William Booth and Catherine Begin Itinerating
1862 was a pivotal year for William and Catherine Booth. William was pastoring Gateshead Methodist church. His heart was for evangelism but by this time the Methodist church saw conversion as an essentially private matter between the sinner and his God that didn’t require an evangelist.
Catherine had felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to evangelise with her husband, something their denomination refused. When Catherine was forcibly removed from the Methodist Conference as they discussed whether she had a right to preach, William saw no other avenue but to join her. He resigned there and then.
William and Catherine had four children and almost no money. They initially lived off two day old bread and soup bones. The only invitation to preach came from another Methodist church in Cornwall, led by one of William’s early converts. Almost from the beginning God came down. In eighteen weeks over 7,000 men and women had come to the front to receive Christ. The Methodist leaders in England reacted against what was happening, labeling it “unseemly and undignified” and ordered all Methodist churches to close their doors to William and Catherine.
In January the following year, 1862, William hired a circus tent and began meetings around the country. His new audience included drunks, pick-pockets and bookies and William loved it. He began getting converts up to testify how Christ had changed them. This was not the practice in any of the churches of the day. Those who liked the preaching were enthralled by the testimonies.
God was about to birth a new movement through William and Catherine Booth but there was there was another major lesson this couple had to learn and it was just around the corner …
While we have breath, God continues to work on us. He never stops and He never gives up. How long these dealings take is largely up to us. The more we resist, whether through ignorance of what He’s doing or intentional defiance, the longer everything takes. Why don’t you ask God what He’s working on in your life right now and how you can better co-operate with Him?