NC Baptist
Historical Collection
Church Records*, Biographical Files, & More
The North Carolina Baptist Historical Collection serves as a repository for records from North Carolina Baptist churches and institutions, including Southern, Missionary, Primitive, African American, Union, Alliance of Baptist, and Woman’s Missionary Union. More about › FAQs ›
NC Baptist Digital Collections
A collection of Baptist newspaper titles published within North Carolina made available via DigitalNC.org. Issues date from 1857.
Audio recordings containing presentations by prominent Southern Baptist pastors and church representatives at a number of evangelical conferences and annual meetings of the Convention in North Carolina from 1957-1980.
The official journal of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, reflecting the history of Baptist life and culture in North Carolina since 1834.
RESEARCHER’S NOTE: The Biblical Recorder digital collection moved to a new online platform on June 20, 2024. Any previous bookmarks will need to be updated. Please contact ZSR’s Special Collections and Archives if you have any questions.
Digital reproductions of books and pamphlets held in the Special Collections & Archives of Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University.
This collection features a digitized typescript of The Home Story Of A Walking Stick: Early History of the Biblical Recorder and Baptist Church in New Bern, North Carolina Told in Every Day Talk by John D. Whitford
Ephemeral materials related to churches or associations that are associated with Baptist communities of North Carolina and surrounding areas.
This collection contains material on 118 digitized manuscript church records, selected from our NC Baptist Historical Collection. The majority of the N.C. Baptist Church Records contain minutes of meetings, membership lists, and financial records.
Finding aids and inventories of church records in the Department of Special Collections & Archives.
A collaborative project regarding religious bodies in North Carolina via the Internet Archive. It includes church histories, periodicals, clergy biographies, cookbooks, event programs, directories, and more.
Reverend Harold L. McKinnsh served as pastor or interim pastor at 10 different Baptist churches in North and South Carolina. He delivered thousands of sermons, conducted more than 1,100 funerals and preached at more than 400 revivals across 12 states.
Weekly newspaper published by the Asheville Baptist Publishing Company
Ephemeral materials related to individuals associated with Wake Forest University and/or Baptist communities of North Carolina.
This collection contains materials related to Wake Forest Baptist Church, which was established in 1956 following Wake Forest College’s move to Winston-Salem, N.C.
Newspaper of the Wilson Primitive Baptist Church available online via DigitalNC.org
* Important Note about Church Records
The majority of our NC Baptist Church Records contain minutes of meetings, membership lists, and financial records. Historical data such as birth, baptism, and marriage records were normally kept by the minister performing the service and are usually not included in the official records of the church.
Questions? See our FAQs or contact us ›
More NC Baptist Resources
The North Carolina Baptist Historical Collection’s church records collection is composed of original records (some dating back to the 1700s), photocopies of records, and microfilmed records. We have digitized our paper finding aids and lists to assist researchers interested in our Baptist church records.
- Church Record Collections by Association Name
- Church Record Collections by County Name
- Church Record Finding Aids by Church Name
- North Carolina African American Baptist Churches and Ministers
- North Carolina Independent Baptist Churches
- Obituary Notices from the Biblical Recorder, 1835-1877
- Obituary Notices taken from the Minutes of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, 1830-1940
Looking for information on Baptist collections outside of North Carolina? See our list of other Baptist collections.
Find a Person
To search for a person, we recommend starting with our Biographical Files collection. It contains ephemeral materials related to individuals associated with Wake Forest University and/or Baptist communities of North Carolina.
You can also browse by name or jump to names starting with:
Not finding the person you're looking for? Do you know their church? Find a church ›
If you have questions or need help, contact Special Collections & Archives at 336-758-6175.
Find a Church
When searching for a church, we recommend starting with our Finding Aids. Finding aids provide inventories of archival and manuscript collections. These inventories are the primary sources of information about these collections. Most of our finding aids are available in electronic format.
You can also browse by church name.
Not finding the church you're looking for? Do you know where it was located? Find a place ›
If you have questions or need help, contact Special Collections & Archives at 336-758-6175.
Find a Place
Do you know where your ancestors lived in NC or where their church was located?
Browse our list of church records by NC county.
If you have questions or need help, contact Special Collections & Archives at 336-758-6175.