John Wilbur Chapman
John Wilbur Chapman (June 17, 1859, Richmond, Indiana – December 25, 1918, New York City) was a Presbyterian evangelist in the late 19th century who traveled with gospel singer Charles Alexander. His parents were Alexander H. and Lorinda (McWhinney) Chapman.
Early life and education
Chapman grew up attending Quaker Day School and Methodist Sunday School. At age 17, he made a public declaration of his
Family
In May 1882, Chapman married Irene Steddom. In April 1886, they had a daughter, Bertha Irene Chapman. Irene Steddom Chapman died in May 1886. Chapman remarried on November 4, 1888, to Agnes Pruyn Strain; they had four children: Robert (who died in infancy), John Wilbur Jr., Alexander Hamilton, and Agnes Pruyn. His second wife died on June 25, 1907. Chapman married a third and final time on August 30, 1910, to Mabel Cornelia Moulton.
Ministry
Chapman took on several pastorates before shifting to the evangelistic circuit. He began preaching with the legendary
In late 1895, Chapman was appointed Corresponding Secretary of the
In 1905, John H. Converse, a wealthy Presbyterian philanthropist, offered to underwrite Chapman's expenses if he would re-enter the evangelistic field full-time. Converse also set up a trust fund so as to finance Chapman's crusades posthumously. Chapman accepted the offer and in 1907, joined forces with popular gospel singer Charles McCallon Alexander to launch the "Chapman-Alexander Simultaneous Campaign."
The duo assembled an impressive team of evangelists and songleaders and took to the streets. The first joint campaign was held in
In 1909, Chapman demanded that any field evangelist who doubted the inerrancy of Scripture be removed from ministry. Chapman's biography reports, "The first Chapman-Alexander worldwide campaign left
The itinerary included:
During these years, Chapman was also heavily involved in the promoting of religious summer conferences. He was at one point the director of the
By the end of 1910, Chapman's "mass evangelism" technique was losing favor in evangelistic circles, and Chapman and Alexander were back to large meeting revivals by 1912. The final Chapman-Alexander revival tour was conducted January 6, 1918 to February 13, 1918. In May 1918, Chapman was elected
Pastorates
- College Corner, Ohio Presbyterian Church, 1882
- Liberty, Indiana Presbyterian Church, 1882
- Dutch Reformed Church (Schuylerville, New York), 1883–1885
- First Reformed Church (Albany, New York), 1885–1890
- Bethany Presbyterian (Philadelphia), 1890–1892, 1896–1899
- Fourth Presbyterian Church (New York City), 1899–1902
Published works
- Ivory Palaces of the King (1893)
- Received Ye the Holy Ghost (Power) (1894)
- And Peter (1895)
- The Lost Crown (1899)
- The Secret of a Happy Day (1899)
- Kadesh-Barnea (or) The Power of a Surrendered Life (1899)
- Spiritual Life of the Sunday School (1899)
- Present Day Parables (1900)
- Revivals and Missions (1900)
- From Life to Life (1900)
- The Life and Work of D.L. Moody (1900)
- Present Day Evangelism (1903)
- Fishing for Men (1904)
- Samuel Hopkins Hadley of Water Street (1906)
- Another Mile (1908)
- The Problem of Work (1911)
- Chapman's Pocket Sermons (1911)
- Revival Sermons (1911)
- The Personal Touch (1912)
- When Home Is Heaven (1917)
- The Minister's Handicap (1918)
- Day After Day (1919)
- Evangelistic Sermons (1922)
- Light on the Way (date unknown)
- The Personal Workers Guide (date unknown)
Hymnography
- "All Hail to the Name" (1914)[3]
- "All in All" (1914)[4]
- "The Full Reward" (1900)[5]
- "God Bless Our Splendid Men" (1916-1917)[6]
- "Hail! All Hail!" (1912)[7]
- "Holy Spirit, Come In" (1894)[8]
- "The Judgment" (1911)[9]
- "Just to See Jesus" (1910)[10]
- "The Love of the Spirit" (1913)[11]
- "One Day" see also "Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)" (1910)
- "Our Great Savior (Jesus What A Friend of Sinners)" (1910)
- "Yield to Him Now (The Savior Has Died to Redeem You)" (1911)[12]
- "'Tis Jesus" (1909)[13]
- "When We Go Home" (1915)[14]
- "Wonderful Grace" (1926)[15]
References
- ^ Billy Graham Collection Archived 2006-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, Papers of John Wilbur Chapman
- ^ Truthful Words, J. Wilbur Chapman
- ^ "Hymnary-"All Hail to the Name"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"All in All"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"The Full Reward"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"God Bless Our Splendid Men"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"Hail! All Hail!"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"Holy Spirit, Come In"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"The Judgement"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"Just to See Jesus"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"The Love of the Spirit"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"The Savior Has Died to Redeem You"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"'Tis Jesus"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"When We Go Home"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ "Hymnary-"Wonderful Grace"". hymnary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-20.