- Bible Christian Church
The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist church. It was founded by
William O’Bryan , a WesleyanMethodist local preacher , on1815-10-18 in NorthCornwall , with the first society, just 22 members, meeting at Lake Farm in Shebbear,Devon . Primarily concentrated in Cornwall and Devon, the church sent missionaries all overEngland . By 1820, missions had been established in theChannel Islands and inKent . They were also strong in theIsle of Wight amongst farm labourers, largely due to the inspirational teachings of Mary Toms. The vicar ofBrighstone Samuel Wilberforce urged that their influence be countered by having their adherents sacked from their jobs and turned out from their cottages, resulting in their sometimes meeting in a chalk pit. There are several chapels in rural areas of the Island which have the title "Bible Christian Chapel" over the doorway (e,g.Apse Heath ,Arreton ).By 1831, ministers were being sent to
Prince Edward Island andOntario , and a mission was established inCanada in 1845. Many of the emigrants from Devon and Cornwall to Canada and the United States in the 1830s were 'Bible Christians', further encouraging the spread of the church in those countries. Other missions were later established in other countries: in Australia in 1850, in New Zealand in 1878, and in China in 1885.Members of the Bible Christian Church were sometimes known as Bryanites after their founder. The church made extensive use of female preachers.
In 1907, the Bible Christian Church in England was amalgamated with the
United Methodist Free Churches and theMethodist New Connexion , to form the United Methodist Church. In Canada, the Bible Christian Church had already been amalgamated, in 1884, into theMethodist Church of Canada , which later became part of theUnited Church of Canada .References
* cite web
url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~biblechristian/
title=The Bible Christian Project
work=Bible Christians
accessmonthday=July 29
accessyear=2005
* cite web
url=http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data2/spcoll/methodist/lewis.html
title=Methodist Archives
work=Lewis Court Bible Christian Collection
accessmonthday=July 29
accessyear=2005See also
*
Sam Pollard — Bible Christian missionary to China
*Paul Robins — Bible Christian missionary to Canada
*John Hicks Eynon — Bible Christian missionary to Canada
*Billy Bray
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.