist Appling, Georgia The Gospel is \u201cthe power of God unto Salvation\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The following account is found in the records of the Kiokee Church (Georgia), about the blessed conversion of \u201cBrother Billy\u201d, \u2018about one hundred years old\u2019, formerly a slave but at that time, \u2018a free man of color.\u2019 This took place on July 17, 1841, and Billy united with the church.The evidence exists that slave members of some Baptist churches were allowed to vote. As with the white males, black male members were \u201cassessed\u201d for church expenses and required to attend business meetings. The female, black and white, did not vote in the business matters of the churches.The slave membership of many Baptist churches greatly outnumbered the whites, and thus the churches often appointed spiritually faithful slaves to serve as a discipline committee among their own. The churches chastened their slave membership primarily for problems of morals and honesty, and they chastised their slaveholder members for these infractions as well as for cruelty and barbarity to their slaves.It is apparent that slaves were better off being owned by Christians than by unbelievers! Black slave preachers were licensed and ordained by the Baptist churches, and the impact of those slave preachers was unique! Much of the evangelism among the slaves resulted from the preaching on the plantations by these faithful men who were slaves twofold: first to the Lord Jesus Christ and then to an earthly master.Segregation in the services was always maintained. In some of the old church buildings in the areas where slavery was practiced, we can still observe \u201cslave balconies.\u201d In other church buildings a portion of the facility was designated for the slave members.However, Baptists in the South often assisted the former slaves by helping them establish their own churches.Presented by Thomas E. Kresal from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins\/Thompson, pp. 293-94<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n