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Spring Lecture at the CHC

24 Feb 2025 | Uncategorized

We were pleased to see in the region of 50 people at our Spring Lecture this year when Stephen Ford spoke on the ministry of the little-known but inspirational life of John Palmer.

Palmer was born in 1768 and came to Shrewsbury in 1792 as a medical doctor. A year after his arrival he found himself called to be the pastor of the Baptist Chapel in Dog Lane, Shrewsbury. Prior to his arrival, the church had sunk to a very low ebb; there were divisions caused by doctrinal issues and the church at that time was saddled with huge debt. Here he laboured tirelessly for 29 years, and died, worn-out a year later.

  After his ordination John Palmer spent 5 months in London. This was to raise money to clear the church’s crippling debt. A Baptist Case Committee had been formed in 1784 to assist churches to raise funds to build or maintain chapels. It involved Palmer in preaching around the more-wealthy congregations of the Metropolis and visiting potential donors. Palmer returned from London with £172 (roughly £27,000 in present-day equivalent)

 Stephen Ford reminded us that John Palmer, like John Wesley, saw the world as his parish, or in Palmer’s case, Shropshire and its neighbouring counties. He went on to remind us of a typical week in the ministry of John Palmer :

He would usually spend the Lord’s Day at home. The majority of Monday was spent visiting and treating his patients. From Tuesday to Thursday, he was ‘on safari’ – travelling around the county preaching wherever an opportunity offered. On Thursday evening he returned to preach his ‘lecture’.  Friday and Saturday were dedicated to prayer and study for the following week. He seems to have had no difficulty in gathering a crowd, wherever he preached. Over time, significant numbers of these hearers felt the Holy Spirit’s insistent call to trust in Christ.

As a result of these ministries, numbers of churches were helped and nurtured into existence, that is Oswestry in 1806, Wellington 1807, Whitchurch 1808, Wem 1815, Snailbeach Mines and Minsterley 1817/18, Market Drayton 1818, Donnington Wood 1820, Welshhampton 1820, Welshpool 1820. He was also the driving force in the establishment of other new works in Kington (Herefordshire) 1805 and Tenbury (Worcestershire) 1819. During this period his own Chapel premises in Shrewsbury were also enlarged.

On occasions he journeyed to Liverpool to minister to the sailors in the docks, and more than once ministered in Ireland.

We were reminded that his ministry focused very much on Jesus Christ as the ‘one thing needful’. When ill-health forced him to resign, he left behind him a large and appreciative congregation who loved the doctrines of grace and were attuned to evangelism and missionary effort. At his funeral in May 1823 Dr Stedman preached from I Corinthians 15: 43 sown in weakness… raised in power.

All were encouraged and challenged and reminded of what God can do with one man fully dedicated to Him.

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