About Mister James Wells of the Surrey Tabernacle London:  James Wells (1803 - 1872) was one of the most prominent and successful Baptist preachers of the 19th century. Unashamedly a High Calvinist (In a April 1869 sermon he said "I am a thorough out and out hyper, and always was, and always shall be. I am not ashamed to own that my salvation originated with the Most High, that my salvation was wrought by the Most High, and that it was by the sovereign pleasure of the Most High that I was brought to know his name."), he regularly preached to congregations of up to and over 2,000 before his illness and death. His people loved him and were very faithful to him. According to Ian J. Shaw (High Calvinists in Action, page 254) most of church growth came from conversions as a result of his ministry. Few Baptists have been so blessed of the Lord to reach such heights in their ministry. It is a sad fact that the Christian community and history in general have passed him by. Three of the obvious reasons for this are: As 2 Timothy 4:3 warns: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” the naked truth is not popular with fallen mankind. That is not, of course to say that 100% of what Wells taught was true. As with any human there is much dross in his ministry. Yet Wells stood as one of a very few men who held to the truth without compromise in the 19th century. This cost him dearly in the realm of human esteem. Secondly Wells openly opposed Charles H. Spurgeon’s preaching duty-faith and pointed out the obvious contradictions in many of his sermons. Even to this very day Spurgeon is held up as the apex of truth and one might almost say perfection in doctrine and preaching. This in affect sealed Wells fate and most references to him today relate to his opposition to that famous preacher. The third reason is the excellent sermon he preached on “The Faith of Rahab” (see under 1865 for both Rahab sermons). My purpose here is to allow Mr. James Wells to be heard and examined by a new generation of Christians. Virtually everything Spurgeon wrote or preached is readily available today, much of it for free. The opposite has been true for James Wells. Fortunately there is a large and growing body of witness who disagree with the “Hypo-Calvinistic” majority. The information presented here will allow James Wells to find a more permanent place in the growing chorus of voices expressing a more biblical approach to the truth as it is in Jesus.

While preaching to his congregation on Sunday April 21, 1867 he said: "I do not believe that the memory of James Wells will die the day that he dies. Hated as he may be by those outside, and by some who know him only by wicked misrepresentations, yet, bless the Lord! we have gone on together simply by the force of God's truth, the vitality of godliness, and I have more confidence in that than I have in anything else." 

Yours in Christ Jesus, 

Richard C. Schadle 

Various articles and images relating to the Ministry, Life and Death of Mr. James Wells 

Major Selections from Wells’s Autobiography (Earthen Vessel 1872)   HTML  EPUB  PDF

35 Year Review of James Wells Ministry (E. V. 1872)  HTML  EPUB  PDF

An Example of Conversion and Growth Under Wells's Ministry  HTML  EPUB  PDF

The Origin of the Surrey Tabernacle Ministry & up to 1850  HTML  EPUB  PDF

The Funeral of Mr. Wells and Related Articles  HTML  EPUB  PDF

The Late Mr. James Wells a review from the 1889 Earthen Vessel  HTML  EPUB  PDF

The Gospel Rights Of Ministers and People - A Sermon in which he discusses his ministry in some depth  HTML  EPUB  PDF  SCAN

Death of Mary Wells the daughter of James Wells (Contains rare personal details)    HTML  EPUB  PDF