Convention Press Collection

Convention Press Collection


The Convention Press was begun in 1955 by the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board, which formalized a process begun at the beginning of the twentieth century, to produce teacher training and laity resources for Southern Baptist church members.

In response the Sunday School Board subsequently developed the Study Course movement that sought to provide religious education for every member of the local church. The program consisted of a graded study course series of books that provided general knowledge built around ten subjects: the Principles and Methods; the Christian life; Christian home-making; the church; the denomination; the social order; the Bible; Christian witnessing; stewardship; and missions.

The Florida Baptist Historical Society’s “Convention Press Collection” is comprised of Baptist-related books published by Convention Press, as well as study course books produced respectively by the Southern Baptist Convention-related entities, including the Home Mission Board, the Baptist Sunday School Board, Broadman Press and the Women’s Missionary Union.

The Society’s collection includes nearly 2,500 volumes of which over 1,300 are individual titles. The unique Convention Press group consists of 913 titles. The Florida Baptist Historical Society is believed to be the only Southern Baptist entity with a Convention Press collection this large.

By the numbers: Our Baptist historical resources

The Florida Baptist Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of historical resources and conducts historical research.