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Historian L. B. Jordan records that in 1880, there were nearly two million former slaves in Baptist churches which created a need for a national aggregation of African-American Baptists. On Wednesday, November 24, 1880, one hundred fifty-one (151) messengers, representing eleven states throughout the United States, met at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama and organized the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention of the United States. The Reverend W. H. Alpine of Alabama was elected as the first permanent president.In 1886 the American National Baptist Convention was organized in Saint Louis, Missouri, and in 1893 the Baptist National Educational Convention was organized in the District of Columbia. There was the recognition for unification among our African-American brothers and sisters; therefore, on September 28, 1895, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Friendship Baptist Church, these three great conventions united and formed the NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, making it the largest African-American Baptist organization in America with a membership in the millions.In order to carry out the mission of the National Baptist Convention, three boards were created: The Foreign Mission Board, the Home Mission Board out of Little Rock, Arkansas; and the Educational Board located in Washington, D.C. The preamble affirms: “Whereas, it is the sense of Colored Baptist of the United States of America, convened in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, September 28, 1895, in the several organizations known as ‘The Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the United States of America,’ hitherto engaged in mission work on the West Coast of Africa, ‘The National Baptist Educational Convention,’ which has sought to look after the educational interest, that the interest of the kingdom of God required that the several bodies above named should unite in one body. The Name of the new organization is given as ‘The NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION of the Unites States of America.’The National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated is a fellowship of voluntary churches approximating five million African-American Baptists whose initial roots stemmed from the organization of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention of the United States.The focus of the National Baptist Convention , since its inception and prior to its incorporation status, has been upon education, missions (home and abroad) and the publication and circulation of religious literature.The National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated ministries as the convention has committed itself to implementing Christ’s Great Commission beyond the confines of the local churches to the community where children of the family of God reside.