What we have
ABHS serves as keeper of the record of the modern missionary movement. Our shelves hold unparalleled resources documenting African-American church associations, women’s work, and the social gospel movement. Our resources include more than 80,000 volumes and 225,000 periodicals, pamphlets and manuscripts.
Materials held in the archives at ABHS include:
- original correspondence of home and overseas missionaries,
- official denominational minutes and publications,
- documents from the Baptist World Alliance,
- personal papers of Baptist leaders,
- photographs and glass slides,
- artifacts and mementos.
Among our rarest materials are:
- an original printing of the London Confession of 1644, the first statement of Baptist principles,
- manuscript letters written by missionary pioneers Adoniram Judson, Ann Judson, Sarah Judson, and Emily Judson as well as their children,
- African-American Baptist association minutes as early as 1829,
- official denominational minutes and publication for ethnic Baptists, including Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Italian, and Slovakian immigrant congregations,
- official records of the Baptist World Alliance,
- records of missionary Marian Boehr, letters of Lott Carey and Luther Rice.
How to access it
Materials are best explored at our Atlanta location, where researchers may call to make an appointment to visit.
We have a new online catalog for archives and manuscripts that we invite you to explore.
There have three finding aids in PDF form. Although extensive, these are not complete lists of our holdings.
- Archives of the American Baptist Churches in the USA [PDF]
- Original Church Records [PDF]
- Guide to African-American Resources [PDF]
We have fully digitized the Karen-language serial, Morning Star (1842-1942).
