J. Wilbur Chapman

J. Wilbur Chapman

John Wilbur Chapman is one of the greatest American evangelists most Christians have never heard of. He was born in 1859, in Indiana, to Christian parents. From his birth, his parents were convinced he was destined for work in the ministry, and geared his education to that end. Being raised in a Christian home, Wilbur made public his commitment to Christ at age 19, while in college, after having the plan of salvation explained to him personally by D.L. Moody.

Wilbur Chapman was a shy, unassuming man, wearing drab blue or gray suits and glasses low on his nose. He was, however, a tireless worker and threw himself completely into the work of the ministry. He pastored Presbyterian churches in Ohio, Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania for 10 years before committing full-time to evangelistic ministry – actually spending time working as an advance man for Moody in his campaigns. It has been said that when D.L. Moody finished his ministry, he laid his mantle on Chapman. During the 1890s Wilbur also became Vice-President of Moody Bible institute, helped to found a Bible conference center in Indiana, and became the secretary of his denomination’s committee on evangelism, where he demanded that any evangelist who had doubts about the inerrancy of Scripture be immediately removed from the ministry. He also found the time to pursue two doctorates in ministry, write dozens of books – some still regarded as classics, write hymns, and personally mentor many young evangelists who followed in his footsteps – most notably a fiery former baseball player named Billy Sunday, the nearly total stylistic opposite of Chapman. Finally, he was also the father of five children.

As Chapman continued his evangelistic ministry, he saw a need for follow-up with the converts of his mass revivals. Wanting to reach people more effectively, and to have the greatest impact for the Gospel, he developed what was called the ‘Chapman Simultaneous Evangelism Campaign’ which required a fantastic amount of coordination, especially in an age lacking today’s social media. An example of how this worked is Chapman’s campaign in Philadelphia in 1908. Chapman divided the city into forty-two ‘districts’ and brought in twenty-one evangelists and evangelism teams. Churches in each district were enlisted to spread the word and provide volunteers to assist. For three weeks, the evangelism teams ministered in half the city, then they moved to the other half. Over 400 churches in the city participated, and the total attendance and documented decisions, over 8,000, far exceeded the response that D.L. Moody himself had in the same city thirty years earlier.

Chapman spent time in overseas evangelism as well, conducting revival services and winning thousands of converts in Canada, Hawaii, the Fiji Islands, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Japan, Tasmania and the Philippine Islands.

Wilbur was seen as a dignified preacher – never fiery and rarely controversial. He spoke with calmness and emotion, never coarsely. He worked well within different denominations, never compromising his own convictions. His sermons have been described as tender and sympathetic. His respondents numbered in the thousands.

Wilbur Chapman wrote a few lasting hymns, including “Our Great Savior” aka “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners”. He also wrote “One Day.”

Living He loved me, Dying He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away!
Rising, He justified, freely forever;
One day He’s coming, O glorious day!

In early 1918, Wilbur Chapman had to retire from the evangelistic ministry for health reasons. He was called back to the pastoral ministry by one of his previous churches in Philadelphia. He was hospitalized in December of that year and died on Christmas Day, 1918.

Petersen, William J., foreword to The Secret of a Happy Life, J. Wilbur Chapman, 1899, 2002 reprint by Baker Book House
https://believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=116
https://www.truthfulwords.org/biography/chapmantw.html