FOOTWASHING AMONG THE BAPTISTS

Foot Washing Among the Baptists – Short Summary

• General Baptists (especially early English and some American groups) often practiced foot washing as a literal ordinance, citing John 13. Leaders like Thomas Grantham defended it as a command of Christ.

• Particular Baptists (Calvinistic) rejected it as an ordinance, viewing it only as an example of humility, not a continuing church rite. This view was consistent with the 1689 Confession and upheld by figures like John Gill and Benjamin Keach.

• The Welsh Tract Church originally practiced foot washing (per Morgan Edwards) but abandoned it by the early 1800s as it aligned with confessional Particular Baptist norms.

• Primitive Baptists (19th-century Old School) revived foot washing as a third ordinance, and many still practice it today during communion services.

• Some Baptist associations (e.g., Yellow River, Towaliga) experienced disagreements or transitions over the practice, but most non-Primitive groups let it fade quietly.