Benjamin Francis had everything against him.
- English wasn’t his native tongue.
- He was a bi-vocational farmer-pastor.
- He pastored a small congregation in a small village.
- Yet in his ministry he baptized 450 converted people.
Here’s 9 lessons from his life for rural pastors:
- Trust God in Hard Pastorates!
- Francis was 24 when he arrived in Horsley.
- It was:
- A poor congregation
- Low literacy rates
- Only 66 members
- But God grew the church 66 members to 252, with 450 converts.
- Young pastors, trust God in hard pastorates!
- Prioritize Evangelism!
- Francis is reported as weeping for his hearers.
- He reported that he: “Delighted in telling poor sinners the unsearchable riches of his compassionate Redeemer.”
- Let us not forget the need to preach passionately for the salvation of souls.
- Persist in Prayer!
- If you asked Francis where the success came from, he’d say prayer.
- Two meetings were held at 6am and before the afternoon service.
- 50-60 attended the morning prayer meeting, and the afternoon meeting would be overflowing.
- God works through prayer.
- God can bless the Bi-vocational pastor!
- Francis was obliged to do secular for an income.
- He:
- Reared pigs
- Grew fruit and vegetables
- Manned a school
- Even dabbled in the wool trade
- Whether or not bi-vocational is ideal, God can use it to reach his lost sheep.
- Perseverance amidst trials!
- Francis didn’t have it easy in family life.
- His first wife and 3 children died within 3 months
- In his second marriage 7 out of 10 children died
- This clearly deeply affected Francis. But in the midst of trials, he kept proclaiming his savior.
- The value of good training!
- Baptists could not attend Universities.
- Bit the Bristol Baptist Academy produced many good pastors:
- It was a bastion against hyper-Calvinism
- Sent many pastors out to poor or rural areas.
- Good training is vital to good pastors.
- Pursue deep Friendship!
- From 1758-1770 Francis wrote Joshua Thomas, as “your most affectionate David”
- The letters included questions from one to another which Thomas later published in a volume.
- In isolated pastorates, friendship is vital.
- Seek Humility!
- In one letter to Thomas, Francis wrote:
- “How languid my faith, my hope, my love! how cold and formal am I in secret devotions!”
- But at his death, tributes referenced his “fervent prayers.”
- Clearly, he was humble enough to always want more in his faith.
