Driving down a narrow Cornish lane, we passed a small disused building. Its grey frame stood stoic and sober, a mass of ivy clinging to its walls. In places the vines had withered, leaving evidence of their pathways, like faded scars. Windows, gloomy and dark, no longer let in light. The tired roof sagged. Blocked guttering flowed with verdant waves of moss and the door, once cherry red, was sunbaked and peeling in shades of pink. The gate creaked on its hinges with the weariness of old age and on the side was a small sign that read ‘Bible Christian Chapel’.

We didn’t know who the Bible Christians were and asked some Cornish friends, who explained a little of their history. Back in October 1815, William O’Bryan, a local Methodist preacher in North Devon, had a growing desire to call sinners to repentance and see them live holy lives. Frustrated with the indifference in the church, O’Bryan began preaching in farm kitchens, on village greens and along roadsides. People became Christians and God transformed many people’s lives. However, many also encountered hardships and persecution, although it did nothing to diminish their zeal for God. Overriding joy remained the characteristic that defined them.

The work spread from Devon and into Cornwall, where one Billy Bray, a miner and drunkard, wonderfully came to know God. Small in stature, Bray was a dynamo of joy who indefatigably shared all that the Lord had done for him and the realities of what God could do for his listeners. Unorthodox in his preaching, Bray was known to spontaneously break into song or dance during a sermon. He famously said, ‘If they were to put me in a barrel, I would shout glory through the bunghole!’

Bible Christians were a small denomination that grew quickly. Missionaries spread across England and even travelled as far as North America and Australia. By the beginning of the twentieth century growth had slowed, and in 1907, Bible Christians merged with Methodist making their history harder to trace, although some still hold to the tenets of O’Bryan’s teaching.

Learning a little about the zeal of the Bible Christians reminded me of God’s pattern in establishing the early church. The Holy Spirit came and God’s Word went forth. People came to know Him; disciples grew and the gospel spread. Yet many of those New Testament churches had periods of decline and periods when God scattered their members.

We drove past the old chapel yesterday, sad that the building is no longer a place of worship for locals. So many chapels across Cornwall have closed. Passing the side door, we noticed a new broom and spade standing on the step. Is someone caring for that place? Will its ancient stones once again resound with joyous praises to God?

In the nearby town two old chapels have been recommissioned. Purchased by those who love God and desire to follow Him wholeheartedly, Christians enter to worship and pray, to proclaim God’s Word and invite others in. Was, or is, God still at work even in the decline and scattering of His church? I’m not sure, but I know that He is sovereign and continues to draw people to Himself, filling them with His Spirit, empowering them to shout glory through their bunghole, because the movement He started continues beyond Treveighan and Newlyn, even beyond our Land’s End.

© copyright Gillian Newham 2024