A pivotal month in the history of Elim
Far from being a ‘dead’ month in Elim’s ministry, January has proved to be highly significant over the years, as Elim’s official historian Maldwyn Jones discovered
Maldwyn Jones
Historically, January has been an important month in Elim’s calendar in the early years of the movement’s history. Although the month is the beginning of a new year, it is not normally a time when churches would hold evangelistic campaigns, the main reasons being the cold weather and a reaction to the busy Christmas period. This was not the case in Elim’s early years. There were a number of evangelistic campaigns conducted by George and Stephen Jeffreys that commenced in the month of January.
It was in January 1916 that George Jeffreys planned to open a second centre for evangelism in Ulster. The town of Ballymena saw the first of George’s major evangelistic campaigns that resulted in the establishment of a strong congregation. During the five-week campaign, a total of 120 conversions were recorded.
Six years later, in January 1922, Stephen Jeffreys held a meeting with Mr and Mrs Douglas of Wellholme Road in Grimsby. Alec Douglas was a member of the Holiness Mission there, but it had been determined that no one who claimed to have spoken in tongues as advocated by the fledgling Pentecostal church would be permitted to minister to the congregation.
According to George Canty, a former Elim president and a noted Pentecostal historian from nearby Hull, Mr Douglas was suffering at the time ‘from a nine-inch intestinal protrusion’ and was unable to stand because of the pain. Stephen laid hands on him and he was instantly healed.
This was the commencement of Elim’s first major evangelistic campaign outside the province of Ulster. The final weekend of the Grimsby campaign was held in the Gaiety Skating rink that held 5,000 people and it was filled to capacity. George joined his brother and they both preached.
Three years later, Stephen commenced a January evangelistic campaign in Barking. This was the beginning of a remarkable East London revival that was to see the establishment of six Elim churches: Barking, Ilford, East Ham, Canning Town, Forest Hill and Leytonstone.
The campaign was held in the Barking Baths. On the first meeting held on a Sunday afternoon, just 60 were present, scattered about in the cavernous hall. About 100 turned up to the evening service where a remarkable miracle occurred. Tom English, a cripple who was about to go into hospital for the amputation of his legs, received a remarkable healing. He leaped onto the platform and literally danced with joy. The news spread like wildfire and soon the hall was packed.
January 1926 saw George Jeffreys in Plymouth. A strong church had been established in Britain’s Ocean City in November 1924 through a campaign held in Stonehouse Town Hall by Stephen Jeffreys. George went to conduct a four-night series of Bible studies and stayed six weeks. There were remarkable healings. The Birmingham Sunday Mercury carried news of this great evangelistic campaign:
“Even sceptical policemen, whose duty it is to regulate the throng, have been swept off their feet by what they have seen and heard. One night, two girls, one blind and the other dumb, inquired their way to the service, of the officer nearby. An hour or so later he was amazed when the couple returned to him, literally dancing for joy, the dumb girl speaking and the blind girl seeing.”
Two years later, in January 1928, George conducted a campaign at the Caledonian Road Baths in Kings Cross, London. More than 1,200 people testified to salvation in this short, two-week campaign. Later that same month, George campaigned in Croydon, South London, where a strong Elim church was founded. And it was in January 1929 that George Jeffreys laid the foundation stone of the Elim church in Eastbourne.
These are just a few of the remarkable events that occurred in the month of January recorded in the first volume of Maldwyn Jones’ book And they came to Elim. Historically, January was certainly not a ‘dead’ month in the Elim calendar. It was a month that was alive with remarkable outpourings of the blessings of the Foursquare Gospel.
Why should it be different in January 2024? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Two volumes of Maldwyn’s book And they came to Elim are now available on Amazon and via other booksellers. Maldwyn is currently working on the third.
From prison ministry to Elim Bible College: two key events at the beginning of the year
In the second volume of And they came to Elim, two more key January events are recorded: “In January 1929 in the Elim Tabernacle, Clapham, some 50 Elim Crusaders from the London churches gathered for the inauguration of this combination of consecrated vocalists and instrumentalists,” the Elim Evangel remembers on 19 January 1942.
This Elim choir went on to have a significant prison ministry. Maldwyn writes of the evening it began in 1933 when its leader Douglas Gray’s wife informed him of an unexpected invitation.
“We had a phone call from Canon Cottrell at Wormwood Scrubs, a party has let him down, could you take the choir over to the prison tomorrow afternoon for a concert?”
Douglas said this would be impossible because the Crusaders were scattered all over London and most of them weren’t on the phone. But Mrs Gray was prepared: “It’s alright, Willie’s outside with his car. He will take us round to see them all tonight.”
They set off in an old Austin 7 with solid tyres and an open top. As a result of their late-night efforts a party of 14 choir members arrived at the gates of the Scrubs, and so began the choir’s successful prison ministry. Over a period of 45 years the choir made more than 1,000 visits to prisons, borstals, young people’s detention centres and criminal hospitals such as Broadmoor.
On 7 January 1947, Elim’s Bible College (now Regents Theological College) reopened after the Second World War with a wider remit for study under the leadership of Joseph Smith and his wife Cynthia. In a letter informing students of the reopening Joseph wrote:
“The College is now being opened on a wider basis than in pre-war days. Hitherto it has been our usual practice to accept students for training for our own work and an application for admission to the College was virtually regarded as an application to enter the Elim ministry. We have now decided to disassociate these two, and students may return to their homes after completing their course of training, or to any other field of service as they feel led. The design of the College is simply to fit men and women for the work of the Lord.”
Twenty-four new rules were applied, however, including one which banned radios and another that ruled out practical jokes!
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.
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