The Early Years
This year we celebrate 250 years of the United States of America. Yet we would not be celebrating this anniversary were it not for the early Christians who helped plant the spiritual and cultural foundations of America. In that sense, our celebration reaches back not 250 years, but 461 years—to 1565.
The first documented Christians to settle mainland America were Spanish explorers and Franciscan friars who established a mission at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, and later in New Mexico by the 1590s. The first Christian worship service in what is now the United States was a Catholic Mass celebrated in Pensacola, Florida.
The first Protestant Christians seeking to establish a Christian presence in North America were commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and landed at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, in 1587. There they baptized Manteo, the first known Native American convert to Christianity under English Protestant rites, and Virginia Dare, the first English Christian child born in America. When the colony was found abandoned in 1590, it became forever known as the Lost Colony.
After Roanoke, King James I, head of the Church of England and commissioner of the King James Bible, sought to establish Protestantism in the New World. The English believed they had a duty to spread the gospel and bring Protestant Christianity to the indigenous people they encountered. This purpose was written directly into the colonial charters.
The First Virginia Charter of April 10, 1606, begins, “James, by the grace of God,” and speaks of establishing a colony in Virginia and other parts of America. The Instructions for the Virginia Colony of 1606 likewise show reliance upon God, stating, “When it shall please God to send you on the coast of Virginia, you shall do your best to find a safe port.” The document concludes by declaring that success depended upon unity, obedience, and service to God: “serve and fear God the Giver of all Goodness.”
At Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent Protestant foothold in America was established. The settlers were primarily Anglicans, led spiritually by Reverend Robert Hunt, who held the first services in 1607 and helped establish the first church in 1608. Communion was celebrated in June 1607. Pocahontas was later baptized in the Jamestown church, and John Rolfe, who married her, believed the colony had a Christian duty to “advance the honor of God.”
Fourteen years later, on November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 passengers aboard the Mayflower. It began, “In the name of God, Amen,” and stated that their voyage had been undertaken “for the Glory of God and Advancement of the Christian Faith.” Though they expected to land in Virginia, they arrived in Massachusetts and founded Plymouth Colony.
The Pilgrims were English Separatists who sought to practice Protestant Christianity free from what they viewed as corruption in the Church of England. Their faith shaped their daily life, their government, and their understanding of community. In 1643, Thomas Mayhew baptized Hiacoomes, the first Native American Christian convert in New England, on Martha’s Vineyard. Hiacoomes later became a preacher and helped bring many fellow Wampanoag to Christianity.
That same year, the New England Confederation was formed by Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Its opening statement declared that the colonies had come to America with “one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace.”
Today people ask whether America is a Christian nation. Legally and constitutionally, the answer is no. But historically, the evidence is clear: long before the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the first European colonists in America were Christians who sought to establish their faith, worship freely, and build communities under the providence of God.
This spirit of individual responsibility, religious conviction, and faith in God helped set America on its course. As we celebrate 250 years of the United States, we should remember the 461-year Christian foundation that helped make it possible—and strive to preserve that spirit today.
