It was my privilege on Monday to join several others at the Evangelical Library for the latest lunch-time lecture. (We should have given more publicity for this fine lecture). The speaker was Dr Doug McMasters, (more here) minister of Trinity Road Baptist Church, Tooting (see pic, more here). He spoke challengingly and interestingly on C H Spurgeon and church planting. Not a subject dealt with at any length elsewhere, Dr McMasters interest in it has grown out of a love for Spurgeon, someone who through his books has been from his early Christian days an inspiration and guide, and finding himself pastor of one of the many, many churches founded by Spurgeon and his associates at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in the second half of the 19th Century.
Beginning, by way of example, with the founding of Trinity Road itself, we learned that this was by no means an isolated case. Perhaps as many as 200 or more churches were found in the period by Spurgeon, members of his church an students at his pastors college. There were over 40 of these in London alone, including Enfield (1867), Totteridge Rd (1868), Hornchurch (1877), etc. The first of these was East Hill, Wandsworth in 1859, followed by Greenwich soon after. Often not just individuals but twelves and twenties and on at least one occasion, some 250 at one time, were sent out from the congregation of The Metropolitan Tabernacle to get things started.
Besides Spurgeon's own preaching and giving and activity other agencies in this work were the London City Mission, the Pastor's College and the London Baptist Association, founded in 1865. By 1907 the latter organisation some 199 churches belonged to that grouping (including our own church here in Childs Hill), these churches including some 57, 000 members. What we would now consider large churches were the order of the day.
Undoubtedly the singular and sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit in those days is the key to all this but before we were able to excuse ourselves with 'that was then' arguments we were given a sixfold challenge arising out of what we had heard. Key elements in the success of this campaign were a consciousness of the task, a confidence in the gospel, carefulness about methods, concern for the lost, confident Calvinism and a constant call to involvement. These assertions were all backed up by appropriate quotations from Spurgeon himself. if you would like to hear an audio version of the message, get in touch the the Library via its Website here.
Beginning, by way of example, with the founding of Trinity Road itself, we learned that this was by no means an isolated case. Perhaps as many as 200 or more churches were found in the period by Spurgeon, members of his church an students at his pastors college. There were over 40 of these in London alone, including Enfield (1867), Totteridge Rd (1868), Hornchurch (1877), etc. The first of these was East Hill, Wandsworth in 1859, followed by Greenwich soon after. Often not just individuals but twelves and twenties and on at least one occasion, some 250 at one time, were sent out from the congregation of The Metropolitan Tabernacle to get things started.
Besides Spurgeon's own preaching and giving and activity other agencies in this work were the London City Mission, the Pastor's College and the London Baptist Association, founded in 1865. By 1907 the latter organisation some 199 churches belonged to that grouping (including our own church here in Childs Hill), these churches including some 57, 000 members. What we would now consider large churches were the order of the day.
Undoubtedly the singular and sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit in those days is the key to all this but before we were able to excuse ourselves with 'that was then' arguments we were given a sixfold challenge arising out of what we had heard. Key elements in the success of this campaign were a consciousness of the task, a confidence in the gospel, carefulness about methods, concern for the lost, confident Calvinism and a constant call to involvement. These assertions were all backed up by appropriate quotations from Spurgeon himself. if you would like to hear an audio version of the message, get in touch the the Library via its Website here.
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