For Researchers

We are open for research by appointment only. Call us to make an appointment.

Hours: M - F, 10 - 5 (by appointment)

ABHS serves as keeper of the record of the modern missionary movement. Our shelves hold unparalled resources documenting African-American church associations, women's work, and the social gospel movement. We publish the oldest Baptist journal, the American Baptist Quarterly, interpreting for modern readers the lives and issues of the past that shape who we are today.

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, and the ex-slave narrative of George M. Horton

We do not keep a searchable database of our archives online. They are best explored at our Atlanta location. We are open for research by appointment only. Call and make an apppointment with us.

See Special Collections for a selection of finding lists for Original Church Records and Manuscript Collections. Although extensive, these are not complete lists of our holdings.