Memorial Biographies of General Baptist Ministers
of the
Union Association
Elder Benoni Stinson
He was never a member of the Union Association, yet he had a large part in founding it. He was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, December 10, 1798. He made a profession of faith and joined the United Baptist Church in Wayne County, Kentucky, August 24, 1820. November 1, 1821, he was ordained to the ministry and accepted the pastoral care of Liberty Church of Wayne County, Kentucky. In 1822 he moved to Vanderburg, Indiana. He held some revivals and organized New Hope Church, in Indiana, which he and his wife joined by letter. In 1823 he helped organize Liberty Church, which he and his wife later joined, and he was pastor. He kept on preaching the doctrine that Christ died for every man. His preaching had power in it. It arrested attention, and aroused the careless. It stirred the heart and awakened conviction. The people received the Gospel with eagerness, and soon he had organized other churches, and in 1824 Liberty Association Indiana was organized. This was the first association of General Baptists organized in the United States.