The earliest years
Before the advent of mechanized transport, and before the days of rapid communication, preaching was carried out in large part by travelling on horseback to the remote locations of potential converts. Thus was the early work of John Thomas, as he traveled around the Eastern Seaboard in the years 1835-1848. In these thirteen years, he must have given hundreds of lectures, many undoubtedly along the lines of one of the first’, which was published in 1833 and focused on the necessity and purpose of baptism. Of course, at this time he was a follower of Alexander Campbell, but he soon began developing his unique beliefs. He delivered this message, at least initially, from the pulpits of the congregations he lead in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond, as well as from other pulpits all over the mid-Atlantic states.
Soon his major method of spreading the gospel was his series of magazines: his first one, the Apostolic Advocate, was a Campbellite house organ for Virginia, but others followed with a more distinctive message, albeit a reduced circulation.
It was not until he went to the UK in 1848 that his methods extended much beyond church pulpits. Particularly in Glasgow, but in many other halls up and down England and Scotland, his lectures were widely advertised to the public, and drew large crowds to hear his message. This almost exclusively addressed the concerns of the day. The popular revolutions in France and across the continent dominated the headlines, and his lectures covered how they tied in to Bible prophecy. (Interesting how the revolutions in the Middle East are similarly dominating our headlines in 2011.) Newspaper accounts of his lectures survive, and although some elements of the gospel can be seen, the success of the lectures was undoubtedly the way they appealed to the concerns of the day.
One result of these lectures was the book Elpis Israel, which received a somewhat mixed reception at the time, probably because it included the kernel of his distinctive doctrinal message as well as the prophetic sections that were expected. But out of this work emerged the beginnings of the truth, particularly in Scotland and the British Midlands. One can demonstrate the vast majority of these early followers were either Campbellites, as above, or the remnants of the British followers of one William Miller. (Miller’s claim to fame — or was it notoriety — was his failed prediction of the return of Jesus in 1844.)
So the methods of John Thomas were
- Appeal to groups with some common grounds by visiting them
- Lecture at well publicized meetings
- Communicate to his followers and others through his magazines
- Write and lecture copiously on prophetic matters
- Debates were few, and almost non-existent after 1840
After John Thomas’ return to the USA in 1850, he slowly developed a group of followers, largely by the method of reaching out to audiences in large meeting halls as a visiting lecturer. Such lectures were often well attended, as they formed a major source of “entertainment” in those days. By the time he died in 1871, his group of Christadelphians in North America probably numbered around 1,000, with many more in the UK — and that area was dominated by Robert Roberts.
As to other preaching methods, many were in use very early. In 1855, it was reported that “The Halifax brethren [in England]attached great importance to house and open air preaching” — and this was three years before Robert Roberts joined with them.
The preaching of Robert Roberts’ time.
A sample of the efforts of Robert Roberts seems appropriate. As recorded in his autobiography’
“About this time, there was a great stir in Birmingham, caused by an Irvingite’ propagandist effort in the Town Hall, a large building capable of containing several thousands of people… The night was fine, and the crowd hanging about outside was large, and it was suggested the opportunity might be turned to account by holding an out-of-door meeting. A chair was fetched and placed in the square behind the hall, and one or two brethren went round among the crowd to tell them an overflow meeting would be held out there. The people accordingly repaired thither, and I mounted the chair and harangued them for the best part of an hour on the subject that was being spoken of inside. I received a fairly attentive hearing till I came to speak of the Pope, when the Roman Catholic element of the crowd became uncontrollably turbulent, and made a rush towards the speaker which was resisted for a time by the peaceably disposed of the people, but at last carried all before it, and compelled me to dismount. There might have been serious work but for two policemen who marched me off between them to the protection of a neighboring hotel, followed by a large crowd. The crowd stayed in front of the hotel and I escaped behind, and got quickly home.”
One result of this was a second town Hall meeting, attended by almost 2,000, but which required a great deal of concern and struggle over its cost. But the Birmingham ecclesia was significantly increased by this one effort.
It was with the passing of John Thomas, and perhaps indeed before, that the organization and leadership had devolved upon Robert Roberts. Although largely self-taught, he had a great command of the Bible and was very impressive in debate. He was for the next 30 years the primary public face of the growing Christadelphian movement, which grew rapidly under his guidance. So how was this accomplished? His methods of major outreach were quite simple: advertise a public address as widely as possible, and the public would normally attend in large numbers. We read very commonly of hundreds and sometimes thousands turning out for such topics as “The truth about Satan”, “Prophecies about the Middle East”, and “What the Bible says about baptism”. Roberts also set up the practice of Sunday evening lectures, which is still the way the majority of the ecclesias in the UK carry on their public proclamation. Roberts also engaged in major debates with such luminaries as Charles Bradlaugh, a prominent atheist. I believe, however, these latter activities contributed little to the growth of the ecclesias.
Much of the literature from the earliest days of Robert Roberts is still in print, but how much of it can be used in a public outreach today is debatable. In their day such pamphlets as “The Declaration” and others were circulated in large numbers. For example, from 1881 to 1921 at least 5,000 “Declarations” were published per year, with 116,000 being produced prior to the death of Roberts in 1898. I would note, however, that even in these times I know of several who have been convinced of the Truth of our message after reading Christendom Astray.
As the nature of the witness changed, so did both the type and variety of subjects. Of the 25 titles available in 1872, the majority were clearly designed for external use. By 1893, of the 50 available, only half were intended for internal use.
The growth of the Christadelphians in the UK was most impressive over the years 1864 to 1885, when around 5,000 new members were baptized, representing an annual growth of around 10%. The members were representative, at least by trade, of the population as a whole. The appeal appears to have been mainly to those individuals who, although lacking formal education, had a great thirst for knowledge. Thus they turned out in large numbers for the special lectures put on by the Christadelphians, and many were so convinced.
The mission field
In those days, there was no Christadelphian Bible Mission (CBM) in any form, so spreading the gospel was strictly the result of personal initiative. Bro. Stanley Owen has summarized many of these efforts’, which were confined mainly to the period of 1870 to 1900. In that time, the gospel message flourished in many remote corners of the world, but in only a few cases did this last. In the Americas, you can find records of work in Peru as early as 1879, and an ecclesia in Argentina soon after, but only in Jamaica and British Guiana, now Guyana, did the Truth take hold and maintain the faith for the next half century or so. In both countries, when the CBM sent missionaries in the 1950’s, the ecclesias there had both dropped out of the knowledge of the rest of the brotherhood. Very little direct overseas mission work was recorded in the first half of the 20th century, although occasionally individuals emigrated to areas remote from other ecclesias, with no support, no literature other than in English, and no encouragement. It is not surprising there was little if any spread of the gospel overseas in this period.
Much has changed: there are now more Christadelphians in Malawi than in the Americas, and more on the African continent than in the UK, Australia, and North America combined.
Charles Curwin Walker died in 1940. He was editor of the Christadelphian from 1898 to 1937. During his time the Christadelphians movement experienced slow growth, if any. Much effort was expended in coping with the divisions in the brotherhood. By the close of his editorship, the “Central” Fellowship was undoubtedly in the majority in the UK, but became the minority in both Australia and North America. The success of the public addresses appear to have declined, and there is no evidence of any significant efforts to change the normal mode of outreach. This was largely confined to evening lectures and leaflet distribution.
The only widely circulated magazine from those days that was used for public distribution (apart from the short lived Good Company) was the Glad Tidings. First issued in 1883, it was produced by what became known as the Suffolk Street movement, which limited its subscriptions.
Many will be aware of the CALS (Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society). You might be surprised to know it was officially started in 1903 in England. It was designed to supply speakers and funds to enable the gospel to be spread in areas where there were few, if any, Christadelphians, a function it still performs today. I can find no record of such an effort in North America until 1935, when a branch was formed in Hamilton, ON.’
In conclusion, the period of major outreach and growth of the Christadelphian movement was in the late nineteenth Century. This was primarily under the leadership of Robert Roberts until his death in 1898. Towards the end of his editorship, major doctrinal controversies caused internal turmoil, and much less growth. The preaching methods used remained essentially unchanged until around the appointment of John Carter as the new editor of The Christadelphian. Much changed during the period around WW2 — but that is another story.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One