Pontrhydyrun
In the preceding February he had accepted the pressing invitation of the then newly formed church near Pontrhydyrun or Pont-rhyd-yr-ynn, in Monmouthshire. At the time the church had barely begun and had only eight members, all of them being members of the same family, the Conways, who had previously belonged to the Abergavenny church. In the latter end of March, 1817, James moved there with his family. George Conway (1756-1822) had established a tin plate works in the area in 1802 and had been able to begin a Sunday School and eventually to form a church, the building being on ground provided by George's eldest son William Conway (1776-1840). James received the warmest of Christian welcomes there from the Conway family.
Being in a border county, he was now required to conduct his ministry in English as well as in Welsh. His ministry in that place was greatly blessed and the means of a considerable reviving of the Baptist interest in that part of the world. His labours at Pontrhydyrun appear to have been even more fruitful than at Aberystwyth. Many additions were soon made to the Sunday School and to the church, and it was soon necessary to enlarge the chapel to accommodate those attending. The number of additions to the church, through baptism, in James' time was 63. Further, in other places in the neighbourhood, he baptised another 21. Thus God blessed his labours in that place.
The death of his only son, mentioned above, in September, 1826, however, greatly affected his health and that of the remaining family. “It shook his whole frame,” it is said “and brought severe attacks of illness upon both Mrs James and himself which lasted for a considerable time.” This and other circumstances beyond his control made him desire to leave his situation; and having received an invitation to the neighbouring county of Glamorganshire, he tendered his resignation to the brothers in Pontrhydyrun, having served in the pastorate there a little over ten years.
Bridgend
In May, 1827, he removed, together with his wife and two daughters, the thirty miles or so south west to Bridgend. The church he came to at that time had been formed in 1789 and had a new building two years before James came but was in a very low state, few in number and mostly elderly. They were also widely scattered, church members living in nine different parishes.
James determined to endeavour to bring about changes for the good in the church. About this time he writes,
We must first get a revival in the church, then we shall surely prosper with the ministry. I beseech the Lord to send now prosperity.
This prayer was to some extent answered, as during his first year among them he baptised 19, and the congregation greatly increased, so that it became necessary to enlarge this chapel also. That was done in 1828, at a cost of £500 (over £40,000 today).* James put a great deal of effort into paying off the debt contracted. In this connection he visited the major towns of Wales and many in England too. He was successful in his undertaking, for by 1832 he and the congregation were completely free from debt.
James also did a great deal of work in neighbouring districts. His pattern was to preach three times on a Sunday and nearly every week night. Interest in the countryside being very great, it was decided to build another chapel in nearby Pyle. That was paid for notably by the end of 1838.
His fund raising excursions gave him many opportunities to form friendships that in many cases lasted unbroken until his death. On these tours many churches, in England and in Wales, became greatly attached to him. This meant that while in Bridgend he received many pressing invitations to preach elsewhere. If he had accepted them, it would have been to his advantage financially but there was a close bond with the Bridgend people and he refused to move again.
Organisations and societies
Something should be said about James's connections with various organisations, most of them being groups among the Baptists. He proved to be a keen and loyal advocate of these institiutions. Besides being secretary to the County Association, he was for many years the official correspondent of the district for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Then when the Bible Translation Society was formed by the Baptists in 1843 he felt duty bound to transfer allegiances. The BTS, now subsumed under the Baptist Missionary Society advocated translating New Testament references to baptism with words meaning to immerse rather than leaving them untranslated and simply transliterating them as almost all English Bibles do.
James also held posts with the Bath Aged and Infirm Ministers' Society, founded in 1817, the Baptist Missionary Society, the Baptist Union, founded in 1832, the Widows Fund, etc.
The importance of educating men for the ministry was a matter close to his heart and he was especially interested in the work in Pontypool, which had begun there in 1836 when it had transferred from Abergavenny.
James himself had not had a proper formal theological education before entering the ministry, something which he very much regretted, as can be seen from this extract from his diary
I lament my want of English education, it has caused me much labour, etc, as if it were up-hill work all my days. Yet the Lord condescended to bless my humble endeavours.
In 1841 he travelled to London and to other parts of England, as an advocate of the Pontypool College. To the very end he continued to be a supporter in every way that he could. The 1841 journey involved his being away from home in some quite severe weather. It seems likely that it was daily exposure to the elements at this time that left him with a bad cold that clung to him the rest of his days. This, combined with the asthma that had plagued him from his youth, meant that he was unable to leave Bridgend from that time on.
The final year of his life was a particularly trying one. He faced it, however, with calm and good cheer and still managed, somehow, to preach quite regularly. In the last three years of his life he preached some 326 sermons, despite infirmity of body that meant it was an effort for him to walk even the short distance from his house to the pulpit.
Writings
James was the author of several works in Welsh. His first work was apparently a sermon on election, published in 1808 at the request of the quarterly meeting before which it was preached. Its original title was
Etholedigaeth wedi ei hystyried mewn pregeth, yr hon a bregethwyd mewn cyfarfod chwarterol yn Aberteifi, Chwefror 17, 1807. It was published in Carmarthen by J. Evans and was 24 pages long.
In 1811 he published a selection of Welsh hymns, including some thirty of his own. He also wrote three of the Glamorganshire association letters “on plain practical subjects, through each of which we trace a fine vein of piety”.
That same year he translated and published a 28 page article on Jewish believers in London and beyond
Hanes cymdeithas Llundain er taeniad Cristionogaeth ymhlith yr Iuddewon ynghyd a chyflwr y cyfryw yn gyffredinol drwy'r byd. Cyf gan John James-Aberystwyth.
James also wrote regularly to the Welsh periodicals of the day, from 1819 until the time when he was no longer able to lift a pen. Further, he wrote articles in English for the Baptist Magazine (founded 1809) the Reporter (founded 1832) and the Revivalist (founded 1836) and other newspapers. In 1835, for example, he wrote a memoir of the late Rev John Roberts of Cowbridge (1787-1835), which appeared in the Baptist Magazine.
Death and burial
On the Lord's day, January 30, 1848, he breathed his last, being in his seventy-first year. He had been a Baptist 52 years, a minister 49, an ordained one for 45. In this period he must have preached some 12,000 sermons and baptised 673 people. His daughter, Mrs Eliza Davies Marks (1808-1861), was with him in his final days and sought to preserve memories of him from that time.
On the Thursday previous to his death, his friend and neighbour, a Mr Lewis, called to see him, and found him fast ripening for heaven. He appeared to be aware that he would soon be with the Lord forever. When he had addressed Lewis with many words of counsel and consolation, he said, “Give my regards to your dear mother,” who was a member in the church, then aged 83. “And tell her,” he added, “that I shall never again see her this side of Jordan, but we shall soon meet in heaven, 'Then will we sing more sweet, more loud, And Christ shall be our song.'” And so it was. Mrs Lewis survived him only a very short time.
On the following Saturday morning, his daughter went to his room and found him awake, looking contented and happy. She asked if he had enjoyed a little sleep and ease since her last visit. He answered,
Yes, my child, and more, I have also enjoyed much rich communion with God, who was pleased to reveal himself again and again to his undutiful servant in his affliction. Glory! glory! glory! I will again say, glory be for ever unto him.
He also said that it was good for him to have been thrown into the furnace of affliction, for that in it and through it he had had a glimpse of the heavenly Canaan, and a foretaste of its happiness.
The following Sunday morning he repeated several verses of Scripture, together with several verses from different hymns. The Scriptures included this one from Revelation 7:14.
These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
After quoting this he lifted his voice in an ecstasy and said, in the words of William Cowper,
Ere since by faith I saw the stream,
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming lore has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
The afternoon of that day saw an evident change and it was clear that his time was short. He was now scarcely able to say anything audible. However, in a final effort, he raised his hand, stretched it toward his daughter, exclaiming, "All is right! All is right!" Soon after that he was dead.
The following Friday, February 4, his remains were interred in the burial ground next to the chapel. A large number were present on that occasion, including ministers from various denominations.
Those who took part in the funeral included William Jones (1790-1855), Bethany, Cardiff; David Jones (1808-1854), Tabernacle, Cardiff; the blind preacher Dr Daniel Davies (1797-1876) then at Swansea; John Evans of Brecon and Jabez Lawrence (1796-1859) of Llantwit Major.
The following Sunday Mr D Jones spoke from Philippians 1:21-23. This same sermon was repeated at the next Glamorganshire Association. In the chapel where he had long laboured a marble tablet was erected, with the following inscription
IN MEMORY OF THE REV. JOHN JAMES,
BORN AT ABERYSTW1TH, AUGUST, 1777.
BAPTIZED, MARCH, 1790.
COMMENCED PREACHING, 1799.
ORDAINED AT ABERYSTWITH, JULY, 1803.
REMOVED TO PONTRHYDYRUN, MARCH, 1817.
TO BRIDGEND, MAY, 1827.
DIED, JANUARY 30th, 1848.
Publications about the author:
Evans, John : Cofiant .... John James (1777-1848) Penybont ar Ogwr-Caerdydd : W. Owen, 1849, 84 t.
Humphreys, B: John James-SG, 1941 t. 8-9 NLW
NLW MS 692 contains sermons and memoranda in his hand.
Sources:
John Evans Cofiant y diweddar Barch. John James, gweinidog y Bedyddwyr yn Mhenybont-ar-Ogwy, ac ysgrifenydd y gymanfa y perthynai iddi dros ugain mlynedd yn cynwys hanes ei fywyd, ei lafur, ei lwyddiant, ei nodweddiadau, ei farwolaeth, &c., ynghyd รข rhai o'i bregethau, Cardiff, 1849
Hanes y Bedyddwyr yn Nghymru, 1893–1907, iii, 391, 399
J. Ifano Jones A history of printing and printers in Wales to 1810, and of successive and related printers to 1923, 1925, 202-4
