No evangelical Anglican in the early nineteenth century exercised a greater strategic influence on the course of the British missionary movement than did Charles Simeon of Cambridge.– Bobby Clinton
Who Was Charles Simeon?
During his lifetime (1759-1836) he did more than an other to awaken the churches in England. He was the pastor of the Anglican church at Cambridge for 50 years. When he began in 1782, there were only a dozen evangelical ministers left in the Church of England. When he finished 54 years later, one in three Anglican churches were led by evangelicals. The vast majority of them were men influenced by Simeon in Cambridge. Many of them were converted through him.
His strategy was simple. He formed relationships with students via a series of concentric circles depending on their degree of responsiveness.
Simeon invested more informal time in those who responded to his input. He demonstrated the principle that the more informal is the instruction medium, the deeper the impact of values in life.
For example, on Sunday evenings he held talks for ministerial students. Weekly he gathered eager students in his rooms for conversation parties. Over 54 years, 1100 young ministers sat with him on Sunday evenings, absorbing his passion for Christ, and eventually igniting churches across the country. Others ended up as missionaries.
He didn’t limit his input to the weekly discussion group he ran.
His biographer writes, As soon as he was convinced that a young ordinand had true potential and was fully committed to Christ there was nothing he would not do for him. He made himself as accessible as he could. Out of his interaction with students came Simeon’s recommendations for candidates for the mission field and pastorate.
Simeon recruited evangelical students to Cambridge and found parishes for them. He helped place evangelicals in growing population centres and centres of influence. Many of the leaders he trained got their degrees but were unable to secure a church. Only the sons of privilege could afford to buy into influential parishes. So Simeon raised the funds to place his students in key churches.
Behind his public ministry was a devotional life of rare power. He rose early each morning to study the Scriptures, and often could be seen pacing the roof above his rooms as he prayed for friends and enemies. His mentoring affected hundreds of emerging leaders who became church leaders and missionaries.
A dynamic movement mobilizes workers committed to its cause. Somewhere at the heart of every church planting movement you’ll find a Charles Simeon doing whatever he can to empower a new generation of leaders.
Digging deeper
Robert Clinton, Focused Lives-Comparative Studies of Effective Leaders Who Finished Well. John Pollock, A Cambridge Movement (London: John Murray, 1953).