2018 marks 100th anniversary of prominent Presbyterian evangelist’s death
By Joanne Sloan
He preached with D.L. Moody on the evangelistic circuit. Billy Sunday was one of his disciples.
John Wilbur Chapman (1859–1918) was a prominent Presbyterian evangelist as well as pastor, author and hymn writer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of his death.
He was born in Richmond, Indiana, on June 17, 1859, to Alexander and Lorinda Chapman. At age 17 he made a public declaration of faith and joined the Richmond Presbyterian Church. He was ordained into the ministry in 1881 and graduated from Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1882.
During a Dwight Moody crusade in 1878, Chapman had doubts about his commitment to Christ. He went forward and talked with Moody who had him read the words of Jesus, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life” (John 5:24a). After reading it aloud over and over he finally had the assurance he was a Christian.
Chapman pastored churches from 1882 to 1902 in four states. Appointed Corresponding Secretary of the Presbyterian General Assembly’s Committee on Evangelism in 1895, he oversaw the activities of 51 evangelists in 470 cities.
John Converse, a wealthy Presbyterian philanthropist, offered in 1905 to underwrite Chapman’s expenses if he would be a full-time evangelist. Converse also set up a trust fund to finance Chapman’s crusades even after his own death. Chapman accepted his offer.
In 1907, Chapman joined with popular gospel singer Charles Alexander to launch the Chapman-Alexander Simultaneous Campaign. Their first joint campaign was in 1908 in Philadelphia from March 12 to April 19. The campaign resulted in 8,000 conversions. Chapman and Alexander later took the campaign to cities in Canada, Australia, the Philippines, China, Korea and Japan.
For many years Chapman promoted religious summer conferences. He served as director of the Winona Lake Bible Conference in Indiana and also helped establish Bible conferences in Montreat, North Carolina, and the Stony Brook Assembly conferences on Long Island.
In 1912 when Chapman’s “mass evangelism” technique lost popularity, he and Alexander began holding large revivals.
They toured Australia, Scotland, Ireland, India and New Zealand as well as the United States. He averaged three to five sermons a day. The final revival tour was in January and February 1918.
Later life
A tireless worker, Chapman wrote 25 books and several hymns. His most popular one — sung in many Baptist churches today — is “One Day.”
Chapman had emergency surgery for gallstones Dec. 23, 1918, and died on Christmas Day. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Joanne Sloan, a member of First Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, has been a published writer of articles and books for 30 years. She has a bachelor’s degree double majoring in history and English from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University–Commerce) and a master’s degree specializing in English from the University of Arkansas (1978).
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