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(June
19,
1834 –
January 31,
1892) was England's best-known and most-loved preacher
for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. Born
in Kelvedon ,
Essex,
his conversion to Christianity came in January
1850 at the age of fifteen. On his way to a scheduled
appointment, a snow storm forced him to cut short his
intended journey and turn in to a
Primitive Methodist chapel in
Colchester where, in his own words: “God opened his
heart to the salvation message.”
He preached his first sermon in
1851 and, from the beginning of his ministry, his style
and ability were noted far above average.
In
1852 he became pastor of the small
Baptist church at Waterbeach,
Cambridgeshire, and in
1854, after preaching three months on probation and just
four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, was
called to the pastorate of London's famed New Park Street
Chapel,
Southwark (formerly pastored by the famous
Reformed Baptist theologian John Gill ). Within a few
months of his call his powers as a preacher made him famous.
The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to
Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues
Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more
than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification.
At twenty-two Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the
day.
In
1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly
constructed purpose-built
Metropolitan Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle, seating
five thousand people with standing room for another
thousand.
Spurgeon was a
Baptist, but is still known to
non-conformists of many
denominations as the “Prince of Preachers”, in the
tradition of the
Puritans and especially highly regarded amongst
Presbyterians and
Congregationalists, although he differed with them over
the issue of
baptism.
Spurgeon married, in 1856, Susannah, daughter of Robert
Thompson of Falcon Square, London, by whom he had twin sons,
Charles and Thomas. His widow and sons survived him. He
suffered ill health towards the end of his life, suffering
from a combination of rheumatism, gout and Bright's disease,
often recuperating at
Mentone, near
Nice,
France,
where he died in 1892. |