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Evangelisation Society of Australasia: the First Thirty-Five Years

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Evangelisation Society of Australasia: the First Thirty-Five Years Books by Robert Evans. An Evangelical World-View Philosophy. Evangelical Revivals in New Zealand. (with Roy McKenzie.) Early Evangelical Revivals in Australia. (up to 1880) Fire From Heaven. - A Description and Analysis of the Revivals in the “Burned-Over District” of New York, and Spiritual Deceptions. 1800 – 1840. Series Relating to the 1880 – 1914 period in Australia. Evangelism and Revivals in Australia. 1880 – 1914. (1st. Volume.) Emilia Baeyertz – Evangelist. Her Career in Australia and Great Britain. (2nd Volume.) Thomas Cook – British Evangelist in Australia and New Zealand in 1894 and 1895. (3rd Volume.) Matthew Burnett – The Yorkshire Evangelist: Australia’s Greatest Evangelist and Social Reformer. A Basic Biography. (4th Volume.) The Evangelisation Society of Australasia: The First Thirty-Five Years. 1883 to 1918. (5th Volume.) (with two extra chapters by Darrell Paproth.) THE EVANGELIEVANGELISATIONSATION SOCIETY Of AUSTRALASIA ----- THE FIRST THIRTYTHIRTY----FIVEFIVE YEARS 1883 ––– 1918. ----- by Robert Evans with two extra chapters by Darrell Paproth Research in Evangelical Revivals 2010 This book has been published privately by Robert Evans who is the author of this book, apart from Dr. Paproth’s two chapters on the Steps which Led up to the Formation of the Evangelisation Society of Victoria, and also the chapter on The 1888 Centennial Mission. The copyright of the book is held by the respective authors. The copyright of the chapter on the 1888 Centennial Mission is held by Dr. Paproth, and by the Editor of “Lucas.” It is re-published here with their permission. Photographs came from the Torrey – Alexander Souvenir, issued by Southern Cross , unless otherwise indicated. The photo of W.L. Morton was copied from the frontispiece of his book. The photo of George Clarke came from Donald Prout’s book. The portrait of James Balfour was the frontispiece of Andrew Harper’s biography of Balfour. The photos of Jesse Mayo, Edward Isaac, Joseph Piercey, and of the Piercey family, are owned by the Wayside Baptist Church, Launceston, and their permission to publish these photos is gratefully acknowledged. Copies may be obtained from Rev. Robert Evans. OAM MA. Box 131. Hazelbrook. N.S.W. 2779. Australia. [email protected] and from co-operating bookstores. I.S.B.N. 978-0-9756733-5-5. CONTENTS Introduction. 1 1. Steps Leading Up to the Formation of the Society. 10 2. Alfred J. Clarke. 34 3. Arthur E. Eustace. 53 4. Early Part-Time Evangelists. 66 5. Robert Robertson. 73 6. The 1888 Centennial Mission. 97 7. William H. Scurr. 122 8. Duncan Wright. 156 9. James Hood. 165 10. James H. Stephens. 173 11. James Robertson. 185 12. The 1902 Revival in Victoria. 196 13. W. Lockhart Morton. 208 14. Joseph T. Piercey. 223 15. Time-Line of Preachers, Events and Officers. 247 16. Some Interesting Clippings. 260 17. Some Concluding Thoughts. 280 Bibliography. 283 INTRODUCTION ****** The story of the Evangelisation Society of Australasia presents us with another interesting aspect of Evangelical history in Australia which has been almost entirely forgotten, but which, nevertheless, played an important role in the development of Australia, and of Christianity in Australia. Not only has its story never been told properly, but the means whereby the story could have been more fully told has largely been lost. The organisation was formed in 1883. It was led by a team, most of whom were laymen. Most members of the staff of evangelists employed by the Society were laymen. It happened in Victoria. Victoria was the part of Australia where laymen contributed a driving force to the spiritual life of the colony much more strongly than happened in any other part. There were Evangelisation Societies in a few of the other states of Australia as time passed, but the one in Victoria was the first, the strongest and most successful. The Australian organisation was built upon the very successful precedent of the Evangelization Society, based in London, but with other substantial bases in Liverpool and in Glasgow. The London Evangelization Society began in a small way in 1864, but grew steadily. Its aim was to send suitable preachers to conduct special evangelistic services in churches or halls wherever the Society was asked. Early preachers who took these services included Lord Radstock, Reginald Radcliffe, Brownlow North, George Williams, Arthur Blackwood (later Sir Arthur), Sir Henry Havelock- Allan V.C. (retired Lieutenant General, British M.P., and son of the famous hero of the Indian Mutiny), and many others.1 Several wealthy Christians supported it with repeated large gifts. In the 1890s, the Society employed about 80 evangelists full-time, and another 100 part- time, holding meetings around all parts of England, Scotland and Ireland. The laymen came from all denominations. It began before Higher Criticism or the “New Theology” had appeared, and before the Salvation Army or the Church Army had arrived on the scene. 1 John Wood. The Story of the Evangelization Society. London. The Society. 1907. page 25. 1 Introduction. There were five simple doctrinal foundations. These were: 1. The ruin of mankind through sin, both that of Adam, and our own, 2. There is redemption through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, 3. This salvation must be received through faith and repentance, 4. This results in the renewal of character and society, 5. All believers have the responsibility to spread and share this Good News. The single aim was to preach the Gospel in such a way that people would be led to embrace Jesus Christ, and have faith in His salvation. Any benefits, so far as professed conversions were concerned, were to be channelled back through the churches which were involved in the mission, and through the churches chosen by the converts. When C. H. Spurgeon first heard of this Society which sent out preachers regardless of their denominational affiliation, simply to win souls for Christ, and where converts were sent back to the local churches, he apparently said he did not believe such a thing was possible. It was too good to be true. But that is what was happening, and he became an encourager of the Society. 2 The Australian Society started successfully in 1883 under the title of the Evangelisation Society of Victoria. Its backers included the Presbyterian politician, the Hon. James Balfour, James Griffiths the tea and coffee businessman, Y.M.C.A. leaders, Anglican clergy such as Archdeacon Langley [later Bishop of Bendigo] and the Rev. H. B. Macartney, Dr. Thomas Porter (Baptist minister), the Rev. A. Yule (Presbyterian minister), and a number of laymen. 3 The first evangelist to be employed was the Rev. A. J. Clarke, who had recently been minister of the Baptist Church at West Melbourne, and who had come to that pastorate several years earlier upon the recommendation of C. H. Spurgeon. He was very soon joined by a layman, Mr. Arthur Eustace. The Victorian Society had a very interesting career over the next fourteen years. After that, it changed its name several times when it began getting invitations from the other Australian colonies and from New Zealand. For some years after that it was known as the Evangelisation Society of Australasia. Various other name changes 2 Wood. Op cit. page 76. 3 The Spectator . July 27. 1883. page 146. 2 Introduction. occurred through the Twentieth Century, and today the organisation is known as the E.S.A. Country Ministries. Around 1983, Donald Prout was asked to assemble the booklet for the Society’s centenary. He said that, with the request, he was presented with “a bulky sheaf of papers,” to use as resource materials. 4 This bundle has not survived, but perhaps we can judge what it contained by what we find in Mr. Prout’s little centenary book. There is a reproduction of the advertisement which was published in several church-related papers to announce the formation of the Society in 1883. Several pages are given to provide information about several of the early missions in 1883 which were conducted by A. J. Clarke. The name of Mr. Eustace, Clarke’s colleague, is not mentioned. The next attention is paid to the visit to Victoria in 1885 by Mr. George Muller, who included Victoria in his tour of the world as a result of a letter written to him by the E.S.V. Secretary, Mr. Theo. Kitchen. 5 Then, attention is given to the year 1888, when Mr. George Clarke, a world-famous athlete, was invited to Melbourne to speak at a number of missions which were organised to mark the centenary of white settlement in Australia. 6 Following this, there is almost no information at all about any Society activity until after the First World War. The names of the American evangelists, the Rev. R. A. Torrey and Mr. Charles M. Alexander, who visited Victoria in 1902, and who saw a remarkable revival, are listed only as a heading in a time line list, with no details being given at all. As a result, no indication appears that the Society played an important role in arranging this visit, or in running the resulting Mission. The two main evangelists who were employed by the Society between 1888 and 1902 are mentioned once only in a list of workers, and referring only to 1888. These men were Mr. Robert Robertson and Mr. William H. Scurr, but they were not the only men employed as evangelists by the Society in this period. From this we must conclude that Mr. Prout knew very few details of the role played by the Society through this period. Clearly, the 4 Prout. D., Going Where The Need Is Greater . E.S.A. 1983. page 3.
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