Free Will Baptist roots can be traced to England as early as 1611. The first Free Will Baptist church established in America was begun by Paul Palmer in 1727 in Perquimans County, North Carolina.

From these early beginnings, Free Will Baptists in America have had a continuing ministry. Today, the National Association of Free Will Baptists is active in 40 states, 10 foreign countries, and a number of the islands of the sea. The work of the National Association of Free Will Baptists is promoted from the National offices and the Sunday School and Church Training Department located in Nashville, Tennessee.

• God - We believe that God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Righteous Ruler of the Universe.
  
  
• Jesus Christ - He is God's unique Son; the only one of a kind. He is the One once crucified for man's sin, the now risen and glorified Savior and Lord who mediates between God and man. None can come to the Father but through Him.
  
  
• Holy Spirit - All attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. He convicts and convinces men of their sin and of that which is right. He, it is, who comes to live in us at conversion, to open our understanding to the Scripture, and to lead us into the truth.
  
  
• The Bible - God used holy men to write the Scriptures. They are the very words God intended us to have. As given by God, they are without error and are our only rule of faith and practice. They instruct and guide us in our lives, speaking to us about wrongdoing and getting us back on course when we stray.
  
  
• Man - God created man in a state of innocence. As Adam yielded to Satan, and willfully disobeyed God, he became a sinner, incurring God's judgment upon sin. Thus, as descendents of Adam, it is a natural inclination within us to sin before God, placing us in need of salvation.
  
  
• God's Relationship to His Creatures and Creation - God exercises a wise and benevolent providence over all beings and things. He maintains the laws of nature and performs special acts as His created order of things require.
  
  
• Salvation - Man receives pardon and forgiveness for his sins when he admits to God that he is a sinner, when in godly sorrow he turns from them and trusts in the work of Christ as redemption for his sin. Acceptance of God's great salvation involves the belief in Christ's death on the cross as man's substitute and the fact of God's raising Him from the dead as predicted. It is a salvation by grace alone and not of earthly deeds.