The first era of criminal actions against the Baptists had largely concluded. Over the next generation, Baptists in New England (and elsewhere in the colonies) grew slowly in numbers, but, more important, they grew in respect. The zealots for church purity and believer’s baptism had established footholds, especially in Rhode Island but also in Massachusetts. Sixty years later, however, the cycle of Baptist radicalism would begin anew. Colonial churches—including the Baptists—would face their greatest challenge yet with the coming of the Great Awakening.
