West Port Experiment

The article below on Andrew Bonar at Finnieston, Glasgow, was written by my friend Matthew Vogan and published in the Bulwark Magazine of the Scottish Reformation Society. The author relates the compelling story of Bonar’s evangelistic labor on the parish principle as taught and modeled by Thomas Chalmers.

Here are some sample extracts from the article:

Every afternoon from one o’clock till nearly five he would be found walking about his parish, visiting his people. He was well known on the streets of the district. He became a well-known figure in the area, and his friendly way of speaking and behaving endeared him to all, including children. Little children would run up to him as he walked and put their hand in his and receive a smile and gentle hand laid on the heard. One child called him “the minister with the laughing face.” Soon after arriving in the city, he spoke to a little girl in the street, addressing her by name. The child ran home to her mother with the delighted cry, “Mither, mither, he kens me.” [“Mother, mother, he knows me!”]

A visit from the minister was usually unannounced and lasted from half an hour to an hour. He first asked after the health and welfare of the various members of the household. Before long he would turn the conversation to spiritual things, perhaps addressing himself particularly to the young, before he concluded with family worship.

In a report submitted to the Free Church Committee on Glasgow Evangelization for the year 1858, he said that he had visited over 600 families during his first year in the parish. He had engaged in open-air preaching regularly and he had ensured tract distribution around the church that reached over 1,000 homes each month.