This article first appeared in In Writing
Part One
In the history of the Particular Baptist movement in Wales there are undoubtedly many forgotten heroes who served long and served well. One such is a certain John James who served for nearly half a century in three different pastorates in Wales.
James was born and first ministered in the mid-Wales seaside town of Aberystwyth, in Cardiganshire. Born on August 29, 1777, he was the eldest of eight children. His grandfather, James David John, had been a tenant farmer in Llanychaearn, a little south of Aberystwyth. His parents, John and Elizabeth (nee Jones), were poor people and their circumstances were not helped by the father's proclivity to drink.
Neither parent was godly and this James lamented in later life, once saying,
Had I been religiously instructed when young, I should not have committed many of the sins of my youth, especially that of scoffing at the people of God, which since has caused me many mournful seasons.
He was at first, it seems, very much given to mocking God's people. On more than one occasion, when a baptism by immersion was taking place in the open air, he would gather companions and arrange to interrupt the service.
It was the death of his mother that God used to bring him to serious reflection on the state of his soul and to soften him in his prejudice against God's people and their ways. “Having heard Mr Evans the baptist minister preach at my mother's funeral,” he said “from the words, Therefore be ye also ready, etc, I never afterwards ridiculed the people of God.”
He soon came under conviction of sin and outward changes began to be observed in him. He would often seek out a secret place where he could pour out his soul to God in prayer. In due time, having often sat under faithful public ministry, he resolved to seek membership in the Baptist church in Aberystwyth, then pastored by Thomas Evans (d 1801).
Baptism
James was baptised on the Lord's day, March 27, 1796. He was 18 years old. The baptism took place in the River Teifi at Pontceri, near Newcastle Emlyn. On this matter, he wrote,
My experience at the time was happy, and if ever my soul had communion with God it was enjoyed in the river, in the burial by baptism. My Saviour was in Jordan, the heavens were opened, and the command of Christ was most explicit before me.
It is perhaps worth noting that Thomas Evans, who baptised him, said to others at the time that he had “on that day baptised a prophet” or “a preacher”. It is not known why Evans spoke in the way that he did but that is just what happened. James went on to enjoy a long and successful life as a minister.
James was apparently apprenticed as a shoemaker but not long after his baptism his suitability for the ministry began to become clear. Because of his apparent abilities he was encouraged to exercise his gift but he was diffident and a full three years elapsed before he preached for the first time.
Early ministry
His first sermon in the church meeting was from the words, The Lord is my Shepherd. The date was September 27, 1799. He was 22. When he began to minister he did so under many disadvantages. However, always being of a resolute mind, he steadily pursued his course and entered into a covenant with God not to relinquish the Christian ministry. He wrote
My language, under those discouragements, was similar to that of Jacob, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God.
He preached both in Aberystwyth itself and in the surrounding villages. The Aberystwyth church had branches in Penrhyncoch, Talybont, Llanrhystyd and Machynlleth. He preached on a regular basis for about four years in all these places and was then set apart for the work of the ministry full time.
In 1801, his pastor, Thomas Evans, a faithful and devoted servant of God and a great friend and support to James, died. This left the church without a minister for some time. During this period the Aberystwyth pulpit and the branches elsewhere were supplied by James and his friend Samuel Breeze (1772-1812), a school master at Penrhyncoch, originally from Dolau near Llandrindod Wells. When the sacraments were administered, a neighbouring ordained minister would be employed.
There is evidence that James spent some time studying under Evan Jones (1777-1819) in Cardigan. Jones had studied at the Bristol Academy under John Ryland (1753-1825) who spoke of him in the highest terms. Jones was an intelligent man and a good Calvinist but he battled with the lure of alcohol.
In 1802, James, still working as an evangelist, was eager to supplement his preparations for the ministry further. Taking the advice of friends, he approached the Bristol Academy, and his application was accepted. He was promised a place at the next opportunity. However, the Aberystwyth church insisted on ordaining him, together with Breeze, as co-pastor and to this he reluctantly agreed.
Minister in Aberystwyth
Their ordination took place in June or July, 1803. The preachers were Zecharias Thomas (1727-1816) from Llanycrwys near Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire and David Saunders (d 1812) of Aberduar near Llanybydder, also in Carmarthen.
James and Breeze went on to successfully labour in this sphere for a total of nine years. At the end of this time, in March 1812, Breeze moved on to Newcastle Emlyn. During the whole of the time they were together in Aberystwyth apparently the greatest harmony prevailed. In a note written by James on hearing of the sudden death of Breeze shortly after his removal, he exclaims,
But O! Samuel Breeze! O Samuel! Samuel is dead! is dead! yea, is dead! Great is my sorrow, trouble, and mourning, after him. I think whilst I live I shall never meet a person with whom I can better live than Samuel Breeze.
Marriage
On September 28, 1804, James married. His wife was Catherine Davies, a member of the church under his care. It was a happy match and a great source of comfort to him, especially when he was in his old age. In his diaries he apparently refers frequently and repeatedly to the blessing it was to have such a wife. She outlived him by some years.
They had three children, one son and two daughters, who were brought up in the Lord. Their son died in London in 1826, to the great grief of the whole family. His daughters married and lived in the Bridgend area where he himself came finally to minister.
James remained the preacher at the church in Aberystwyth for some eighteen years altogether, four years as an assistant, nine years as co-pastor with Breeze and five years as sole pastor, after Breeze's departure. During that final period his labours were extensively blessed by the Lord. The additions made to the church in those years clearly show that. From the time that he was publicly recognised as pastor until his departure from Aberystwyth, he baptised no fewer than 185 people.
Work as a publisher
While training for the ministry, James had also spent time learning bookbinding from fellow Baptist schoolmaster and lay preacher, William Turnor. No doubt in order to supplement his income, in 1808 James opened a bookshop in Aberystwyth. The following year he also established a publishing business, based at his house in Bridge Street. This was the town's first printing press. Printing was not James' area of expertise but he went into partnership with an elder from Tabernacle, the Calvinistic Methodist Church, Samuel Williams (1782-1820), who did know much more about the subject. However, through no fault of his own, the business was unsuccessful and in September 1812 he sold out to Williams and concentrated once again on books and bookbinding.
Commenting on the period that followed, he wrote
It was well for me that the Lord had provided friends for me in London, Birmingham, etc, in the years 1814-1816, to keep me from sinking.
His pastoral labours in Aberystwyth and district formed only a small part of his extensive ministry at this time. He took repeated tours through North Wales and was the means of strengthening the scattered churches in what was then a neglected part of the country. His work was long remembered. His visits to London and especially to Liverpool were also greatly blessed by the Lord. All these efforts were long remembered by those who benefited.
Despite his zeal and success, he found himself in a position where it was necessary, nevertheless, to leave his home town and this he did in 1817. It is clear, however, that he did so reluctantly and not without some difficulty. In January, 1817, he expresses his feelings thus,
I am greatly aided in preaching, and much powerful influence accompanies the ministry. My mind and that of the congregation are greatly perplexed and grieved in thinking of my leaving them.
Nevertheless, he preached a farewell sermon on Lord's day, March 17, 1817, to an overflowing audience, estimated to be about a thousand. Many tears were shed. His text at that time was, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you. Amen. Of that service he writes, “O heavy meeting, being obliged to preach a farewell sermon!”
