Benjamin Randall (1749–1808)

Benjamin Randall was an itinerant evangelist in the scattered settlements of northern New England, preaching repentance, faith in Christ, and the call to follow Scripture even when it ran against custom. His ministry pressed the conscience: salvation is by grace, yet true grace produces open confession and a willing life. Randall became known for urging believers not to hide their faith but to obey Christ plainly, trusting God to sustain them when neighbors misunderstood.

Woolwich, Maine, October 2, 1781

In Woolwich—then a frontier community of farms, rivers, and rough roads—Randall gathered a great crowd and formed a new congregation of Freewill Baptists by baptizing five believers. He recorded that though more than three hundred watched, “there were no more than three that ever before saw baptism administered by immersion.” Many had never witnessed this simple New Testament ordinance performed as Scripture describes, yet the converts stepped forward with humble courage.

Their act carried a quiet heroism. To be immersed before a curious crowd was to declare, without argument, “I belong to Jesus.” Baptism did not save them, but it marked them as disciples, choosing Christ over comfort and public opinion. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). In that water, obedience became a sermon, and their confession strengthened others to consider the gospel seriously.

Faith, Witness, and Lasting Fruit

Randall’s record highlights both the need and the power of visible obedience. When few have seen biblical baptism, faithful practice teaches as surely as words do. The ordinance points to the gospel itself: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Woolwich’s baptismal service testified that God can awaken faith in unlikely places, using ordinary believers and straightforward obedience to begin a wider work.