HOW SHALL THEY HEAR:
Memoirs and observations of a country
preacher
By John Mollitt
Onwards & Upwards. 84 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 911 086 437
This simple, but beautifully written little book is perfectly summarised by its subtitle. It is the warm, gentle and spiritually encouraging reminiscences of a man who was for 30 years the greatly loved pastor of Ingleton Evangelical Church in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Though now retired, John is still conducting an attractive, faithful and Christ-honouring preaching ministry, mostly in rural parts of the North of England.
The anecdotes span the whole course of John’s life from his childhood in Morecambe to his present life as an itinerant preacher and servant of many churches. It tells of his early conversion, his stirrings to preach the gospel and his acceptance as a Methodist lay preacher. He relates how he met and courted his dear Pat and how his lay ministry stirred the fledgling church in Ingleton to call him as their first pastor in 1979. There are encouraging reminders of the Lord’s blessing on his ministry there, but all is written in a way to give glory to God and his stupendous grace to sinners.
John writes with humour and a light touch so the book is a very easy read. But his story is also a very real testimony to the faithfulness and transforming power of God. It reveals a humble man with a great love for the Lord’s people and a kindly passion to make him known to all who will listen. As such it gives, almost incidentally, a challenging but hope-inspiring model for effective rural ministry. In its own way it is both perceptive about the difficulties of ministry in an increasingly secular nation and heartening in its confidence in the Lord and his gospel.
My only gripe with the book is that it is a little pricey for its length, but then perhaps I’ve been living amongst frugal Yorkshire men for too long!
